The Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Regional Comparisons

Abstract.—Size-selective mortality combined with longer winters at high-latitudes is expected to exert strong directional selection on size, growth, and energy use and storage capacity in northern fish populations. Here, we tested the hypotheses that juvenile Pacific salmon <em>Oncorhynchus </em>spp. grow faster, reach larger size, and accumulate higher energy reserves in the marine environment at northern latitudes using juvenile Chinook salmon <em>O. tshawystcha </em>and coho salmon <em>O. kisutch </em>collected on the continental shelf from the California coast to the Bering Sea. Size reached at the end of the growing season, the quantity of energy stored prior to the onset of winter, and summer growth of juvenile Chinook and coho salmon during their first year at sea varied significantly among regions of the continental shelf. Latitudinal trends were detected for the fall size of subyearling and yearling Chinook salmon and storage energy in yearling Chinook salmon. However, they were opposite to expectations, with values decreasing from southern to northern areas. Latitudinal trends were also apparent for summer growth in juvenile yearling Chinook salmon. However, in contrast to fall size and storage energy, higher growth rates were generally observed in northern rather than in southern regions. Similarly, summer growth generally decreased from northern to southern regions in juvenile coho salmon. Storage energy did not exhibit a consistent trend with latitude in juvenile subyearling Chinook salmon and coho salmon. The different response of juvenile Chinook salmon and coho salmon to a latitudinal cline in temperature and the length of the growing season suggest that both species utilize the marine environment differently. We suggest that regional variations in juvenile salmon growth and energy accumulation may result from differences in prey quality (i.e., lipids), diet, and interspecific competition for prey resources.

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl K. English

Juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, were raised in 90-m3 mesh enclosures in Saanich Inlet, B.C. The enclosures permitted ample water and zooplankton circulation while retaining 5–6 g juvenile salmon. Mean growth rate was 1.8% wet body weight/d over 6 wk. Weekly growth rates ranged from 3.9%/d while food was abundant, to −0.5%/d when food was scarce. Zooplankton concentration inside and outside enclosures without fish were not significantly different. Organisms associated with the sides of the enclosures (non-pelagic) were not a major contributor to the growth of the juvenile chinook. There was a strong relationship between the fish growth rates and the abundance of 1.4- to 4.5-mm zooplankton. Rates of successful search varied directly with the size and inherent contrast of a prey item. The minimum rate of successful search was 2.3 m3/h for salmon feeding on 1.4- to 4.5-mm zooplankton. This rate of successful search, while far greater than previously suspected, is still within the visual capabilities of the juvenile salmon. The enclosed salmon grew rapidly on zooplankton concentrations that were 1/1000 of those required to sustain similar growth rates in tank experiments.Key words: predator–prey relationship, planktivorous salmonid, marine, "in situ" enclosures, search efficiency


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 1644-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Shirvell

The microhabitats at positions selected by juvenile coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) following a change in streamflow differed from microhabitats occupied at normal streamflows. At drought streamflow (37% mean seasonal streamflow (MSF)), juvenile coho salmon selected slower, darker, and higher sites above the streambed (P < 0.05) than sites selected at normal (75% MSF) or flood (159% MSF) flows. Juvenile chinook salmon microhabitat use changed similarly with changes in streamflow, but the differences were not significant. Up to one fifth of the fish chose positions with faster water velocities than those available either 30 cm above or 30 cm lateral to them. These fish chose positions inconsistent with the hypothesis of optimal position selection based on maximizing net energy gain. On average, fish moved 6.8 m following a change in streamflow. Juvenile coho salmon generally moved upstream in response to decreasing streamflows and downstream in response to increasing streamflows. Juvenile chinook salmon tended to move offshore and downstream in response to all streamflow changes. These results show that juvenile coho and chinook salmon will move to find suitable microhabitat following a change in streamflow and that the microhabitats are not the same at all streamflows.


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Meador

This study examined the rate of survival for hatchery-reared, ocean-type juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) to the adult life stage in relation to contamination status for estuaries where they temporarily reside. The hypothesis tested here is that juvenile Chinook from Puget Sound (Washington, USA) area hatcheries exhibit differential survival as categorized by the state of contamination in their respective natal estuaries. Data were examined from 20 hatcheries that released fish to 14 local estuaries in the Greater Puget Sound area over 37 years (1972–2008). A parallel analysis was also conducted for coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) outmigrating from many of the same hatcheries. For all years combined, juvenile Chinook transiting contaminated estuaries exhibited an overall rate of survival that was 45% lower than that for Chinook moving through uncontaminated estuaries, which was confirmed when tested year by year. The results for coho originating from the same hatcheries and sharing a similar marine distribution indicated no substantial differences among estuaries. These observations have important implications for wild juvenile Chinook that spend more time in the estuary compared with hatchery-reared fish.


Author(s):  
Ellen M Yasumiishi ◽  
Edward V Farley ◽  
Jacek Maselko ◽  
Kerim Y Aydin ◽  
Kelly A Kearney ◽  
...  

Abstract Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmonidae) returns to western Alaska were historically high and variable but recently reached record lows. Understanding the differential influence of climatic and oceanic conditions on the growth of juvenile Chinook salmon in the north and south eastern Bering Sea is key to understanding mechanisms and factors affecting the production dynamics of Chinook salmon from western Alaska and the Arctic. Summer growth was lower and more variable among years for Chinook salmon in the south than the north eastern Bering Sea. Summer growth decreased with a rise in sea temperatures in the north and south and increased with more sea ice coverage and a later time of ice retreat in the south but not in the north. Capelin (Mallotus villosus), an important prey for juvenile Chinook salmon in the north and during cold years may link increased growth to cooler sea temperatures. Reduced and more variable summer growth of juvenile Chinook salmon from the eastern Bering Sea with warming may have implications on overwintering survival.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1099-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. McBride ◽  
U. H. M. Fagerlund

The effect of 17 α-methyltestosterone feeding on the weight of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and on the weight, length, and condition factor of juvenile chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) was determined. Significant increases in weight and length but not in condition factor were noted at all levels of steroid tested. Coho fed rations containing 10 mg/kg of the steroid for 42 days showed a 29% net weight gain and chinooks fed 1 mg/kg of the hormone for 84 days exhibited a 17% net weight gain over the respective control groups.A marked thickening of the skin was noted in the coho retained on diets containing 10 and 50 mg/kg of the steroid. This alteration was most evident in those fish fed the highest concentrations of hormone for the longest period.In the coho, diets containing 10 or 50 mg/kg of the hormone evoked marked degenerative changes in the testes. Less drastic alterations were noted in the testes of the chinooks retained on the 1 mg/kg test ration for 84 days. No apparent structural changes were noted in the ovary of any of the test fish.


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