Evaluation of Alternative Models of the Coastal Migration of Adult Fraser River Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 799-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Pascual ◽  
Thomas P. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fish Movement ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Compass Orientation ◽  
Discrete Step ◽  
Probability Of Success ◽  
Complex Models ◽  
Ultrasonic Tracking

A set of stochastic discrete step models of individual fish movement was developed to investigate the efficiency of compass orientation as a migratory mechanism in the coastal homeward migration of Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Ultrasonic tracking data provided empirical values for the required parameters. Alternative movement models were validated by comparing the results of Monte Carlo simulations and known features of sockeye migration: general aspect of individual trajectories, timing, success in reaching the goal, and spatial occurrence. The effect of different headings and directional precisions on the probability of success in reaching the goal were considered. The more complex models captured the essence of observed movement patterns, but the number of fish getting to the goal was lower than expected. Many "modeled" fish were lost in the complex web of channels and inlets characteristic of this area. We conclude that the preference of a compass direction is not a sufficient mechanism to explain the observed migratory behavior of Fraser River sockeye salmon in coastal areas. Other mechanisms, such as negative kinetic responses to water from nonnatal rivers or short-term learning, may prevent the fish from being trapped in complex areas.

Biochemical Studies on Sockeye Salmon During Spawning Migration: XI. The Free Histidine Content of the Tissues

1960 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Wood ◽  
D. W. Duncan ◽  
M. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Alimentary Tract ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spawning Migration ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Initial Value ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Biochemical Studies

During the first 250 miles (400 km) of spawning migration of Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) the free histidine content of the muscle, alimentary tract, and head+skin+bones+tail decreased to a small fraction of the initial value. A further decrease occurred in the levels of this amino acid in the alimentary tract during the subsequent 415-mile (657-km) migration to the spawning grounds, no change being observed with the other tissues. Comparatively small changes in free histidine were found with heart, spleen, liver, kidney and gonads during migration.

A widespread decrease in productivity of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations in western North America

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 1255-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall M. Peterman ◽  
Brigitte Dorner
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
The Past ◽  
Large Geographic Area ◽  
Marine Areas

We used data on 64 stocks of sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) from British Columbia (B.C.), Washington, and Alaska to determine whether recent decreases in abundance and productivity observed for Fraser River, B.C., sockeye have occurred more widely. We found that decreasing time trends in productivity have occurred across a large geographic area ranging from Washington, B.C., southeast Alaska, and up through the Yakutat peninsula, Alaska, but not in central and western Alaska. Furthermore, a pattern of predominantly shared trends across southern stocks and opposite trends between them and stocks from western Alaska was present in the past (1950–1985), but correlations have intensified since then. The spatial extent of declining productivity of sockeye salmon has important implications for management as well as research into potential causes of the declines. Further research should focus on mechanisms that operate at large, multiregional spatial scales, and (or) in marine areas where numerous correlated sockeye stocks overlap.

Intact genetic structure and high levels of genetic diversity in bottlenecked sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations of the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1985-1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth E Withler ◽  
Khai D Le ◽  
R John Nelson ◽  
Kristina M Miller ◽  
Terry D Beacham
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Allelic Diversity ◽  
Lower Proportion ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Rare Alleles ◽  
Genetic Bottlenecks

Analysis of six microsatellite loci in 5800 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from 29 Fraser River populations provided little evidence of genetic bottlenecks or mass straying in upper Fraser sockeye salmon resulting from reduced abundances following 1913-1914 rockslides in the Fraser canyon and successive decades of high exploitation. Upper Fraser populations were not characterized by a paucity of rare alleles, a sensitive indicator of populations in which effective size has been recently reduced. Heterozygosity and allelic diversity did not differ consistently between lower and upper Fraser populations. Throughout the watershed, early-migrating populations had lower allelic diversity and a lower proportion of rare alleles than did late-migrating ones. Genetic differentiation between upper and lower Fraser populations and heterogeneity among lower Fraser populations supported the suggestion that Fraser sockeye salmon are descendants of at least two postglacial "races." Variation among lakes within regions was the strongest component of genetic structure, accounting for five times the variation among populations within lakes and more than two times the variation among regions. Extensive historical transplants of eggs and juveniles apparently resulted in lit tle gene flow among regions, but three populations were reestablished or rebuilt as the result of more recent transplants.

Metabolic rates and swimming performance of adult Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) after a controlled infection with Parvicapsula minibicornis

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 2124-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
G N Wagner ◽  
S G Hinch ◽  
L J Kuchel ◽  
A Lotto ◽  
S RM Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Kidney Tissue ◽  
Severe Infection ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Holding Period

Adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) acquire infections with the myxosporean kidney parasite Parvicapsula minibicornis during their spawning migration in the Fraser River, British Columbia. Controlled infections with this parasite in wild sockeye salmon had no significant impact on plasma ionic status, metabolic rates, and initial maximum prolonged swimming performance (Ucrit) for fish ranked as either strongly, weakly, or noninfected by polymerase chain reaction analysis of kidney tissue. However, strongly infected fish had significantly lower second Ucrit and recovery ratio (8%) values, indicating decreased ability to recover from exercise. As the present study shows that the severity of infection is affected by time and temperature, the accumulated thermal units (ATU) of exposure in this study were compared with those experienced by naturally migrating sockeye salmon. A parallel telemetry study revealed that early-timed sockeye experienced significantly more ATU (741.4 ± 29.4 °C) than normally migrating salmon (436.0 ± 20.0 °C) prior to spawning because of a significantly longer holding period in the lake system. The present data are discussed in the context of a threshold of >450 °C ATU for severe infection that would first manifest in early-timed fish in the upper reaches of the Fraser River and certainly on the spawning grounds.

High river temperature reduces survival of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) approaching spawning grounds and exacerbates female mortality

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo G. Martins ◽  
Scott G. Hinch ◽  
David A. Patterson ◽  
Merran J. Hague ◽  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Female Mortality ◽  
River Section ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
Related Mortality

Recent studies have shown that warm temperatures reduce survival of adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ), but knowledge gaps exist on where high-temperature-related mortality occurs along the migration and whether females and males are differentially impacted by river temperature. In this study, we monitored 437 radio-tagged Fraser River sockeye salmon and used capture–mark–recapture modelling approaches to investigate whether river thermal conditions differentially influence (i) spatial patterns of survival along a 413-km stretch of migration and (ii) survival of the sexes. Regardless of water temperature, survival decreased in the river section containing the most hydraulically difficult passages of the migration. However, when water temperature was warm (19 °C), survival decreased even further in the final 186 km of the migration prior to reaching the spawning grounds, particularly in females. Female and male survival differed but only when they experienced warm river temperatures. Under such conditions, the overall freshwater migration survival of males was 1.6 times higher (0.79 ± 0.09 standard error, SE) than that of females (0.50 ± 0.11 SE). As maturing female sockeye salmon maintain higher levels of plasma cortisol compared with males, we suspect that females could be immuno-compromised and thus less resistant to pathogens whose rates of development are accelerated by warm temperatures.

Limited behavioural thermoregulation by adult upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 480-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Donaldson ◽  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
D. A. Patterson ◽  
S. G. Hinch ◽  
D. Robichaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
And Migration

The objective of this study was to combine radio telemetry with individual thermal loggers to assess the extent to which adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) behaviourally thermoregulate during their migration through the Fraser River mainstem, British Columbia. The Fraser mainstem represents a region of the migration route that contains some of the highest mean temperatures encountered by sockeye salmon during their life history. We found that throughout the study area, individual sockeye salmon body temperatures occasionally deviated from ambient temperatures (ΔT), yet individuals maintained a ΔT of –1 °C or cooler for only 5% of their migration through the study region. There were moderate mean deviations of ΔT in two segments that are known to contain thermally stratified waters. In one of the study segments with the greatest ΔT, mean body temperatures decreased as river temperatures increased and ΔT became increasingly positive with higher river discharge rates, but these relationships were not observed in any of the other study segments. No relationship existed between ΔT and migration rate. While periodic associations with cool water were evident, mean body temperatures were not significantly different than mean river temperatures throughout the lower Fraser mainstem. This finding raises further conservation concerns for vulnerable Fraser River sockeye stocks that are predicted to encounter increasing peak summer river temperatures in the coming decades.

Effects of river temperature and climate warming on stock-specific survival of adult migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDUARDO G. MARTINS ◽  
SCOTT G. HINCH ◽  
DAVID A. PATTERSON ◽  
MERRAN J. HAGUE ◽  
STEVEN J. COOKE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Warming ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
River Temperature

Use of Cycle Dummy Variables and Race Escapement in the Fraser River Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Recruitment Function

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-269
Author(s):  
Peter N. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Freshwater Lake ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Dummy Variables

The recruitment function for the Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) stock was estimated by allowing cycle differences between year-classes to be represented by dummy variables, by allowing the effects of weight on cycle year differences to be included through the use of biomass forms of the variables, and by disaggregating year-class escapement by race according to freshwater lake residence to represent differences between races. Comparisons were made with the conventional model.Key words: year-class cycle dummies, biomass variables, race escapements, sockeye salmon

Epizootiology of Parvicapsula minibicornis in Fraser River sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum)

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
S St-Hilaire ◽  
M Boichuk ◽  
D Barnes ◽  
M Higgins ◽  
R Devlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fraser River
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