Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lake fertilization: Review and summary of results

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
K D Hyatt ◽  
D J McQueen ◽  
K S Shortreed ◽  
D P Rankin
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Marine Survival ◽  
Lake Fertilization

We reviewed 24 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lake experiments that involved whole-lake fertilization with appropriate treatment and control years. We found that: 21 of 21 studies showed that fertilization was associated with increased chlorophyll a concentrations, 16 of 16 showed increased zooplankton biomasses, 16 of 16 demonstrated increased average smolt weights, and 11 of 13 showed increased smolt biomasses. Studies involving assessments of egg-to-smolt survival were rare, but all (4 of 4) showed increased survival rates. Studies involving increased smolt-to-adult survival (i.e., marine survival) were even rarer, but all (3 of 3) showed that lake fertilization and increased smolt size were associated with increased marine survival. Several fertilization studies reported problems, and some offered solutions. For instance, when whole-lake fertilization stimulated the growth of blue-green algae, fertilizer with higher nitrogen to phosphorus ratios was used to control the problem. Conversely, when high nitrogen to phosphorus ratios were associated with blooms of ungrazable diatoms, notably Rhizosolenia eriensis, reduced nitrate concentrations were recommended. To date, solutions designed to constrain the growth of both blue-green algae and Rhizosolenia blooms remain elusive. Some studies showed that when both mysids (large invertebrate planktivores) and juvenile sockeye inhabit the same lake, sockeye suffer from a competitive disadvantage and mysids consume 80–90% of the available zooplanktonic food production. Similarly, a small number of studies demonstrated that competition from sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) adversely affected sockeye growth rates, and although the problem remains unresolved, ongoing work in lakes containing kokanee (O. nerka), suggests that stocked cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) may be capable of controlling stickleback densities through predation. Despite all of these difficulties, in almost all cases, when lakes were fertilized with various mixtures of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, pelagic food web bottom-up control was strong enough and predictable enough to ensure that sockeye smolt biomass increased. We conclude that sockeye nursery lake fertilization is a technique that can contribute usefully to both the enhancement and conservation of sockeye salmon populations. Key words: sockeye salmon, lake fertilization, bottom-up, aquatic food web.

scholarly journals Have Invasive Mysids (Mysis diluviana) Altered the Capacity of Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia to Produce Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)?

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim D. Hyatt ◽  
Donald J. McQueen ◽  
Athena D. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Zooplankton Biomass ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
Mysis Diluviana ◽  
Zooplankton Prey

Background:During 2005-13, at Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia, we investigated trophic relationships among fry ofOncorhynchus nerkaWalbaum (Sockeye and kokanee), a suite of limnetic planktivores includingMysis diluviana, and their zooplankton prey.Objectives:Our goal was to quantify the impacts that a recently introduced population ofMysiswould have on density, growth and survival of resident age-0 Sockeye Salmon.Methods:Evidence ofMysisimpact was based on (a) simple correlation analysis between various biophysical performance measures and (b) production and bioenergetics models used to identify the strength of bottom-up (i.e. production-driven) and top-down (i.e.consumption-driven) processes.Results:This nine-year study indicated that the Osoyoos Lake food web was strongly influenced by external events These included: large annual variations in river discharge, an earthen dam failure and effluent input from an Okanagan River tributary, and highly variable recruitment ofO. nerkafry given out-of-basin factors (harvest, marine survival) controlling adult salmon returns. Surprisingly, large annual variations inO. nerkarecruitment (0.63 - 7.0 million fry), did not induce significant “top-down” associations in growth, survival or subsequent production among the macro-planktivores (pelagic fish andMysis) and their zooplankton prey. A single significant correlation (p ≤ 0.05) betweenO. nerkafry abundance and their von BertalanffyW∞parameter emerged from a set of 14 potential top-down associations tested. By contrast, we identified several strongly positive “bottom-up” effects in which survival ofO. nerkafry was significantly associated (p ≤ 0.01) with annual variations in total zooplankton biomass,Daphniabiomass andEpischurabiomass. Our results indicate thatMysisplayed a dual role in the Osoyoos Lake pelagic food web. As predators, they accounted for an average (June-October) of 64% of the total prey biomass consumed by fish andMysis. As prey,Mysiscontributed an average of 35% of the prey biomass consumed by fish. Consumption by fish andMysistogether accounted for daily losses of only 4.5% of non-mysid zooplankton biomass and 34% of daily zooplankton production.Conclusion:We conclude that in all years, combined prey consumption byMysisand fish was never high enough, acting alone, to reduce the availability of their potential zooplankton forage base. However, we also estimate that in the absence ofMysis,O. nerkafry could experience a 43% increase in their daily food intake and that fish andMysismight control their principal prey taxa when exogenous factors (e.g.annual discharge) induced major reductions in zooplankton biomass. Finally, althoughMysishas clearly altered the energy flow pathways from plankton to fish in the Osoyoos Lake food-web, mysids have not precluded rebuildingO. nerkaabundance to levels at or exceeding historic maxima.

Nonlinear Relation Between Smolts and Adults in Babine Lake Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Implications for Other Salmon Populations

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 904-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall M. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Error ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Mortality Effect ◽  
Marine Survival

Data on sampling variability in smolt abundance for Babine Lake sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are combined with a previous analysis to calculate a more accurate estimate of the degree of nonlinearity in the relation between smolts and adults. Results indicate significant within-stock nonlinear mortality, large variability in mortality which tends to obscure any smolt-to-adult relation, or both. Analysis of age structure data identifies the first 15 mo of marine life as the period when most of this nonlinear or relation-masking mortality occurs. I also calculate the amount of smolt measurement error below which other salmon stocks are classed as having nonlinear marine survival. A distinct separation between even and odd brood year marine survival of Babine Lake sockeye suggests interactions with pink salmon. Juvenile pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) abundances correlate positively with residuals in Babine Lake sockeye survival for the same seaward migration year. This suggests a depensatory mortality effect which occurs later in the marine life stage than the possible within-population compensatory effect. Depensation is plausible because the size of pink fry equals that of sockeye smolts by August in coastal waters, permitting mutual swamping of predators. The paper concludes with implications for further enhancement.Key words: density dependence, marine survival, measurement error, enhancement, depensation, nonlinear, variability

Model of Salmon Age Structure and Its Use in Preseason Forecasting and Studies of Marine Survival

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1444-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall M. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Density Dependence ◽  
Age Structure ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Spawning Areas ◽  
Forecasting Method ◽  
Salmon Stock ◽  
Marine Survival ◽  
Stock Abundance

A method is derived to determine whether ocean abundance of a salmon stock affects either the survival rate between particular ages or the proportion of the ocean population which migrates back to freshwater spawning areas. The approach, similar to Fredin's smolt indices method, uses data on brood-year contributions to adult returns in successive years. Survival rate and proportion maturing are found to be independent of stock abundance after age 3, except in Naknek River sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) data. In cases such as Babine Lake sockeye salmon, where nonlinearity has been identified previously in the relation between smolt abundance and total adult returns, this lack of density dependence in the older ages means that the mortality processes which cause that nonlinearity act early in smolt life. The relations between abundance of adult returns of age n in year t and returns of age n + 1 from the same brood class in year t + 1 are useful as preseason forecasting techniques. The method derived here, which uses logarithms of abundances, improves upon the existing forecasting method. Deviations from the relation between abundances of brood-year returns can in some cases be explained by smolt weight, which is shown to affect mean age at return.Key words: salmon age structure, marine survival, age-at-return, smolt weight, preseason forecasting

Smolt-to-AduIt Survival Patterns of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): Effects of Smolt Length and Geographic Latitude when Entering the Sea

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 600-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery P. Koenings ◽  
Harold J. Geiger ◽  
James J. Hasbrouck
Keyword(s):  
Nonparametric Regression ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Geographic Latitude ◽  
Common Pattern ◽  
Lake Outlet ◽  
The Common ◽  
Survival Patterns

Variations in smolt-to-adult survival (SAS) of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) relative to smolt length and age and latitude of the nursery lake outlet were explored for six stocks in Canada, Russia, and Alaska (W. E. Ricker. 1962. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 19: 531–560) and 12 Alaskan populations. SAS values ranged from <1 to 68% for age 1., 2., and 3. smolt populations of 54–200 mm in mean length. The common pattern underlying the SAS to smolt size relationship, determined by nonparametric regression (loess), was nonlinear with functionally distinct zones. SAS of smaller smolts increased (0.3–0.5 (%) SAS∙mm−1) with size, but SAS of smolts >90–100 mm (6–8 g) did not. Variation in SAS was explained by smolt size (30%) and a south to north dine of nursery lakes (21%) indexed by latitude. SAS of about 3 and 13% for threshold-sized age 1. smolts (60–65 mm) from southern and northern nursery lakes were consistent with sockeye biostandards for Canada (4.7%) and Alaska (12%), respectively. The combined effects of latitude and smolt length on SAS resulted in larger smolts at higher (>60°N) latitudes having seven times the SAS of smaller smolts at lower (<55°N) latitudes.

Influence of Water Temperature and Nitrogen to Phosphorus Ratios on the Dominance of Blue-Green Algae in Lake St. George, Ontario

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 598-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. McQueen ◽  
D. R. S. Lean
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Algal Bloom ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Green Algal ◽  
Influence Of Water ◽  
Total Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Explained Variation ◽  
Algal Composition

Data collected at Lake St. George, Ontario, over five summers spanning a period of 13 yr showed that there was no correlation between percent blue-green algal composition and the ratio of total nitrogen (TN) to total phosphorus (TP), However, percent blue-green algae was positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), and the ratio of NO3-N:TP. Multiple correlations involving percent blue-green algae (dependent variable) with respect to temperature, in combination with one of NO3-N, TIN, NO3-N:TP, or TIN:TP, were also significant. In all cases, temperature effects accounted for most of the explained variation. The strongest correlation was found for the multiple regression involving percent blue-green algae versus temperature and the NO3-N: TP ratio. The pattern that emerged from the Lake St. George data set was that when temperature exceeded 21 °C and the ratio of NO3-N:TP was below 5:1, the likelihood of a blue-green algal bloom was high. When temperature was below 21 °C and NO3-N:TP exceeded 5:1, blue-green blooms never occurred.

Enhancement of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) by Lake Fertilization in Great Central Lake: Summary Report

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1580-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. LeBrasseur ◽  
C. D. McAllister ◽  
W. E. Barraclough ◽  
O. D. Kennedy ◽  
J. Manzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Ammonium Phosphate ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Percentage Survival ◽  
Initial Hypothesis ◽  
Lake Fertilization

Great Central Lake was treated with ca. 1001 of commercial grade fertilizer (ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphate) annually from 1970 through 1973. Limnological parameters and sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) juveniles and adults were monitored from 1969 through 1976 to test the hypothesis that increasing the supply of inorganic nutrients in an ultraoligotrophic lake would increase production at succeeding trophic levels. Rates of change and linkages between different elements of the food chain leading to juvenile sockeye salmon were identified. During fertilized years mean summer primary production increased fivefold, zooplankton standing stock increased 9 times, the percentage survival from estimated potential egg deposition to juvenile sockeye increased 2.6 times, while mean stock size of adult sockeye increased from < 50 000 to > 360 000. Adult sockeye returning to an adjacent untreated lake also increased in abundance. The data for the 8-yr period support the initial hypothesis, but the dominant processes affecting production and interrelationships between different trophic levels in different years remain masked. Key words: food chain, limnology, sockeye salmon, primary production, zooplankton, eutrophication, lake fertilization, enhancement

Responses of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to Fertilization of British Columbia Coastal Lakes

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim D. Hyatt ◽  
John G. Stockner
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Phosphorus Fertilizer ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Coastal Lakes ◽  
Standing Stocks ◽  
Marine Survival ◽  
Heterotrophic Production

Addition of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to several British Columbia coastal lakes has resulted in increased autotrophic and heterotrophic production and larger standing stocks of zooplankton. These changes at the primary and secondary trophic levels are reflected by increased in-lake growth of juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and larger outmigrant smolts. Evidence is presented that smolt size changes in fertilized lakes will lead to increases in the harvestable surplus of sockeye adults by promoting both increases in marine survival and an earlier age-at-return to the fishery.

Impact of fertilization and stocking on trophic interactions and growth of juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 1361-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asit Mazumder ◽  
Jim A Edmundson
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Web Structure ◽  
Mean Size ◽  
Average Size ◽  
The Impact

Using 16 years of data on nutrients, plankton, and sockeye fry and smolts from Packers Lake, Alaska, we test the impact of nutrients and fry stocking on the growth and productivity of juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). To enhance sockeye production, this lake was fertilized (1983–1996) and stocked annually (1987–1996) with sockeye fry. Before fertilization, the density of sockeye fry was low (<0.20 fry·m–2), the size and biomass of Daphnia were low, and sockeye smolts were relatively small. Before stocking, all trophic levels responded positively to fertilization. The biomass and mean size of Daphnia increased significantly. The average size of age-1 and age-2 smolts increased three- to four-fold. Fry stocking produced dramatic declines in both biomass and mean length of Daphnia and in size of smolts. When large-sized (>1 mm) Daphnia were significantly reduced in density under heavy predation by sockeye fry, the growth of juvenile sockeye declined, even under continued fertilization. We show that fry density and associated food web structure are major determinants of juvenile sockeye responses to fertilization and stocking. This study probably provides the first long-term experimental results linking limnological and nutrient – food web concepts to trophodynamics and productivity of juvenile sockeye salmon.

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