Spawning dynamics of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the St. Lawrence River,Canada–USA

Maltais E, Daigle G, Colbeck G, Dodson JJ. Spawning dynamics of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the St. Lawrence River, Canada–USA.
Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2010: 19: 586–594. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – The most northerly population of American shad (Alosa sapidissima), located in the St. Lawrence River, is considered vulnerable because of low population abundance and limited spawning habitat located at the upstream extent of the population’s anadromous migration. Here, we aimed to establish the temporal and spatial extent of spawning based on a novel hatch‐date analysis of juveniles. Spawning activity lasted from early May to early July. We found that juveniles captured downstream during the summer hatched later in the year than those captured further upstream. As a result, younger juveniles were distributed somewhat further downstream. In addition, we found significant multimodality in hatch‐date distributions at midstream and downstream sampling stations. Together, these results provide evidence that the 2‐month spawning period involved numerous spawning events that progressed in a downstream direction as the season advanced, rather than being restricted to upstream sites over the spawning season.     

The vertical distribution of juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and associated fishes in the Columbia River plume

Simultaneous trawling at surface and at depth at one location off the Columbia River, Oregon, in June 2000 identified the depth distribution of juvenile salmonids and associated fishes. Juvenile salmon off the Columbia River were distributed primarily near the surface, within the upper 12 m. Highest densities of subyearling chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) off the Columbia River were associated with high surface currents and decreasing tidal levels, with time of day possibly a co‐factor. Densities of yearling chinook salmon increased with higher turbidity. Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) was the most abundant and commonly caught forage fish, with density increasing at night, probably related to diel vertical migration. Catches of juvenile salmonids were not associated with catches of forage fishes. Daytime surface trawling appears to be an appropriate method for assessing the distribution and abundance of juvenile salmonids in marine habitats.     

Environmental DNA reveals the temporal and spatial extent of spawning migrations of European shad in a highly fragmented river basin

1. Artificial barriers on lowland rivers impede the spawning migrations of anadromous fishes, preventing access to historical spawning areas. In the cryptic European shads Alosa alosa and Alosa fallax (‘shad’ hereafter), this has resulted in population declines across their range. Conservation programmes aim to facilitate the passage of migrators over these barriers and so require baseline information on the spatial and temporal extent of current migrations.
2. Here, a shad-specific environmental DNA (eDNA) assay was used to quantify the spatial extent of shad spawning migrations in the River Severn basin, western England. This basin is characterized by the presence of multiple barriers in the lower catchment. In 2017, the eDNA assay was piloted in the River Teme, an important shad spawning tributary, and then applied in 2018 and 2019 across the lower Severn basin.
3. In all years, shad DNA was detected between mid-May and mid-June, with the maximum spatial extent of shad distribution being in early June when shad eDNA was detected upstream of weirs that were generally considered as impassable. In 2018, this included the detection of shad above the most upstream weir on the main River Severn that required individual fish to have passed six weirs.
4. Although barriers inhibit the spawning migrations of shad, this eDNA assay showed that some highly vagile individuals might be able to ascend these barriers and migrate considerable distances upstream. This suggests that efforts to increase the permeability of these barriers could result in relatively high numbers of migrating shad reaching upstream spawning areas. These results demonstrate that this eDNA assay could also be used across their range, to further quantify the spatial extent of their spawning, including in highly fragmented rivers and those where shad are believed to spawn only occasionally and are rarely observed.

     

Landscape‐level constraints on recruitment of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin,USA

• 1. The decline of salmonid populations in the Pacific Northwest has been well‐documented. It is unclear, however, which threats to salmonid persistence are the most serious, and how best to prioritize recovery efforts intended to ameliorate these threats.
• 2. It has been argued previously that one possible cause of salmon endangerment is degradation of spawning grounds. In order to explore this hypothesis, this study examines the relationships between chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) productivity and landscape‐level characteristics of spawning grounds in the interior Columbia River Basin.
• 3. Population productivity is expressed as the mean and maximum recruitment rates for different stocks, measured from 1980 to 1990; habitat conditions are calculated using sub‐watershed scale data on land cover, land use, water quality and watershed hydrology.
• 4. Significant linear regression results were obtained for three environmental variables: percentage of land classified as urban, proportion of stream length failing to meet water quality standards, and an index of the ability of streams to recover from sediment flow events. A multiple regression with all three variables accounts for over 60% of the variation in mean salmon recruitment.
• 5. It further appears that these landscape attributes may limit the maximum recruitment rates of salmon, with a magnitude of difference in productivity large enough to be relevant to recovery planners. Additional study will be necessary to identify cause‐and‐effect linkages between habitat quality and salmon recruitment success, and to determine the ultimate impact of changes in recruitment rates on short‐ and long‐term salmon population trajectories.

Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

美洲鲥的资源变动及修复

美洲鲥在美国渔业史上曾起到重要作用,但从19世纪初期开始,建闸筑坝、水域污染以及人们的过度捕捞,造成美洲鲥种群数量急剧下降,目前,美洲鲥在很多地区已经绝迹。然而,经过人们不断的努力,美洲鲥资源渐渐得到修复,每年在切萨皮克地区举行的鲥鱼节,让人们在庆祝这一自然文化财富的同时加深了对美洲鲥的了解。     

Comparison of population dynamics of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a small tributary of the River Scorff (Brittany, France)

The population dynamics of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) were compared in a small tributary of the River Scorff (Brittany, France) from spawning time to the beginning of the third growing season. The spawning and fry emergence of the two species took place at approximately the same time. In the first autumn, the densityof 0+ juveniles and settling rate from the egg stage were much higher in trout than in salmon. The emigration rate from 0+ population was much higher in trout than in salmon. The size of resident and migrating fish was always smaller in salmon than in trout, whatever the age. The low level of salmon production in the brook, compared with trout, was the result of low survival from egg to 0+ stage in autumn, combined with the small proportion of juveniles migrating after the first growing season. This was not compensated by a high number of migrants the next year. The role of physical habitat, inter-and intraspecific competition, predation and migration dependence on size and early sexual maturity is discussed. Indications are that small tributaries of the type studied are of great value for recruitment in trout but not very productive for juvenile salmon.     

Distribution,abundance and growth of juvenile salmonids off the coast of Oregon and Washington,summer (1980)

Juvenile salmonids (< 50 cm) were sampled by purse seine off the Pacific coast from Tillamook Bay, Oregon, to Copalis Head, Washington, during the period May through September (1980). Temporal distribution and abundance of the major Columbia River species were determined. Spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshatuytscha) and steel head (Salmo gairdneri) were present only during early cruises and were distributed almost entirely in the Columbia River plume and the sample area to the north. Coho salmon (O. kisutch) and fall chinook salmon were distributed more uniformly throughout the sampling area and were relatively abundant throughout the sampling period. Concentrations of fish were found only within 28 km of the shore. A number of fish that had been marked before or during their outmigration from the Columbia River system were recaptured. It appeared possible that with concentrated sampling in areas with high fish abundances, sufficient numbers of marked juvenile salmonids could be captured to provide relative survival estimates between different stocks of Columbia River fish.     

A survey of microparasites present in adult migrating Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in south‐western British Columbia determined by high‐throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction

Microparasites play an important role in the demography, ecology and evolution of Pacific salmonids. As salmon stocks continue to decline and the impacts of global climate change on fish populations become apparent, a greater understanding of microparasites in wild salmon populations is warranted. We used high‐throughput, quantitative PCR (HT‐qRT‐PCR) to rapidly screen 82 adult Chinook salmon from five geographically or genetically distinct groups (mostly returning to tributaries of the Fraser River) for 45 microparasite taxa. We detected 20 microparasite species, four of which have not previously been documented in Chinook salmon, and four of which have not been previously detected in any salmonids in the Fraser River. Comparisons of microparasite load to blood plasma variables revealed some positive associations between Flavobacterium psychrophilum, Cryptobia salmositica and Ceratonova shasta and physiological indices suggestive of morbidity. We include a comparison of our findings for each microparasite taxa with previous knowledge of its distribution in British Columbia.     

Geographical patterns of straying of fall chinook salmon,Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), from Columbia River (USA) hatcheries

The large-scale spatial patterns of straying of marked chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), produced at hatcheries in the Columbia River (north-west USA) are described. Straying rates were extremely variable among hatcheries (from 1% to 95%). Fish produced near the mouth of the river strayed more commonly than those produced farther upriver. While the large-scale straying patterns were well explained by the distance between the hatchery of origin and alternative destinations, substantial deviations from this pattern were observed at smaller scales. Three distinct areas of origin were identified and most straying occurred between hatcheries and natural spawning grounds within each area. The location of the stream where the hatchery of origin is located affects the patterns of straying. Fish reared at hatcheries in the main stem of the river did not stray into tributaries as often as predicted by a model based exclusively on linear distance between alternative locations. Likewise, fish released from large tributaries strayed to main stem hatcheries less often than predicted by the model. Fish produced at hatcheries on north bank tributaries appeared to stray less into southern streams than fish released from southern streams. These findings indicate that salmon are more likely to stray to spawning areas similar to their natal site than to dissimilar sites, in addition to the tendency to stray to nearly sites. In addition to the general patterns, examination of data from two types of transplants indicated that there is a genetic component to homing/straying behaviour within the watershed. However, salmon transplanted into the Columbia River watershed from elsewhere showed homing precision comparable to that of local fish, although they retained their ancestral marine distribution.     

Factors affecting dam passage and upstream distribution of adult Pacific lamprey in the interior Columbia River basin

Low dam passage rates of adult Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) during upstream spawning migration have been implicated in the species' steep decline in the interior Columbia River basin. In this 2000–2010 study, we used radiotelemetry to evaluate potential predictors of lamprey passage success at McNary Dam, located ~469 river kilometres (rkm) from the Pacific Ocean. The tagged population included 276 lampreys collected at McNary Dam and 53 collected at Bonneville Dam (rkm 235) that migrated to McNary Dam. McNary Dam passage efficiency was similar for the two samples, with multiyear estimates of 0.65 and 0.75, respectively. Larger‐bodied lampreys and those with earlier migration timing were more likely to return to McNary Dam after release, to pass the dam and to be detected upstream from McNary reservoir. Far more lampreys entered the upper Columbia River than the Snake River, suggesting that environmental cues (e.g., water discharge, temperature) or conspecific cues (e.g., pheromone concentrations) affect lamprey distribution above this large confluence. Overall, results indicate that Pacific lamprey passage success at barriers depends on a combination of individual lamprey traits plus seasonal and site‐specific effects on behaviour.     

The effects of the 1983 El Niño on Oregon's Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook (O. tshawytscha) Salmon

The 1983 El Niño event off the Pacific Coast of North America resulted in increased adult mortality and decreased average size for Oregon's coho and chinook salmon. Actual return of adult coho salmon to the Oregon Production Area in 1983 was only 42% of the pre-season prediction. Coho smolts entering the ocean in the spring of 1983 also survived poorly, resulting in low adult returns again in 1984. Abundance of chinook stocks in southern Oregon was also reduced, as was abundance of Columbia River chinook stocks that show localized ocean distribution. Northerly migrating chinook stocks from the Columbia River showed little or no decline in abundance. The average weight of coho and chinook salmon landed in 1983 by Oregon's commercial troll fishery was the lowest recorded since statistics were first recorded in 1952. Comparison of the length-weight relationship for these fish indicated coho and chinook were in poorer condition in 1983 than in non-El Niño years. Because adult coho salmon returned to hatcheries at a smaller size, the fecundity (eggs per female) in 1983 was reduced from the 1978–1982 average by 24% at coastal hatcheries and by 27% at Columbia River hatcheries. The fecundity of chinook salmon was unchanged at most hatcheries.     

Effect of food amount and temperature on growth rate and aerobic scope of juvenile chum salmon

Offshore migration of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. is partly triggered by increasing body size and high motility in the early stages of life. The survival of juvenile salmon may depend on their growth rate during the first few months in the sea, and this factor partly regulates the dynamics of adult populations. Here, we assessed the effects of water temperature and food availability on the growth of juvenile chum salmon O. keta. In addition, by combining the measurements of metabolic performance for growth and activity (Absolute Aerobic Scope: AAS) with a bioenergetics model, we estimated the energy allocation for different activities in the juveniles. Under high temperatures (14 °C), juveniles reared at low food levels (1% body weight) allocated less than half their energy for growth than those reared at high food levels (4% body weight). These findings suggest that high temperature and low food level constrain the growth of juveniles, providing an insight into the effect of the recent increase in warm and low-nutrient water masses on survival of juveniles and catches of adult chum salmon on the Pacific side of Honshu Island, Japan.

     

Infection of gill and kidney of Fraser River sockeye salmon,Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), by Parvicapsula minibicornis and its effect on host physiology

Adult sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), migrating upstream in the Fraser River, British Columbia, are exposed to the myxozoan parasite Parvicapsula minibicornis when they enter the river from the ocean. Infections are initially localized in the kidney but have recently been associated with branchitis in one population. Adult fish from five locations in the watershed were sampled to determine whether branchitis was widespread. P. minibicornis infections in kidney glomeruli were prevalent in all samples except for a sample of fish that had just entered the Fraser River from the ocean. For fish captured in spawning streams, parasites were observed in the renal tubules and gill, and branchitis was observed in 70% of fish. Plasma osmolality was negatively correlated with the number of parasites in the kidney tubules, which we hypothesize to be caused by the breach of glomerular membranes as the parasite leaves the fish. Plasma lactate values increased with increasing levels of pathology in gills. These findings support the hypothesis that P. minibicornis impacts the physiology of migrating fish, which may in turn affect the likelihood that adults will be able to migrate and spawn successfully.     

Offspring investment in wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): relationships with smolt age and spawning condition

We investigated the independent effects of age at smolting and body condition at the time of spawning on egg production by female Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). For a given body size, female salmon that had smolted as juveniles after 2 years in fresh water produced smaller, more numerous eggs than females that smolted 1 year later. Furthermore, fecundity (but not egg size) was related positively to maternal body condition at spawning. Given that age at smolting is closely related to juvenile growth rate; results from this study suggest that conditions experienced by female Atlantic salmon during both early life and adulthood have implications for the size and number of eggs that they produce.     

Induced Spawning of Wild American Shad Alosa sapidissima Using Sustained Administration of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analog (GnRHa)

American shad Alosa supidissima broodstock were collected from the Susquehanna River during their spawning migration. Mean volume of expressible milt (± standard deviation) was 2.5 (±1.7) mL/kg body weight; mean spermatozoid count was 66.2 ± 10⁹ (±163 ± 10⁹) spermntozoa/mL; and duration of 50% motility was 36.5 (±10.3) see. Ovarian biopsies indicated the presence of oocytes of various sizes (200–2,000 μm in diameter) and stages of development. Fish were implanted with a delivery system loaded with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) and started spawning 2 d after treatment. Fertile eggs were collected daily for the next 9 d, for a total of 50,100 eggs/kg body weight with a mean fertilization success of 62%. Upon cessation of spawning, the ovaries of all females still contained large numbers of oocytes at various stages of development, as at the beginning of the experiment, but with a greater number of atretic oacytes. Our observations show that American shad have an asynchronous ovarian development, and treatment with a GnRHa delivery system is effective in inducing several successive spawns of fertile eggs.     

Oceanic and atmospheric extremes motivate a new hypothesis for variable marine survival of Fraser River sockeye salmon

In spite of a relatively optimistic pre‐season forecast, the total return of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to the Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada) in 2009 was the lowest recorded since quantitative records began in the late 1940s. A plausible mechanism is proposed that links a sequence of extreme oceanic and climatic events to poor marine survival. It began with record‐setting snow packs in the coastal mountain range during the winter of 2007 that led to the development of unprecedented oceanographic conditions in the spring of 2007 from Queen Charlotte Strait in central British Columbia to Southeast Alaska. When combined with equally extreme atmospheric anomalies in the region in the spring of 2007, with a winter wind regime persisting through July, a coastal surface ocean with characteristics that are known to be associated with lower marine survival was established. Most of the sockeye salmon that were expected to return to the Fraser River as adults in 2009 passed through this atypical ocean as juveniles on their migration to the open ocean in 2007. A trophic gauntlet hypothesis is proposed as a new paradigm to describe the oceanic environment faced by sockeye salmon after they emigrate northward from the Strait of Georgia. The hypothesis identifies a new type of high nutrient low chlorophyll region that can explain how oceanographic extremes at critical locations along the migration route beyond the Strait of Georgia can reduce marine survival in some years.     

三峡库区小江太湖新银鱼时空分布

三峡水库形成后鱼类群落结构发生了根本性的改变,浮游动物食性的太湖新银鱼（Neosalanx taihuensis）成为了库区优势种。为探究三峡库区太湖新银鱼种群生长规律,2019年1-12月,每月下旬在三峡库区小江6个采样断面使用银鱼捕捞专用拖网进行了调查,应用单位捕捞努力量渔获量（Catch Per Unit Effort, CPUE）测度太湖新银鱼种群的时空分布特征。结果显示,2019年太湖新银鱼在三峡库区小江的时空分布特征明显。时间动态上,太湖新银鱼种群生物量的周年变化为先升后降,3月开始迅速增长,在4月达到最高值（2080.08 kg/km2）,随后逐步下降,7月捕捞旺季过后,生物量明显下降;空间分布上,太湖新银鱼春季繁育的稚幼鱼最先出现在上游的渠口和养鹿断面,之后下移,主要集中在高阳断面（867.16 kg/km2）,其次是黄石和双江断面,而长江断面太湖新银鱼分布最少。研究表明,太湖新银鱼时空分布特征主要由种群繁殖特征及库区水文情势决定,其种群在4月快速增长,与小江5月蓝藻密度急剧上升可能存在关联。建议在种群快速增长前,对三峡库区小江太湖新银鱼的繁殖群体进行捕捞,尤其是在3月的渠口和养鹿断面,可以起到较好的控制效果。     

Dispersal and tributary immigration by juvenile coho salmon contribute to spatial expansion during colonisation

Anadromous fishes are frequently restricted by artificial barriers to movement such as dams and culverts, so measuring dispersal helps identify sites where improved connectivity could promote range expansion and population viability. We used a combination of DNA‐based parentage analysis and mark–recapture techniques to evaluate dispersal by juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in a population in the initial stages of colonisation following installation of fish passage structures at a previously impassable dam on the Cedar River, WA, USA. The spatial distribution of individuals within maternal families revealed that dispersal was common. Among the offspring of radio‐tagged mothers, 28% were collected outside the spawning reach and dispersed up to 6.3 km (median = 1.5 km). Most juveniles captured in a tributary (Rock Creek, where few adults spawned) had immigrated from the Cedar River and represented many different families. Juvenile dispersal therefore provided a secondary phase of spatial expansion following initial colonisation by adults. Consistent with the condition‐dependent dispersal hypothesis, juveniles that dispersed farther upstream in the tributary were larger than fish collected near the tributary mouth. Overall, the results demonstrated widespread dispersal in a system with low coho salmon densities, and this might increase the rate of population growth if it reduces the effects of local density dependence. By implication, juveniles can take advantage of rearing habitats reconnected through barrier removal, even when such areas are located several kilometres from adult breeding grounds.     

Migratory behaviour of adult wild and escaped farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., before, during and after spawning in a Norwegian river

The migratory behaviour of adult wild and escaped farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., before, during after spawning in the River Namsen, Norway, was analysed using radio telemetry. The fish were caught, radio tagged and released into the fjord between 7 and 25 km from the river mouth. A significantly higher proportion of wild (74%) than farmed (43%) salmon was subsequently recorded in the river. Wild salmon (33%) were more frequently captured in the sea and in rivers than farmed salmon (14%). The migration speed from release to passing a data logger 11 km upstream from the river mouth was not significantly different between wild (20.6 km day^?1) and farmed (19.8 km day^?1) salmon. Wild salmon tagged when water flow in the river was increasing had a significantly higher migration speed than wild salmon tagged when water flow was decreasing. This was not true for farmed salmon. Farmed salmon were distributed significantly higher up the river than wild salmon during spawning, although both types of fish were found together in spawning areas. Thus, there was no geographical isolation to prevent spawning between wild and escaped farmed salmon. Farmed salmon had significantly more and longer up- and downstream movements than wild salmon during the spawning period. Unlike farmed salmon, the number of riverine movements by wild salmon increased significantly when variation in water flow increased. A smaller proportion of wild (9%) than farmed (77%) salmon survived through the winter after spawning.     

Spawning distribution and abundance of a northern Chinook salmon population

Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), is an important biological and cultural resource in Alaska, but knowledge about Chinook salmon ecology is limited in many regions. From 2009 to 2012, spawning distribution and abundance of a northern Chinook salmon population on the Togiak River in south‐west Alaska were assessed. Chinook salmon preferred deeper mainstem channel spawning habitat, with 12% (14 of 118 tags in 2009) to 21% (22 of 106 tags in 2012) of radio‐tagged fish spawning in smaller order tributaries. Tributary spawners tended to have earlier run timing than mainstem spawners. Chinook salmon exhibited extended holding and backout (entering freshwater but returning to saltwater before completing anadromous migration) behaviours near the mouth of Togiak River, potentially prolonging their exposure to fishery harvest. Mark–recapture total annual run estimates (2010–2012) ranged from 11 240 (2011) to 18 299 (2012) fish. Exploitation of Chinook salmon ranged from 36% (2012) to 55% (2011) during the study period, with incidental fishery catches near the mouth of the river comprising the largest source of harvest.