Straying Patterns of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Stock from Southeast Vancouver Island, British Columbia

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1843-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Labelle

Fourteen coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) stocks of wild and hatchery origin were tagged from 1985 to 1988 in nine streams within a 150-km coastal section of Vancouver Island. Tag escapements to natal streams were estimated from fence counts, stream surveys, and mark–recapture operations. On average, adult (age 3+) strays accounted for ~4.7% of escapements, but for > 40% of the adult escapements in some cases. Adult straying rate, averaged across all years and stocks, was < 2%. Straying rates tended to be lower for hatchery fish and highest for stocks subjected to certain enhancement practices. Adult strays escaped to streams 2–159 km from their home stream (average 15.7 km); over 50% escaped to streams < 7 km from their stream of release. Straying rates of jacks (age 2+) in a given year and that of their adult siblings during the following year were not related. Genetic makeup, age-at-return, run timing, and exposure to nonnatal water sources during the rearing stage did influence homing. Changes in natural straying patterns should be suspected where enhancement measures include flow controls, selective breeding, and exposure of fry to various water sources. Straying levels and stray contributions should be considered when estimating survival and exploitation rates

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1463-1469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry D. Beacham

Significant regional and annual variability in fecundity of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chum salmon (O. keta) in British Columbia was detected during this investigation. A Kodiak Island (Alaska) coho salmon stock was more fecund than southern stocks in British Columbia and Washington. Fecundity ranged from 2450 to 2850 eggs per female at 53.6 cm postorbital–hypural length for Vancouver Island stocks to over 4400 eggs per female for a Kodiak Island stock at the same length. Chum stocks on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands generally had fecundities less than 3200 eggs per female at 58.8 cm postorbital–hypural length, whereas chum of equal lengths in mainland British Columbia stocks ranged from 3200 to 3450 eggs per female. Older chum and coho were usually more fecund than younger ones, but this difference could be accounted for by differences in mean length-at-age, fecundity being related to body size.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 751-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad G. Magor

A species of Loma Morrison and Sprague, 1981 (Microsporida) was found in gills of smolt of Oncorhynchus kisutch from a hatchery on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Prevalence of cysts was 28%. Maximum intensity was 84 cysts per fish. Histopathologic response of gills to cysts was minimal and localized where observed. This is the first report of a species of Loma in wild or captive fishes in western Canadian waters. The significance of its presence here is considered in light of a recent Loma epizootic in Alaska.


2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A Parkinson ◽  
Chris J Perrin ◽  
Daniel Ramos-Espinoza ◽  
Eric B Taylor

The Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is one of seven species of Pacific salmon and trout native to northeastern Pacific Ocean watersheds. The species is typically anadromous; adults reproduce in fresh water where juveniles reside for 1–2 years before seaward migration after which the majority of growth occurs in the ocean before maturation at 2–4 years old when adults return to fresh water to spawn. Here, we report maturation of Coho Salmon in two freshwater lakes on the north coast of British Columbia apparently without their being to sea. A total of 15 mature fish (11 males and four females) were collected in two lakes across two years. The mature fish were all at least 29 cm in total length and ranged in age from three to five years old. The occurrence of Coho Salmon that have matured in fresh water without first going to sea is exceedingly rare in their natural range, especially for females. Such mature Coho Salmon may represent residual and distinct breeding populations from those in adjacent streams. Alternatively, they may result from the ephemeral restriction in the opportunity to migrate seaward owing to low water levels in the spring when Coho Salmon typically migrate to sea after 1–2 years in fresh water. Regardless of their origin, the ability to mature in fresh water without seaward migration may represent important adaptive life history plasticity in response to variable environments.


1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kira Salonius ◽  
George K. Iwama

Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chinook salmon (0. tshawytscha) from aquaculture and wild environments were subjected to handling (30–60 s of netting and aerial emersion) and disease challenges. Plasma cortisol concentrations ([cortisol]pl) in both coho and chinook salmon from wild environments were significantly elevated 4 h after handling. Colonized coho salmon (hatchery-reared fish, transported into a natural water body as fry) responded in a similar fashion to wild fish, while those reared entirely in the hatchery showed no significant rise in [cortisol]pl. The responses to handling stress were retained in wild and colonized coho salmon after 7 mo of hatchery rearing. A transient increase in the leukocyte to red blood cell ratio in both wild and hatchery-reared chinook salmon occurred 4 h after handling. Handling signficantly decreased the antibody-producing cell (APC) number in wild fish and elevated their [cortisol]plrelative to hatchery fish. Wild fish had the highest APC number among the three groups before the handling. No difference in resistance to Vibrio anguillarum was apparent in coho and chinook salmon among the different rearing environments, although chinook salmon were generally more susceptible; disease resistance was reduced in wild coho salmon after 7 mo of rearing in a hatchery.


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Quinn ◽  
Graeme M. Tolson

To test the hypothesis that population-specific pheromones guide adult salmonids to their natal streams, juvenile and adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were tested for chemosensory responses in two-choice tanks. Coho salmon from Quinsam and Big Qualicum rivers, British Columbia, Canada, distinguished their own population from the other. Tagging evidence indicates that straying between these two rivers and a third, geographically intermediate river seldom occurs. Thus, population-specific chemicals constitute a potential source of information for homing coho salmon, though their role vis-à-vis imprinted odors from other sources could not be evaluated.


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 2170-2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mark Shrimpton ◽  
Nicholas J. Bernier ◽  
George K. Iwama ◽  
David J. Randall

We compared the saltwater tolerance of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles that were reared in different environments. The groups examined consisted of fish reared exclusively in the hatchery, a hatchery group transplanted into the upper watershed of the river (colonized), and wild fish from natural spawning broodstock in the river. Although hatchery fish were much larger than their wild or colonized counterparts, they consistently showed a reduced saltwater tolerance as assessed by a much greater perturbation in plasma sodium concentration following transfer to salt water. Within each group there was no relationship between size of the fish and saltwater tolerance. Following transfer to sea water, hatchery fish showed a significant decline in haematocrit and a significant increase in circulating plasma cortisol concentration. Neither of these changes was seen in wild smolts. Hatchery fish possessed fewer chloride cells, and lower specific activities of the enzymes Na+K+ATPase and citrate synthase. The weaker osmoregulatory ability of hatchery fish led to a greater mortality following abrupt transfer to 35‰ seawater. We believe that the differences in saltwater tolerance seen among the different groups of fish are due to rearing environment.


1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1765-1772 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Emlen ◽  
R. R. Reisenbichler ◽  
A. M. McGie ◽  
T. E. Nickelson

The success of expanded salmon hatchery programs will depend strongly on the degree of density-induced diminishing returns per smolt released. Several authors have addressed the question of density-dependent mortality at sea in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), but have come to conflicting conclusions. We believe there are compelling reasons to reinvestigate the data, and have done so for public hatchery fish, using a variety of approaches. The results provide evidence that survival of these public hatchery fish is negatively affected, directly by the number of public hatchery smolts and indirectly by the number of private hatchery smolts. These results are weak, statistically, and should be considered primarily as a caution to those who, on the basis of other published work, believe that density-dependence does not exist. The results reported here also re-emphasize the often overlooked point that inferences drawn from data are strongly biased by investigators' views of how the systems of interest work and by the statistical assumptions they make preparatory to the analysis of those data.


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