The importance of influence diagnostics: examples from Snake River chinook salmon spawner-recruit models

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-559
Author(s):  
Richard A Hinrichsen

The rapid decline of some salmonid populations in the Columbia River Basin led investigators to analyze spawner-recruit (SR) data in order to understand the potential gains of improving main-stem passage conditions and quantify the effectiveness of the juvenile transportation program. Direct measurements of passage survival and transportation were not always available, so instead, the researchers attempted to tease out the passage or transportation effects by using trends in production estimated from SR models. Small subsets of data, or even single observations, highly influenced the estimates of passage survival and transportation effectiveness derived from these models. For stream-type chinook salmon, deleting 1 of 13 stocks changed the estimate of main-stem passage survival from 11 to 34%. For ocean-type chinook salmon, the conclusion that transportation should be immediately halted hinged on a single observation. The Snake River salmon SR models starkly illustrate the importance of using influence diagnostics to temper inferences.


2006 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 1523-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Muir ◽  
Douglas M. Marsh ◽  
Benjamin P. Sandford ◽  
Steven G. Smith ◽  
John G. Williams


1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2621-2629 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Johnson ◽  
J. F. Thedinga ◽  
K. V. Koski

Distribution, abundance, habitat preference, migration and residence timing, seawater tolerance, and size were determined for juvenile ocean-type (age 0) chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Situk River, Alaska. Chinook primarily occupied main-stem habitats (channel edges in spring, pools and willow edges in summer). Peak chinook densities in the upper and lower main stem were 96 and 76 fish/100 m2, respectively. Chinook migrated downstream in two phases: a spring dispersal of emergent fry and a summer migration. Chinook marked in the upper river in late June and early July were recaptured 20 km downstream in the lower river in late July. Marked chinook resided in the lower river up to 34 d. Mean fork length of chinook in the lower river increased from 40 mm in May to 80 mm in early August. By late August, chinook had emigrated from the lower river at a size of approximately 80 mm. Fish this size were seawater tolerant and had the physical appearance of smolts. Ocean-type chinook in the Situk River are unique because in most Alaskan streams, chinook are stream-type (rear in freshwater at least 1 yr).





2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard A. Schaller ◽  
Charles E. Petrosky ◽  
Eric S. Tinus

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.



2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1196-1207 ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Petrosky ◽  
H A Schaller ◽  
P Budy

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.



Author(s):  
Charlotte Rasmussen ◽  
Carl O. Ostberg ◽  
David R. Clifton ◽  
James L. Holloway ◽  
Russell J. Rodriguez


2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 810-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard A. Schaller ◽  
Charles E. Petrosky


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