Evaluating river management during seaward migration to recover Columbia River stream-type Chinook salmon considering the variation in marine conditions

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard A. Schaller ◽  
Charles E. Petrosky ◽  
Eric S. Tinus
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Delayed Mortality ◽  
Stream Type

Evidence suggests Snake River stream-type Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) experience substantial delayed mortality in the marine environment as a result of their outmigration experience through the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). We analyzed mortality patterns using methods that incorporated downriver reference populations passing fewer dams, and temporal approaches that were independent of reference populations. Our results from the alternative spatial and temporal methods consistently corroborated with spawner–recruit residuals and smolt-to-adult survival rate data sets, indicating that Snake River salmon survived about one quarter as well as the reference populations. Temporal analysis indicated that a high percentage (76%) of Snake River juvenile salmon that survived the FCRPS subsequently died in the marine environment as a result of their outmigration experience. Through this and previous studies, it is evident that delayed hydrosystem mortality increases with the number of powerhouse passages and decreases with the speed of outmigration. Therefore, a promising conservation approach would be to explore management experiments that evaluate these relationships by increasing managed spill levels at the dams during the spring migration period.

A multiple-reach model describing the migratory behavior of Snake River yearling chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 658-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W Zabel ◽  
James J Anderson ◽  
Pamela A Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Migration Rate ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Nonlinear Models ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
River System ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Time Step

A multiple-reach model was developed to describe the downstream migration of juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River system. Migration rate for cohorts of fish was allowed to vary by reach and time step. A nested sequence of linear and nonlinear models related the variation in migration rates to river flow, date in season, and experience in the river. By comparing predicted with observed travel times at multiple observation sites along the migration route, the relative performance of the migration rate models was assessed. The analysis was applied to cohorts of yearling chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) captured at the Snake River Trap near Lewiston, Idaho, and fitted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags over the 8-year period 1989-1996. The fish were observed at Lower Granite and Little Goose dams on the Snake River and McNary Dam on the Columbia River covering a migration distance of 277 km. The data supported a model containing two behavioral components: a flow term related to season where fish spend more time in regions of higher river velocity later in the season and a flow-independent experience effect where the fish migrate faster the longer they have been in the river.

Post-Hydropower System Delayed Mortality of Transported Snake River Stream-Type Chinook Salmon: Unraveling the Mystery

2006 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 1523-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Muir ◽  
Douglas M. Marsh ◽  
Benjamin P. Sandford ◽  
Steven G. Smith ◽  
John G. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Hydropower System ◽  
Delayed Mortality ◽  
Stream Type

Achieving Productivity to Recover and Restore Columbia River Stream‐Type Chinook Salmon Relies on Increasing Smolt‐To‐Adult Survival

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 789-803
Author(s):  
Charles E. Petrosky ◽  
Howard A Schaller ◽  
Eric S. Tinus ◽  
Timothy Copeland ◽  
Adam J. Storch
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Stream Type

Productivity and survival rate trends in the freshwater spawning and rearing stage of Snake River chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1196-1207 ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Petrosky ◽  
H A Schaller ◽  
P Budy
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Significant Survival ◽  
Stream Type

Stream-type chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in the Snake River (northwest United States) have declined dramatically since completion of the federal hydrosystem. Identifying the life stage that is limiting the survival of these stocks is crucial for evaluating the potential of management actions to recover these stocks. We tested the hypothesis that a decrease in productivity and survival rate in the freshwater spawning and rearing (FSR) life stage since completion of the hydropower system could explain the decline observed over the life cycle. The decline of chinook populations following completion of the hydrosystem was not accompanied by major survival changes in the FSR life stage. FSR productivity showed no significant decline, and the FSR survival rate decline was small relative to the overall decline. However, significant survival declines did occur in the smolt-to-adult stage coincident primarily with hydrosystem completion, combined with poorer climate conditions and possibly hatchery effects. Potential improvements in survival that occur only at the FSR life stage are unlikely to offset these impacts and increase survival to a level that ensures the recovery of Snake River stream-type chinook.

Experimental measurement of hydrosystem-induced delayed mortality in juvenile Snake River spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using a large-scale acoustic array

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 1019-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L. Rechisky ◽  
David W. Welch ◽  
Aswea D. Porter ◽  
Melinda C. Jacobs ◽  
Adrian Ladouceur
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Return Rates ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Delayed Mortality

Out-migrating Snake River salmon smolts must pass eight major hydro dams before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Direct mortality at the dams is generally low; however, the cumulative stress caused by dam passage is hypothesized to result in delayed mortality, which occurs beyond the impounded section of the river. We tested the delayed mortality hypothesis by comparing in-river and early ocean survival of hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) from the Snake River to a mid-Columbia River population that passes through only four dams and has higher smolt to adult return rates. Smolts >140 mm fork length were implanted with acoustic transmitters and tracked with the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) array to as far as Alaska. There was no detectable difference in survivorship to the first ocean detection line, 274 km beyond the final dam (SSnake = 29% ± 4%, SYakima = 28% ± 5%), indicating that the survival disparity observed in adult return rates may develop later in the marine life history phase. Our study is the first to estimate survival in the coastal ocean and demonstrates the utility of a large-scale array in testing previously intractable hypotheses.

Retrospective patterns of differential mortality and common year-effects experienced by spring and summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) of the Columbia River

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2419-2430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B Deriso ◽  
David R Marmorek ◽  
Ian J Parnell
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Differential Mortality ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Empirical Estimates ◽  
John Day

We used spawner–recruit data to estimate the instantaneous differential mortality (µ) experienced by seven Snake River spring and summer chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stocks relative to six lower Columbia River stocks. We applied 37 Ricker stock–recruit models to these data, incorporating different assumptions about measurement error, transport survival, intrinsic productivity, methods of estimating µ, and common year-effects that affect the survival of all stocks. Estimates of mean µ for the 12 best models ranged from 0.55 to 1.90 (mean of 1.09), implying that passage from Lower Granite Dam to John Day Dam reduced recruitment of 1970–1990 Snake River broods by an average of 42–85% (mean of 66%). Differential mortality was cyclical and moderately high in the 1970s brood years, low for 1980–1983, near average in 1984–1989, and high in 1990. Our empirical estimates of µ showed low bias and were between those produced by two mechanistic passage models. The best empirical models included common year-effects, which shifted from generally positive effects on 1952–1968 brood years to generally negative effects on 1970–1990 broods. Year-effects were not significantly correlated with two climate indices or with water travel time (the time that water takes to travel down the Columbia River).

Route selection in a large river during the homing migration of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1752-1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L Keefer ◽  
Christopher C Caudill ◽  
Christopher A Peery ◽  
Theodore C Bjornn
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Large River ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Route Selection ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Selection Decisions ◽  
Efficient Route

Upstream-migrating adult salmon must make a series of correct navigation and route-selection decisions to successfully locate natal streams. In this field study, we examined factors influencing migration route selections early in the migration of 4361 radio-tagged adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as they moved upstream past dams in the large (~1 km wide) Columbia River. Substantial behavioral differences were observed among 11 conspecific populations, despite largely concurrent migrations. At dams, Chinook salmon generally preferred ladder passage routes adjacent to the shoreline where their natal tributaries entered, and the degree of preference increased as salmon proximity to natal tributaries increased. Columbia River discharge also influenced route choices, explaining some route selection variability. We suggest that salmon detect lateral gradients in orientation cues across the Columbia River channel that are entrained within tributary plumes and that these gradients in cues can persist downstream for tens to hundreds of kilometres. Detection of tributary plumes in large river systems, using olfactory or other navigation cues, may facilitate efficient route selection and optimize energy conservation by long-distance migrants.

Assessing covariability among populations in the presence of intraseries correlation: Columbia River spring-summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stocks

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 616-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis W Botsford ◽  
Charles M Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Natural Logarithm ◽  
Different Types ◽  
John Day River ◽  
One Year ◽  
John Day

We assessed covariability among a number of spawning populations of spring-summer run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin by computing correlations among several different types of spawner and recruit data. We accounted for intraseries correlation explicitly in judging the significance of correlations. To reduce the errors involved in computing effective degrees of freedom, we computed a generic effective degrees of freedom for each data type. In spite of the fact that several of these stocks have declined, covariability among locations using several different combinations of spawner and recruitment data indicated no basinwide covariability. There was, however, significant covariability among index populations within the three main subbasins: the Snake River, the mid-Columbia River, and the John Day River. This covariability was much stronger and more consistent in data types reflecting survival (e.g., the natural logarithm of recruits per spawner) than in data reflecting abundance (e.g., spawning escapement). We also tested a measure of survival that did not require knowing the age structure of spawners, the ratio of spawners in one year to spawners 4 years earlier. It displayed a similar spatial pattern.

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