scholarly journals Can the creation of new freshwater habitat demographically offset losses of Pacific salmon from chronic anthropogenic mortality?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0237052
Author(s):  
Pascale Gibeau ◽  
Michael J. Bradford ◽  
Wendy J. Palen

Over 1 billion USD are devoted annually to rehabilitating freshwater habitats to improve survival for the recovery of endangered salmon populations. Mitigation often requires the creation of new habitat (e.g. habitat offsetting) to compensate population losses from human activities, however offsetting schemes are rarely evaluated. Anadromous Pacific salmon are ecologically, culturally, and economically important in the US and Canada, and face numerous threats from degradation of freshwater habitats. Here we used a matrix population model of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) to determine the amount of habitat offsetting needed to compensate mortality (2–20% per year) caused by a range of development activities. We simulated chronic mortality to three different life stages (egg, parr, smolt/adult), individually and simultaneously, to mimic impacts from development, and evaluated if the number of smolts produced from constructed side-channels demographically offset losses. We show that under ideal conditions, the typical size of a constructed side-channel in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) (3405 m2) is sufficient to compensate for only relatively low levels of chronic mortality to either the parr or smolt/adult stages (2–7% per year), but populations do not recover if mortality is >10% per year. When we assumed lower productivity (e.g.; 25th percentile), we found that constructed channels would need to be 2.5–4.5 fold larger as compared to the typical size built in the PNW, respectively, to maintain population sizes. Moreover, when we imposed mortality to parr and smolt/adult stages simultaneously, we found that constructed side-channels would need to be between 1.8- and 2.3- fold larger that if the extra chronic mortality was imposed to one life stage only. We conclude that habitat offsetting has the potential to mitigate chronic mortality to early life stages, but that realistic assumptions about productivity of constructed side-channels and cumulative effects of anthropogenic disturbances on multiple life stages need to be considered.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Gibeau ◽  
Michael J. Bradford ◽  
Wendy J. Palen

AbstractOver 1 billion USD are devoted annually to rehabilitating freshwater habitats to improve survival for the recovery of endangered salmon populations. Mitigation often requires the creation of new habitat (e.g. habitat compensation) to offset population losses from human activities, however compensation schemes are rarely evaluated. Anadromous Pacific salmon are ecologically, culturally, and economically important in the US and Canada, and face numerous threats from climate change, over-harvesting, and degradation of freshwater habitats. Here we used a matrix population model of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) to determine the amount of habitat compensation needed to offset mortality (2-20% per year) caused by a range of development activities. We simulated chronic mortality to three different life stages (egg, parr, smolt/adult), individually and in combination, to mimic impacts from development, and evaluated if the number of smolts produced from constructed side-channels demographically offset losses. We show that under ideal conditions, the typical size of a constructed side-channel in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) (3405 m2) is sufficient to compensate for only relatively low levels of chronic mortality to either the parr or smolt/adult stages (2-7% per year), but populations do not recover if mortality is >10% per year. When we assumed lower productivity (e.g.; 25th percentile), or imposed mortality at multiple life stages, we found that constructed channels would need to be larger (0.2-4.5 times) than if we assumed mean productivity or as compared to the typical size built in the PNW, respectively, to maintain population sizes.. We conclude that habitat compensation has the potential to mitigate chronic mortality to early life stages, but that current practices are likely not sufficient when we incorporate more realistic assumptions about productivity of constructed side-channels and cumulative effects of anthropogenic disturbances on multiple life stages.


<em>Abstract.</em>—The Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) model is being used to build working hypotheses to direct habitat restoration and protection activities in most Pacific Northwest salmon watersheds. The EDT model is used to provide a basis for moving forward with restoration and protection activities, evaluating progress, and refining restoration strategies. The model consists of four components: 1) characterization of the aquatic environment, 2) species-habitat rating rules, 3) life history trajectories, and 4) population performance computations. The environmental characterization is a reach-scale, monthly time step, species-neutral depiction of the stream that focuses on environmental features relevant to salmonids. The species-habitat rating rules are explicit assumptions about the relationship between the stream reach characterization and species-life stage survival. Life history trajectories are multiple computer-generated pathways through the environment. Finally, life history and population performance, defined by Beverton–Holt productivity and capacity parameters, is calculated for each life history trajectory and these trajectories are combined across spatial and biological scales to compute population performance. The model is a freely accessible, web-based tool (http://edt.jonesandstokes.com).


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2811-2821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A Morley ◽  
Patricia S Garcia ◽  
Todd R Bennett ◽  
Philip Roni

Off-channel habitats, critical components in the life histories of Pacific salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), have become increasingly rare in human-modified floodplains. The construction of groundwater-fed side channels is one approach that has been used in the Pacific Northwest to recreate off-channel habitats. We evaluated the effectiveness of this technique by comparing 11 constructed side channels with paired reference sites (naturally occurring channels fed by mixed groundwater and surface water) in western Washington. While total salmonid densities were not significantly different between channel types, coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) densities were higher in constructed channels and trout densities were higher in reference channels during the winter. Constructed channels were deeper than reference channels and warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer but had lower physical habitat diversity, wood density, and canopy coverage. We did not detect significant differences in water chemistry or invertebrate parameters between channel types. Summer coho density was inversely correlated with minimum daily temperature and with total nitrogen and total phosphorous concentrations. Relative to other stream habitats, both constructed and reference channels supported high densities of juvenile coho salmon during the summer and winter.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256792
Author(s):  
Jeffrey C. Jorgensen ◽  
Colin Nicol ◽  
Caleb Fogel ◽  
Timothy J. Beechie

An investigation into the causes of species decline should include examination of habitats important for multiple life stages. Integrating habitat impacts across life stages with life-cycle models (LCMs) can reveal habitat impairments inhibiting recovery and help guide restoration efforts. As part of the final elements of the Habitat Restoration Planning model (HARP; Beechie et al. this volume), we developed LCMs for four populations of three species of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus kisutch, O. tshawytscha, and O. mykiss), and ran diagnostic scenarios to examine effects of barrier removal, fine sediment reduction, wood augmentation, riparian shade, restoration of the main channel and bank conditions, beaver pond restoration, and floodplain reconnection. In the wood scenario, spawner abundance for all populations increased moderately (29–48%). In the shade scenario, spring-run Chinook salmon abundance increased the most (48%) and fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead were much less responsive. Coho responded strongly to the beaver pond and floodplain scenarios (76% and 54%, respectively). The fine sediment scenario most benefitted fall- and spring-run Chinook salmon (32–63%), whereas steelhead and coho were less responsive (11–21% increase). More observations are needed to understand high fine sediment and its impacts. Our LCMs were region-specific, identifying places where habitat actions had the highest potential effects. For example, the increase in spring-run Chinook salmon in the wood scenario was driven by the Cascade Mountains Ecological Region. And, although the overall response of coho salmon was small in the barrier removal scenario (6% increase at the scale of the entire basin), barrier removals had important sub-regional impacts. The HARP analysis revealed basin-wide and regional population-specific potential benefits by action types, and this habitat-based approach could be used to develop restoration strategies and guide population rebuilding. An important next step will be to ground-truth our findings with robust empirically-based estimates of life stage-specific survivals and abundances.


Author(s):  
Charlotte Scott

Beginning with an exploration of the role of the child in the cultural imagination, Chapter 1 establishes the formative and revealing ways in which societies identify themselves in relation to how they treat their children. Focusing on Shakespeare and the early modern period, Chapter 1 sets out to determine the emotional, symbolic, and political registers through which children are depicted and discussed. Attending to the different life stages and representations of the child on stage, this chapter sets out the terms of the book’s enquiry: what role do children play in Shakespeare’s plays; how do we recognize them as such—age, status, parental dynamic—and what are the effects of their presence? This chapter focuses on how the early moderns understood the child, as a symbolic figure, a life stage, a form of obligation, a profound bond, and an image of servitude.


Fishes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Kyle D. Martens ◽  
Jason Dunham

When multiple species of fish coexist there are a host of potential ways through which they may interact, yet there is often a strong focus on studies of single species without considering these interactions. For example, many studies of forestry–stream interactions in the Pacific Northwest have focused solely on the most prevalent species: Coastal cutthroat trout. To examine the potential for interactions of other fishes with coastal cutthroat trout, we conducted an analysis of 281 sites in low order streams located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and along the central Oregon coast. Coastal cutthroat trout and juvenile coho salmon were the most commonly found salmonid species within these streams and exhibited positive associations with each other for both presence and density. Steelhead were negatively associated with the presence of coastal cutthroat trout as well as with coho salmon and sculpins (Cottidae). Coastal cutthroat trout most frequently shared streams with juvenile coho salmon. For densities of these co-occurring species, associations between these two species were relatively weak compared to the strong influences of physical stream conditions (size and gradient), suggesting that physical conditions may have more of an influence on density than species interactions. Collectively, our analysis, along with a review of findings from prior field and laboratory studies, suggests that the net effect of interactions between coastal cutthroat trout and coho salmon do not appear to inhibit their presence or densities in small streams along the Pacific Northwest.


1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 919-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Tsuyuki ◽  
E. Roberts ◽  
R. E. A. Gadd

The muscle myogens and other components of the spring salmon (O. tshawytscha), chum salmon (O. keta), coho salmon (O. kisutch), and sockeye salmon (O. nerka), as well as the lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), were separated by the use of diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose columns. Significant amounts of slowly dialyzable inosine and inosinic acid which may lead to spurious peaks in moving-boundary electrophoretic separations have been shown to be present in the muscle myogen preparations. The basic differences in the muscle myogen components of the Pacific salmon and the lingcod are compared.


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.


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