Swim speeds and energy use of upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): simulating metabolic power and assessing risk of energy depletion

We simulated metabolic power consumed by Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) during upriver migration based on direct measures of activity from physiological field telemetry. The most accurate prediction of energy expenditure was obtained by expressing activity as a fine time scale (5 s) stochastic process. By imposing a daily time step, predictions of energy use were considerably lower than observed energy use, suggesting that the practice of modeling field energetics at a daily time scale, particularly for relatively active fish, may render dubious results. Daily mean power consumption through the Fraser River Canyon by the average migrant was about 20 W, about fourfold higher than for less constricted reaches. Power consumption predicted at fine time scales ranged from <1 W (0.1 body length·s-1) during periods of reduced activity to 1700 W (8 body lengths·s-1) during bursts while navigating through turbulent canyon reaches. Through Monte Carlo simulations representing environmental variability observed during 1950-1994, we determined that 8% of the salmon runs during this time resulted in high risk of exhaustion for the average migrant that could lead to elevated in-river mortality. Reducing harvest levels on sockeye salmon that may be exposed to these unfavourable conditions may assist agencies in achieving a risk-averse management strategy.

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Energetic costs of migration through the Fraser River Canyon, British Columbia, in adult pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) salmon as assessed by EMG telemetry

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f02-151 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 59 (11) ◽

pp. 1809-1818 ◽

Cited By ~ 80

Author(s):

Emily M Standen ◽

Scott G Hinch ◽

Michael C Healey ◽

Anthony P Farrell

Keyword(s):

Sockeye Salmon ◽

Energy Use ◽

Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽

Pink Salmon ◽

Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽

Upstream Migration ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Fraser River ◽

Migration Activity ◽

Lower Velocity

Adult Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) depend on energy reserves to complete their upriver spawning migration. Little is known about how flow patterns and bank characteristics affect energetics or how species differ in reach-specific energy use. In 1999, electromyogram (EMG) radiotelemetry was used to describe activity levels and estimate energy use of 12 adult pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) during their upstream migration in a 7-km section of the Fraser River Canyon. Data collected previously on sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the same study area provided a species comparison. We could not identify any strong differences in energetics between species. Although sex had some influence, reach characteristics were the primary factors affecting migration activity and energetics. Fish increased their activity levels when they migrated through reaches constricted by islands or gravel bars compared with nonconstricted reaches. The former contained higher velocity currents and more complex hydraulic conditions than the latter. Two behavioural responses, with similar energetic consequences, occurred in constricted reaches. Either fish swam slowly and took more time, presumably searching for lower velocity areas for migration thus increasing passage time, or they swam quickly through higher velocity flow fields.

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A Preseason Simulation Model for Fisheries on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f94-153 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 51 (7) ◽

pp. 1535-1549 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

James D. Cave ◽

William J. Gazey

Keyword(s):

Simulation Model ◽

Sockeye Salmon ◽

Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽

Fraser River ◽

Time Step ◽

Management Plans ◽

Daily Time Step ◽

Diversion Rate ◽

Goals And Objectives ◽

Modelling Process

Using a preseason fishery simulation model that refines previous reconstruction models, we explored the effects of various fishing regimes on annual catch and escapement of the major stocks of Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). To obtain harvest rate parameters for the model, we analyzed historical fishery catches to develop a theory of fish movement through time and space. Harvest parameters were then calculated using run reconstruction techniques. The model uses a daily time step to move fish sequentially through the major fishing areas. Fishing scenarios may be examined in the preseason to aid in developing annual management plans. Inputs of run size, timing, and diversion rate via Johnstone Strait are used to calculate run-timing curves which are normally distributed. The proportion of sockeye migrating via the northern approach or Johnstone Strait diversion, is shown to be a major factor in the sensitivity of fishing plans to altered input parameters. Clearly stated goals and objectives for spawning escapement and allocation of catch by stock groups are essential in the modelling process. The model permits managers to examine underlying assumptions and biological, economic, and social requirements centred on the harvest of these stocks.

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Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) migratory energetics: response to migratory difficulty and comparisons with sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z03-193 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81 (12) ◽

pp. 1986-1995 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

G T Crossin ◽

S G Hinch ◽

A P Farrell ◽

M P Whelly ◽

M C Healey

Keyword(s):

Egg Production ◽

Sockeye Salmon ◽

Energy Use ◽

Energy Content ◽

Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽

Pink Salmon ◽

Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽

Energetic Efficiency ◽

Fraser River ◽

Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) are generally considered weak upriver migrants relative to sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), though this assertion is largely anecdotal. To assess energy-use patterns during migration, we collected pink salmon from two major Fraser River stocks (Weaver and Seton in British Columbia, Canada) in 1999 at three times and locations: (1) at the start of freshwater migration, (2) at the end of migration before spawning, and (3) immediately after spawning. We calculated the energy content of somatic and reproductive tissues, recorded several body measurements, and conducted both intraspecific (between pink stocks) and interspecific analyses with co-migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon collected during the same season. We found that between pink salmon stocks, there were no significant energetic or morphological differences either at river entry or upon arrival at spawning areas regardless of the level of migratory difficulty encountered. When compared with sockeye salmon, however, we found that pink salmon began upriver migration with significantly smaller somatic energy reserves but made up for this deficiency by minimizing absolute transport and activity costs, presumably by seeking out migratory paths of least resistance. This energetic efficiency comes at a cost to reproductive output: relative to sockeye salmon, pink salmon diverted less absolute energy to egg production, producing smaller ovaries and fewer eggs. We speculate that fundamental differences in behaviour shape the migratory energetic tactics employed by pink salmon.

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

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada ◽

10.1139/f60-026 ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 347-351 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

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.

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

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2012-063 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (8) ◽

pp. 1255-1260 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

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.

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

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f00-149 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 57 (10) ◽

pp. 1985-1998 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

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.

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

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f05-126 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 62 (9) ◽

pp. 2124-2133 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

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.

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

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2011-154 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 330-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

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.

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

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z09-032 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 87 (6) ◽

pp. 480-490 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

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.

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