Effect of egg size on incubation time and alevin and fry size in chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Beacham ◽  
F. C. Withler ◽  
R. B. Morley

Variability in hatching time, time of exogenous yolk absorption ("button up") of alevins, alevin size, and fry size was investigated with respect to initial egg size for chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). There was no significant difference with respect to egg size in hatching time of the alevins (stage between hatching and emergence from the redd) or time of exogenous yolk absorption for either species. For both species, alevins hatching from large eggs were longer and had greater amounts of yolk than those hatching from small eggs. Tissue weights of the alevins were not different. The differences in size between these two groups of alevins were maintained throughout the alevin stage and were greater at exogenous yolk absorption than at hatching. Fry (newly emerged, free-swimming young) derived from large eggs had greater tissue weight at exogenous yolk absorption than those derived from small eggs.

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon R. Bell ◽  
Gary E. Hoskins ◽  
John W. Bagshaw

The radiate membrane ("capsule") of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) eggs has integrated with it another, outermost, non-chitinous membrane which prevents the digestion of the radiate membrane by "hatching enzyme" of chum salmon or by pronase applied externally but not internally. Crude chum salmon hatching enzyme(s) has an optimum pH of 7.5–8.0 for the release of soluble peptides from the radiate membrane, requires metal ions for activity, and can also decompose the radiate membranes of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead (Salmo gairdneri) eggs.


1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry D. Beacham ◽  
Clyde B. Murray

Eggs and alevins from 32 families of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) from seven Fraser River stocks spawning at different times or in different tributaries were incubated in controlled water temperatures of 4, 8, and 12 °C. There were significant differences in egg and alevin survival among stocks and among families within stocks in the different incubation temperatures. Highest egg survival for a late-spawning Vedder River stock occurred at 4 °C, while egg survival from other stocks was highest at 8 °C. Late-spawning stocks had smaller eggs and earlier times of fry emergence than did early-spawning ones. There was no effect of spawning time on alevin hatching time. Alevins hatching at 8 °C were larger than those hatching at 4 or 12 °C, but there were no stock differences in alevin length or tissue weight. Stocks with greater egg sizes produced alevins of greater total weight. Fry emerging at 8 °C were larger than those emerging at 4 or 12 °C, and fry from early-spawning stocks were longer and had greater tissue weight than those from late-spawning ones. There were significant differences among families within stocks in size of alevins and fry, and family differences should be accounted for in studies of salmonid developmental biology.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1431-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Bilinski ◽  
R. E. E. Jonas ◽  
Y. C. Lau ◽  
G. Gibbard

Freshly caught chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, were stored in ice or refrigerated seawater for 0.3 and 10 days and were then gutted and frozen at two different rates (1 or 14.5 h through the temperature range of 0 to −5 °C). The amount of thaw drip (TD) was determined in steaks following 1.5, 4, 8, and 12 mo of storage at −28 °C. A significant increase in TD occurred with the slow freezing rate or with a delay before freezing. These effects were not suppressed by a prolonged frozen storage, which also produced an increase in TD. There was no marked difference between fish held in ice and refrigerated seawater before freezing. Similar results were obtained with coho salmon, O. kisutch, frozen without prior chill stowage. Key words: Pacific salmon, thaw drip, chill stowage, freezing rates Oncorhynchus keta, O. kisutch


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt L. Fresh ◽  
Steven L. Schroder

Predator–prey interactions between juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and piscivores were studied in a small coastal stream and in sections of a controlled-flow channel. The predators were primarily large [Formula: see text] rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and large [Formula: see text] coho salmon (O. kisutch). The relationship between chum salmon fry abundance and the quantity consumed by predators suggested a type II functional response. Neither prey size nor prey abundance influenced predation, but predators did select fry with relatively high yolk reserves. Our results suggest that the numbers of juvenile chum salmon needed to satiate predators and to enhance fry survival are attainable by enhancement projects located on smaller rivers and streams.


1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1640-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Margolis ◽  
T. P. T. Evelyn

Infections with the myxosporidan Ceratomyxa shasta Noble, 1950 were confirmed in four juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) caught at sea near Nanaimo in 1965 and 1968. These cases represent a new host record for C. shasta and a northward extension of the parasite’s known natural range. Ceratomyxosis was also presumptively diagnosed in a coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in British Columbia.


1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1396-1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Blair Holtby ◽  
Thomas E. McMahon ◽  
J. Charles Scrivener

Variability in average stream temperatures between peak spawning and fry emergence accounted for 82 and 77% of the variance in the median emigration date of fry of chum (Oncorhynchus keta) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) respectively over a 9 to 10-yr period. The modeled relationships were indistinguishable from laboratory models that predicted time to maximum alevin wet weight. Variability in stream temperatures during the spring accounted for 60% of the variability in the median date of coho smolt emigration. As stream temperatures increased, the predicted thermal summations required for emigration were nearly constant for coho salmon fry, increased moderately for chum salmon fry and increased strongly for coho salmon smolts The duration of the emigration period also differed between the groups: 50% of the chum salmon fry emigrated over a 1-wk period compared with a 2- to 3-wk period for coho salmon fry and smolts. We speculate that the emigration timing —temperature relationships and timing of adult spawning represent adaptations for synchronizing emigration with "windows of opportunity" in the ocean or stream. The windows are of different widths and levels of predictability for coho and chum salmon fry and coho salmon smolts.


1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross F. Tallman ◽  
Michael C. Healey

We compared the reproductive environments and phenotypes of early and late season breeding stocks of chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, to test the hypothesis that seasonal separation has resulted in phenotypically distinct forms. These were autumn- and winter-spawning populations from Bush Creek (Vancouver Island, B.C.) and a winter-spawning stock from nearby Walker Creek. All stocks had a similar time of downstream migration of the fry. No differences were found among the Walker Creek and the autumn-spawning stock of Bush Creek in age at maturity, length composition of spawners, egg size, vertebral counts of adults and fry, and time of fry migration. The winter-spawning stock of Bush Creek differed from the other stocks in egg size and vertebral counts. Discriminant analysis of 10 morphological features of the fry revealed considerable overlap in body form among the stocks. These results do not support the hypothesis that distinct life history morphs are associated with the season of reproduction. We propose that the large amount of similarity in terms of morphology and seasonality among the populations may be the product of selection. Genetic divergence may have occurred to compensate for the environmental differences experienced during embryonic development.


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