Homing and Spawning Site Selection by Supplemented Hatchery- and Natural-Origin Yakima River Spring Chinook Salmon

Salmon straying is often defined as the failure of adults to return to their natal river system. However, straying within a river basin can be problematic if hatchery salmon do not return to their hatchery of origin and subsequently spawn in the wild with natural-origin salmon. We examined within-river straying patterns from 34 years of coded-wire tag data, representing 29 941 hatchery fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Elk River, Oregon, USA. Using classification tree analysis, we found that females and larger salmon were more likely to be recovered on the spawning grounds than males and smaller fish. Females larger than 980 mm had a 51.6% likelihood of recovery on the spawning grounds rather than at the Elk River Hatchery. Our findings raise questions about the behavior of straying adults and implications for management of these stocks, with a focus on methods to reduce within-river straying. We recommend further studies to determine whether carcass recoveries are fully representative of hatchery salmon that stray within the Elk River basin.

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Roles of Olfaction and Vision in Choice of Spawning Site by Homing Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada ◽

10.1139/f68-082 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 867-876 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Alan B. Groves ◽

Gerald B. Collins ◽

Parker S. Trefethen

Keyword(s):

Chinook Salmon ◽

Untreated Control ◽

Sexual Maturity ◽

Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽

Columbia River ◽

Control Fish ◽

Male Fish ◽

Fish Hatchery ◽

Spawning Site

An experiment was conducted to examine the roles of olfaction and vision in directing the choice of spawning site by homing adult chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) on the lower Columbia River. Male fish that voluntarily entered the Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery were treated to occlude their olfactory or visual senses or both. Treated and untreated (control) fish were released upstream and downstream in the river, more than 19 km from the hatchery. Effects were assessed by analyzing returns to the hatchery and to other points.Of 866 fish released, 348 or 40% were recovered; about half of them, or 176 returned to Spring Creek. Three per cent of the olfactory occluded, 23% of the visually occluded, and 46% of the control fish returned to Spring Creek. Of the fish recovered elsewhere, 77% were recovered at hatcheries and spawn-taking sites along the lower Columbia; 23% were recovered from sources unrelated to spawn taking.Olfaction appeared to be the key sense that directed the return of these fish to Spring Creek; vision was held to be less important. Olfactory occlusion also reduced the recoveries at other spawn-taking sites, where blinded fish were recovered in appreciable numbers. Recovery of the control fish, especially the smaller ones, at other spawn-taking sites was associated with advancing sexual maturity.

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Muskellunge Spawning Site Selection in Northern Wisconsin Lakes and a GIS-Based Predictive Habitat Model

North American Journal of Fisheries Management ◽

10.1080/02755947.2014.977471 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 141-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joel K. Nohner ◽

James S. Diana

Keyword(s):

Site Selection ◽

Habitat Model ◽

Spawning Site

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Influence of river morphology and current velocity conditions on spawning site selection of Chondrostoma nasus (L.)

River Systems ◽

10.1127/lr/12/2001/341 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 12 (2-4) ◽

pp. 341-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

H. Keckeis

Keyword(s):

Current Velocity ◽

Site Selection ◽

River Morphology ◽

Spawning Site ◽

Chondrostoma Nasus ◽

Selection Of

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In a warming river, natural-origin Chinook salmon spawn later but hatchery-origin conspecifics do not

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2020-0060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

pp. 68-77

Author(s):

Catherine S. Austin ◽

Timothy E. Essington ◽

Thomas P. Quinn

Keyword(s):

Chinook Salmon ◽

Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽

River System ◽

Local Environment ◽

Washington State ◽

Human Intervention ◽

Timing Of Reproduction ◽

Natural Origin ◽

Skagit River

Median timing of reproduction in salmonid populations is generally consistent among years, reflecting long-term patterns of natural selection from characteristics of the local environment. However, altered selection from factors related to climate change or human intervention might shift timing over generations, with implications for the population’s persistence. To study these processes, we modeled median timing of redd (nest) counts as an index of spawning timing by natural-origin Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Skagit River system in Washington State, USA. Over the last 2–6 decades, natural-origin salmon have been spawning later by 0.03–0.52 days·year–1, while a naturally spawning group that is influenced by strays from a hatchery has been spawning earlier by 0.19 days·year–1. Trends in the spawning timing of hatchery-origin strays may reflect opposing selection from the hatchery, where egg take for propagation has become earlier by 0.58 days·year–1. As mean August river temperatures have risen over the period of record, hatchery timing trends may be moving in the opposite direction from the plastic or adaptive patterns expressed by natural-origin fish.

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