Energy dynamics of subyearling Chinook salmon reveal the importance of piscivory to short‐term growth during early marine residence

Variation in prey quantity and quality can influence growth and survival of marine predators, including anadromous fish that migrate from freshwater systems. The objective of this study was to examine the energy dynamics of subyearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) following freshwater emigration. To address this objective, a population of Chinook salmon and their marine prey were repeatedly sampled from June to September over 2 years in coastal waters off Oregon and Washington. Subyearlings from the same population were also reared under laboratory conditions. Using a bioenergetics model evaluated in the laboratory, we found that growth rate variability in the field was associated more with differences in northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) consumption and less with variation in diet energy density or ocean temperature. Highest growth rates (2.43–3.22% body weight/day) occurred in months when anchovy biomass peaked, and the timing of peak anchovy biomass varied by year. Our results support a general pattern among subyearling Chinook salmon occurring from Alaska to California that feeding rates contribute most to growth rate variability during early marine residence, although dominant prey types can differ seasonally, annually, or by ecosystem. In the northern California Current, faster growth appears to be associated with the availability of age‐0 anchovy. Identifying factors that influence the seasonal development of the prey field and regulate prey quantity and quality will improve understanding of salmon growth and survival during early marine residence.     

Interannual variability in the feeding and condition of subyearling Chinook salmon off Oregon and Washington in relation to fluctuating ocean conditions

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is one of several economically‐important species of salmon found in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The first months at sea are believed to be the most critical for salmon survival, with the highest rate of mortality occurring during this period. In the present study, we examined interannual diet composition and body condition trends for late‐summer subyearling Chinook salmon caught off Oregon and Washington from 1998 to 2012. Interannual variability was observed in juvenile salmon diet composition by weight of prey consumed. Juvenile subyearling Chinook salmon were mainly piscivorous, with northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) being especially important, making up half the diet by weight in some years. Annual diets clustered into two groups, primarily defined by their proportion of invertebrate prey (14% versus 39% on average). Diet composition was found to influence adult returns, with salmon from high‐invertebrate years returning in significantly larger numbers 2–3 yrs later. However, years that had high adult returns had overall lower stomach fullness and poorer body condition as juveniles, a counterintuitive result potentially driven by the enhanced survival of less fit individuals in better ocean conditions (top‐down effect). Ocean conditions in years with a higher percentage of invertebrates in salmon diets were significantly cooler from May to August, and bottom‐up processes may have led to a fall plankton community with a larger proportion of invertebrates. Our results suggest that the plankton community assemblage during this first fall may be critical in predicting adult returns of Chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest.     

Behavioral interactions between coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus shawytscha) and prey fish species

Abstract— The predator-prey behavioral interactions between two salmon species, coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ) and chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), and their prey species were examined under laboratory conditions. These behaviors were studied to determine the bases for prey selection by salmon in Lake Michigan and ultimately facilitate predictions on shifts or changes in salmon diets. Chinook and coho salmon captured all prey items in the open water portion of the aquarium, and they had similar attack behaviors. Average attack swimming speeds varied from 2.6 to 3.6 m/s, and average escape swimming speeds varied from 2.6 to 2.9 m/s. There were no significant differences in attack swimming speeds and escape swimming speeds. There was a significant difference in median reactive distances between the prey captured and those that escaped. There was no reactive distance (0.00 m) for 96% and 98% of the successfully captured prey by chinook and coho salmon, respectively. Only 4% and 10% of the unsuccessful attacks by chinook and coho salmon, respectively, had no reactive distance (0.00 m). Salmon would repeatedly attack a school and capture individuals separated from the school. Alewives, bloaters and fathead minnows were easy prey because they remained in the open water portion of the aquarium and stayed in schools until only a few individuals remained. The schooling behavior of spottail shiners and emerald shiners was an effective anti-predation tactic against salmon attacks. After some experience with yellow perch, salmon were reluctant to attack them and would often break off attacks on them. When coho salmon were presented with different proportions of bloaters and yellow perch, they significantly attacked and captured bloaters in preference to yellow perch.     

Introduced northern pike predation on salmonids in southcentral Alaska

Northern pike (Esox lucius) are opportunistic predators that can switch to alternative prey species after preferred prey have declined. This trophic adaptability allows invasive pike to have negative effects on aquatic food webs. In Southcentral Alaska, invasive pike are a substantial concern because they have spread to important spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids and are hypothesised to be responsible for recent salmonid declines. We described the relative importance of salmonids and other prey species to pike diets in the Deshka River and Alexander Creek in Southcentral Alaska. Salmonids were once abundant in both rivers, but they are now rare in Alexander Creek. In the Deshka River, we found that juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) dominated pike diets and that small pike consumed more of these salmonids than large pike. In Alexander Creek, pike diets reflected the distribution of spawning salmonids, which decrease with distance upstream. Although salmonids dominated pike diets in the lowest reach of the stream, Arctic lamprey (Lampetra camtschatica) and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) dominated pike diets in the middle and upper reaches. In both rivers, pike density did not influence diet and pike consumed smaller prey items than predicted by their gape‐width. Our data suggest that (1) juvenile salmonids are a dominant prey item for pike, (2) small pike are the primary consumers of juvenile salmonids and (3) pike consume other native fish species when juvenile salmonids are less abundant. Implications of this trophic adaptability are that invasive pike can continue to increase while driving multiple species to low abundance.     

Interannual and interdecadal variability in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) diets in relation to environmental changes in the northern California Current

The feeding habits of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, in the northern California Current were examined using samples from two different time periods (1980–85 and 1998–2003) of highly contrasting oceanographic conditions. The goal was to test the influence of interannual and interdecadal changes in taxonomic composition of prey, feeding intensity, and size spectra of teleost prey. Analyses were done for samples taken both early in the summer (June) shortly after the salmon enter the ocean, and also in late summer (September) following some ocean residency. Fish prey dominated coho salmon diets by weight during most years, but this trend was more pronounced during the 1980–85 sampling period. In terms of numerical composition, the diets were more variable on an interannual basis, but decapod larvae and euphausiids were important prey in most years. Pteropods and copepods were important prey during weak upwelling or El Niño years, whereas euphausiids were important during strong upwelling or otherwise highly productive years. Hyperiid amphipods comprised a substantial proportion of the diets only in 2000. Coho salmon showed highly significant differences in prey composition among years or between decades both in weight and numerical composition. The percentage of empty stomachs was highly variable by year in both June and September, but was significantly different only for September between decades. In contrast, an index of feeding intensity did not show many significant changes in either comparison. However, the relative size ratios for fish prey consumed were highly variable by year, and larger than average fish prey were consumed during 1998, leading to the highest feeding intensity observed.     

Spatial distribution of ocean habitat of yearling Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon off Washington and Oregon,USA

We determined the habitat usage and habitat connectivity of juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon in continental shelf waters off Washington and Oregon, based on samples collected every June for 9 yr (1998–2006). Habitat usage and connectivity were evaluated using SeaWiFS satellite‐derived chlorophyll a data and water depth. Logistic regression models were developed for both species, and habitats were first classified using a threshold value estimated from a receiver operating characteristic curve. A Bernoulli random process using catch probabilities from observed data, i.e. the frequency of occurrence of a fish divided by the number of times a station was surveyed, was applied to reclassify stations. Zero‐catch probabilities of yearling Chinook and yearling coho salmon decreased with increases in chlorophyll a concentration, and with decreases in water depth. From 1998 to 2006, ～ 47% of stations surveyed were classified as unfavorable habitat for yearling Chinook salmon and ～ 53% for yearling coho salmon. Potentially favorable habitat varied among years and ranged from 9 856 to 15 120 km² (Chinook) and from 14 800 to 16 736 km² (coho). For both species, the smallest habitat area occurred in 1998, an El Niño year. Favorable habitats for yearling Chinook salmon were more isolated in 1998 and 2005 than in other years. Both species had larger and more continuous favorable habitat areas along the Washington coast than along the Oregon coast. The favorable habitats were also larger and more continuous nearshore than offshore for both species. Further investigations on large‐scale transport, mesoscale physical features, and prey and predator availability in the study area are necessary to explain the spatial arrangement of juvenile salmon habitats in continental shelf waters.     

Differences in stability effects on the marine survival of hatchery pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) within the upwelling and downwelling domains of the northeast Pacific Ocean

Regional coastal conditions have a strong influence on juvenile salmon survival during their critical first months in the marine environment. Salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) survival has been thought to be favored within the high latitude downwelling domain if water column stabilities increase, whereas stability may have the opposite effect in upwelling‐dominated lower latitudes. In this study, the relationships between water column stabilities during early marine residence of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in both the upwelling and downwelling domains of the northeast Pacific Ocean and marine survival rates for hatchery stocks ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Kodiak Island, Alaska, were explored. Contrary to expectation, there was no clear difference in the effect of stability on marine survival rates in the downwelling and upwelling domains. In both domains, marine survival rates increased for pink salmon stocks that experienced below‐average stability on the inner shelf during early marine residence. Stability effects from the outer shelf showed no consistent relationship to marine survival within the northeast Pacific.     

Covariation between the average lengths of mature coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) and the ocean environment

We used the average fork length of age‐3 returning coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and age‐3 ocean‐type and age‐4 stream‐type Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) salmon along the northeast Pacific coast to assess the covariability between established oceanic environmental indices and growth. These indices included the Multivariate El Niño‐Southern Oscillation Index (MEI), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Northern Oscillation Index, and Aleutian Low Pressure Index. Washington, Oregon, and California (WOC) salmon sizes were negatively correlated with the MEI values indicating that ultimate fish size was affected negatively by El Niño‐like events. Further, we show that the growth trajectory of WOC salmon was set following the first ocean winter. Returning ocean‐type British Columbia‐Puget Sound Chinook salmon average fork length was positively correlated with the MEI values during the summer and autumn of return year, which was possibly a result of a shallower mixed layer and improved food‐web productivity of subarctic Pacific waters. Size variation of coho salmon stocks south of Alaska was synchronous and negatively correlated with warm conditions (positive PDO) and weak North Pacific high pressure during ocean residence.     

Riparian defoliation by the invasive green alder sawfly influences terrestrial prey subsidies to salmon streams

Invasive species in riparian forests are unique as their effects can transcend ecosystem boundaries via stream‐riparian linkages. The green alder sawfly (Monsoma pulveratum) is an invasive wasp whose larvae are defoliating riparian thin‐leaf alder (Alnus tenuifolia) stands across southcentral Alaska. To test the hypothesis that riparian defoliation by this invasive sawfly negatively affects the flow of terrestrial prey resources to stream fishes, we sampled terrestrial invertebrates on riparian alder foliage, their subsidies to streams and their consumption by juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Invasive sawflies altered the composition of terrestrial invertebrates on riparian alder foliage and as terrestrial prey subsidies to streams. Community analyses supported these findings revealing that invasive sawflies shifted the community structure of terrestrial invertebrates between seasons and levels of energy flow (riparian foliage, streams and fish). Invasive sawfly biomass peaked mid‐summer, altering the timing and magnitude of terrestrial prey subsidies to streams. Contrary to our hypothesis, invasive sawflies had no effect on the biomass of native taxa on riparian alder foliage, as terrestrial prey subsidies, or in juvenile coho salmon diets. Juvenile coho salmon consumed invasive sawflies when most abundant, but relied more on other prey types selecting against sawflies relative to their availability. Although we did not find effects of invasive sawflies extending to juvenile coho salmon in this study, these results could change as the distribution of invasive sawflies expands or as defoliation intensifies. Nevertheless, riparian defoliation by these invasive sawflies is likely having other ecological effects that merits further investigation.     

Copepods and salmon: characterizing the spatial distribution of juvenile salmon along the Washington and Oregon coast,USA

Yearling Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were sampled concurrently with physical variables (temperature, salinity, depth) and biological variables (chlorophyll a concentration and copepod abundance) along the Washington and Oregon coast in June 1998–2008. Copepod species were divided into four different groups based on their water‐type affinities: cold neritic, subarctic oceanic, warm neritic, and warm oceanic. Generalized linear mixed models were used to quantify the relationship between the abundance of these four different copepod groups and the abundance of juvenile salmon. The relationships between juvenile salmon and different copepod groups were further validated using regression analysis of annual mean juvenile salmon abundance versus the mean abundance of the copepod groups. Yearling Chinook salmon abundance was negatively correlated with warm oceanic copepods, warm neritic copepods, and bottom depth, and positively correlated with cold neritic copepods, subarctic copepods, and chlorophyll a concentration. The selected habitat variables explained 67% of the variation in yearling Chinook abundance. Yearling coho salmon abundance was negatively correlated with warm oceanic copepods, warm neritic copepods, and bottom depth, and positively correlated with temperature. The selected habitat variables explained 40% of the variation in yearling coho abundance. Results suggest that copepod communities can be used to characterize spatio‐temporal patterns of abundance of juvenile salmon, i.e., large‐scale interannual variations in ocean conditions (warm versus cold years) and inshore‐offshore (cross‐shelf) gradients in the abundance of juvenile salmon can be characterized by differences in the abundance of copepod species with various water mass affinities.     

Survival of smaller sport caught chinook, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), and coho, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), salmon from Lake Michigan and its management implications

Abstract The survival of small-sized (<50.8 cm) chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), and coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kitsutch (Walbaum), caught by sport fishing was determined to assess the potential for increasing the size limit for these fish. Fishermen were recently catching smaller salmon than in the 1970s, but salmon growth rates had not changed. To be an effective management option, the survival rate of hooked and returned fish must be high. The overall survival rates were high: 76% for chinook salmon and 70% for coho salmon. There was no significant difference in survival of the coho salmon with size of hook used ( P = 0.31). Any mortality among fish was generally acute; fish hooked deep in the mouth or gills generally bled and died shortly after capture. Fish hooked in the gills had a significantly greater mortality ( P = 0.0002). The overall high survival rate for these species was the result of a small proportion of fish being hooked in the gills or deep in the mouth. Since the survival rate of the salmon was high, the size limit could be increased to allow smaller fish to grow to sizes preferred by sport fishermen.     

Juvenile Chinook salmon,Oncorhynchus tshawytscha,growth and diet in riverine habitat engineered to improve conditions for spawning

Abstract Many habitat enhancement techniques aimed at restoring salmonid populations have not been comprehensively assessed. The growth and diet of juvenile Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), rearing in a reach designed to enhance spawning were evaluated to determine how a non‐target life stage fared in the engineered habitat. Prior work demonstrated differences in food web structure between restored and unenhanced reaches of the Merced River, thus juvenile salmon feeding dynamics were also hypothesised to vary. Dependent variables were compared among fish collected from within and near the upper boundary of the restored reach and in an unenhanced habitat upstream. Diets, otolith‐derived growth and stable isotope‐inferred trophic positions were compared. Baetidae mayflies were particularly important prey in the restored reach, while elsewhere individuals exhibited heterogeneous diets. Salmon residing at the bottom of the restored reach exhibited slightly faster growth rates relative to fish collected elsewhere, although stable isotope and diet analyses suggested that they fed at a relatively low trophic position. Specialised Baetis predation and/or abundant interstitial refugia potentially improved rearing conditions in the restored reach. Data suggest that gravel enhancement and channel realignment designed to augment adult spawning habitat may simultaneously support juvenile Chinook salmon despite low invertebrate food resources.     

Sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, transfer between wild sympatric adult and juvenile salmon on the north coast of British Columbia, Canada

We examine sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis , on juvenile and adult salmon from the north coast of British Columbia between 2004 and 2006 in an area that does not at present contain salmon farms. There is a pronounced zonation in the abundance of L. salmonis on juvenile pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha , in the Skeena and Nass estuaries. Abundances in the proximal and distal zones of these estuaries are 0.01 and 0.05 respectively. The outer zones serve as feeding and staging areas for the pink salmon smolts. Returning Chinook, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha , and coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch , concentrate in these areas. We collected data in 2006 to examine whether L. salmonis on returning adult salmon are an important source of the sea lice that appear on juvenile pink salmon. Nearly all (99%) of the sea lice on returning Chinook and over 80% on coho salmon were L. salmonis. Most of the L. salmonis were motile stages including many ovigerous females. There was a sharp increase in the abundance of sea lice on juvenile pink salmon smolts between May and July 2006 near the sites of adult captures. As there are no salmon farms on the north coast, few sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus , and very few resident salmonids until later in the summer, it seems that the most important reservoir of L. salmonis under natural conditions is returning adult salmon. This natural source of sea lice results in levels of abundance that are one or two orders of magnitude lower than those observed on juvenile pink salmon in areas with salmon farms such as the Broughton Archipelago.     

Warm oceans exacerbate Chinook salmon bycatch in the Pacific hake fishery driven by thermal and diel depth-use behaviours

Fisheries bycatch impacts marine species globally and understanding the underlying ecological and behavioural mechanisms could improve bycatch mitigation and forecasts in novel conditions. Oceans are rapidly warming causing shifts in marine species distributions with unknown, but likely, bycatch consequences. We examined whether thermal and diel depth-use behaviours influenced bycatch of a keystone species (Chinook salmon; Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmonidae) in the largest fishery on the US West Coast (Pacific hake; Merluccius productus, Merlucciidae) with annual consequences in a warming ocean. We used Generalized Additive Models with 20 years of data including 54,509 hauls from the at-sea hake fishery spanning Oregon and Washington coasts including genetic information for five salmon populations. Our results demonstrate that Chinook salmon bycatch rates increased in warm ocean years explained by salmon depth-use behaviours. Chinook salmon typically occupy shallower water column depths compared to hake. However, salmon moved deeper when sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were warm and at night, which increased overlap with hake and exacerbated bycatch rates. We show that night fishing reductions (a voluntary bycatch mitigation strategy) are effective in reducing salmon bycatch in cool SSTs by limiting fishing effort when diel vertical movements bring salmon deeper but becomes less effective in warm SSTs as salmon seek deeper thermal refugia during the day. Thermal and diel behaviours were more pronounced in southern compared with northern salmon populations. We provide mechanistic support that climate change may intensify Chinook salmon bycatch in the hake fishery and demonstrate how an inferential approach can inform bycatch management in a changing world.     

Change in feeding ecology and trophic dynamics of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the central Gulf of Alaska in relation to climate events

The effects of climate events on the feeding ecology and trophic dynamics of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in offshore waters of the central Gulf of Alaska were investigated during early summers (1994–2000), based on analyses of stomach contents, and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N). Gonatid squids (mainly Berryteuthis anonychus) were the dominant prey of all salmon species except for chum salmon (O. keta). During the 1997 El Niño event and the 1999 La Niña event, squids decreased sharply in the diets of all Pacific salmon except coho salmon (O. kisutch) in the Subarctic Current, and chum salmon diets changed from gelatinous zooplankton (1995–97) to a more diverse array of zooplankton species. A δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N analysis indicated that all salmon species occupied the same branch of the food web in 1999–2000. We hypothesize that high‐seas salmon adapt to climate‐induced changes in their prey resources by switching their diets either within or between trophic levels. To understand the effects of climate change on Pacific salmon in the Gulf of Alaska, biological oceanographic research on B. anonychus and other important prey resources is needed.     

Salish Sea Chinook salmon exhibit weaker coherence in early marine survival trends than coastal populations

Identifying factors that influence anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) population dynamics is complicated by their diverse life histories and large geographic range. Over the last several decades, Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) populations from coastal areas and the Salish Sea have exhibited substantial variability in abundance. In some cases, populations within the Salish Sea have experienced persistent declines that have not rebounded. We analyzed a time series of early marine survival from 36 hatchery Chinook salmon populations spanning ocean entry years 1980–2008 to quantify spatial and temporal coherence in survival. Overall, we observed higher inter‐population variability in survival for Salish Sea populations than non‐Salish Sea populations. Annual survival patterns of Salish Sea populations covaried over smaller spatial scales and exhibited less synchrony among proximate populations relative to non‐Salish Sea populations. These results were supported by multivariate autoregressive state space (MARSS) models which predominantly identified region‐scale differences in survival trends between northern coastal, southern coastal, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound population groupings. Furthermore, Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA) of regional survival trends showed that survival of southern coastal populations was associated with the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation, a large‐scale ocean circulation pattern, whereas survival of Salish Sea populations was not. In summary, this study demonstrates that survival patterns in Chinook salmon are likely determined by a complex hierarchy of processes operating across a broad range in spatial and temporal scales, presenting challenges to the management of mixed‐stock fisheries.     

Molecular testing of adult Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) for several RNA viruses demonstrates widespread distribution of piscine orthoreovirus in Alaska and Washington

This research was initiated in conjunction with a systematic, multiagency surveillance effort in the United States (U.S.) in response to reported findings of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) RNA in British Columbia, Canada. In the systematic surveillance study reported in a companion paper, tissues from various salmonids taken from Washington and Alaska were surveyed for ISAV RNA using the U.S.‐approved diagnostic method, and samples were released for use in this present study only after testing negative. Here, we tested a subset of these samples for ISAV RNA with three additional published molecular assays, as well as for RNA from salmonid alphavirus (SAV), piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) and piscine orthoreovirus (PRV). All samples (n = 2,252; 121 stock cohorts) tested negative for RNA from ISAV, PMCV, and SAV. In contrast, there were 25 stock cohorts from Washington and Alaska that had one or more individuals test positive for PRV RNA; prevalence within stocks varied and ranged from 2% to 73%. The overall prevalence of PRV RNA‐positive individuals across the study was 3.4% (77 of 2,252 fish tested). Findings of PRV RNA were most common in coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) and Chinook (O. tshawytscha Walbaum) salmon.     

Juvenile coho salmon movement,growth and survival in a coastal basin of southern Oregon

Juvenile salmonids display highly variable spatial and temporal patterns of early dispersal that are influenced by density‐dependent and density‐independent factors. Although juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) movement patterns in streams and their relationship with body mass and growth have been examined in previous studies, most observations were limited to one season or one stream section. In this study, we monitored the movement of juvenile coho salmon throughout their period of residence in a coastal basin to identify prevalent dispersal strategies and their relationships with body mass, growth rates and survival. Our results revealed seasonally and spatially variable movement patterns. Juvenile coho salmon that dispersed to tidally affected reaches soon after emergence remained more mobile and expressed lower site fidelity than those individuals that remained in upper riverine reaches. We did not detect significantly different growth rates between sedentary and mobile individuals. Although a greater proportion of sedentary than mobile fish survived winter to emigrate from the creek in the spring, reach of residence at the onset of winter influenced these survival estimates. Hence, apparent summer‐to‐smolt survival for mobile individuals was greater than for sedentary fish in tidally influenced reaches, whereas in riverine reaches the sedentary strategy seemed to be favoured. Our research identified complex movement patterns that reflect phenotypic and life history variation, and underscores the importance of maintaining diverse freshwater and estuarine habitats that support juvenile coho salmon before marine migration.     

Comparing abundance‐based and tag‐based estimates of coho salmon marine survival

Obtaining reliable estimates of marine survival is essential for understanding anadromous salmon population dynamics. Two common approaches to estimating marine survival are (a) dividing abundance of returning adult salmon abundance by abundance of smolts from the same cohort, or (b) tagging a portion of the migrating smolts and estimating the return rate of tagged adults. This study compared these two approaches to estimating marine survival for coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), across multiple years in three California streams. Abundance‐based survival estimates were higher than tag‐based estimates; average estimates for the two techniques differed from 1.5‐fold to 7.4‐fold across streams. One likely cause for these divergent estimates is migration of juveniles from natal habitat before smolt trapping begins, resulting in an underestimate of smolt abundance and an overestimate of marine survival rate for the abundance‐based method. Estimates of marine survival obtained from abundance estimates and tag returns are not directly comparable.     

Assessing the diet of North American Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) off the West Greenland coast using gut content and stable isotope analyses

Investigations on the marine feeding of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in the Northwest Atlantic are limited compared with the Northeast Atlantic. Climate‐induced changes to food webs in Atlantic salmon feeding areas have been noted, alongside increased mortality despite a cessation of most marine fisheries. As forage efficiency may be hampering survival, it was important to address this knowledge gap. Atlantic salmon were sampled at three sites on the West Greenland coast (Sisimiut, Nuuk and Qaqortoq) between 2009 and 2011. Gut content and stable isotope analyses were combined to assess spatial and temporal differences in feeding. Capelin (Mallotus villosus) dominated the diet at Nuuk and Qaqortoq, whereas boreoatlantic armhook squid (Gonatus fabricii) was the dominant prey at Sisimiut. Hyperiid amphipods (Themisto spp.) and sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) were also important. Significant differences were found among sites for both gut contents and stable isotope analyses, with fewer differences evident temporally. Dietary differences were also evident across larger scales, with little overlap demonstrated with Northeast Atlantic diets and the emergence of boreoatlantic armhook squid as an important prey item over time. Atlantic salmon diets are frequently anchored on one or two prey items, on which they appear to specialize, but they will diversify to consume other available pelagic prey. Thus, Atlantic salmon are an opportunistic, generalist predator within the pelagic food web. The variability evident in diet suggests that the limited data available are insufficient to appropriately understand potential vulnerabilities that the species may have to ecosystem changes, and suggest further research is needed.