Pacific Salmon Species Change

In the California Central Valley, fall‐run juvenile Chinook salmon rear typically from January to June. However, in some years, the rearing period may be reduced due to high water temperatures in April. Growth and survival rates of juvenile Chinook salmon are affected by water temperature and cover (e.g., substrate pore spaces, gravel interstices, boulders, snags, over‐hanging vegetation, root wads, under‐cut banks, and macrophytes). Cover is important for protection from predation, flow displacement, water temperature stress, and the fish caloric intake optimization. Human-induced sources of stress to the riverine ecosystems include: “(1) overfishing (i.e., extracting larger quantities of fish than the system can sustain naturally); (2) nutrient

Prior NPRB projects have laid an important foundation outlining the effects climate change on Pink salmon in Alaska. A previous study has detailed the influence that biological, environmental and genetic factors had on the timing of Pink salmon migration (PI: Tallmon, project 1110), allowing us to support these data by testing, in a laboratory setting, the relative influence of specific climate change-related stressors on developmental rate, affecting out migration timing. Understanding environmental factors that influence overall performance of a species is critical to determining the susceptibility of that species to shifting habitat conditions. The proposed research will fill a gap of understanding regarding Pink salmon’s specific sensitivity

Juvenile Pacific Salmon and other migratory marine animals are travel many long distance under water to use resources in different oceanic regions. The main question is how these marine animals travel many long distance and able to locate Specific Ocean feeding areas without previous experience. Researchers experimentally demonstrate that the juvenile chinook salmon respond to magnetic field which lead them toward their marine feeding grounds. The “magnetic map” of Juvenile salmon to be inherited. These results, Similar with findings in the sea turtles indicate that the magnetic maps are genetically wide spread and show their navigational abilities evident in many long distance under water

If I were given the opportunity to conduct research through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Pomona, I would surely spend my time researching the dietary interactions between pollock, salmon, and squid in Southeast Alaskan waters.

The biggest attraction of British Columbia to me, is the wide variety of wildlife that is present. First of all, moose are one of the province’s most popular large mammals in British Columbia. The moose is the largest member of the deer family. They may weigh up to 1,300 pounds and stand seven feet tall. An interesting thing about moose is that their body types differ from the regions they live in (“Moose”). Another amazing animal of British Columbia is the Pacific salmon. Salmon is the traditional sportfish of the province. Just a few of the many species of Pacific salmon include the King, Coho, and Sockeye. Adult salmon may travel up to an astonishing 2,000 miles to spawn. Some specific salmon species use the Earth’s magnetic field to find

The Merced River is the southernmost watercourse of the California Central Valley presently inhabited by Chinook salmon whose abundance has decreased by 75% since 1950 (Yoshiyama et al., 2000). From its headwaters located in Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, the Merced River flows west to join the San Joaquín River (river km 190) and drains a watershed approximately 3,297 km2 in size. Meanwhile, the elevation declines from 3,048 m to about 18.3 m. Only the first 82 river km are reachable by anadromous fish with access terminating at Crocker-Huffman Dam. We estimated the percent contribution of terrestrial organic carbon sources for juvenile Chinook salmon across four longitudinally-positioned sites: Merced River

Salmon are semelparous animals, meaning they only spawn once in a lifetime. The fish then quickly deteriorate and die. Not being able to adapt to the freshwater after being in the saltwater ocean for so long.

Salmon hatcheries have been operated for a variety of purposes throughout their its history in this region, from harvest augmentation, to mitigation of habitat destruction, to conservation and preservation of native populations. Despite this long history, we are only just beginning to understand how hatchery-raised fish interact with and effect wild populations of salmon. Research shows that captive-bread salmon impact wild salmon in a variety of ways, from competing with them directly for resources, to reducing the fitness of wild populations through interbreeding between wild fish and less-fit hatchery fish. These findings have serious implications for the hatchery industry, and as the focus of hatchery operation switches from augmentation

New studies find Alaska fisheries are defenseless to the effects of ocean acidification as the region’s seas continue to bitter. Alaska’s coastal seas are more prone to acidification due to unique circulation patterns and colder

The life cycle of the Atlantic salmon begins in late October when rivers are just cool enough to begin production of the new salmon. The female starts by digging a small nest called a redd in the bottom gravel area of a stream. Redd’s are dug out of the gravel in a way that allows a clean flow and plenty of oxygen to be received by the growing fish. The male salmon then projects their milt (sperm) onto the redd to fertilize the egg. With swift

And from the great salmon comprise by Ben Goldfarb, “overfishing and destruction from mining, logging and development - which bury spawning beds in sediment, strips banks of vegetation and raise water temperatures - have taken their toll. Still dams are the most visible culprit.” River banks with no vegetation means erosion is more likely, warmer water temperatures hold less oxygen and salmon

Over the past 25 years, Atlantic salmon has become one of the endangered species among the red list. The problem first occurred at Penobscot river. Initially, 75% of the whole country’s Atlantic salmon population lived there, but now, less than 5% remain. The main reason that leads to the rapid decline of Atlantic salmon to the state of extinction is due to overfishing which begins from 1950. As the decline in salmon population became evident, farming of salmon began in 1980 and fishing stopped in 1990. Furthermore, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to step in and rectify this problem when they realized the seriousness of this issue. They spent 7.3 million into American Recovery and reinvestment Act (ARRA) to rebuild

After hatching here, parr (newly hatched salmon) grow into the smolt stage (juvenile salmon). The transition from parr to smolt occurs when there are high amounts of the hormone thysoxine circulating in the water. Interestingly, high levels of thysoxine are correlated with the fish olfactory systems, and the fish are able to identify a multiplex of various odors in the water. After this transition, the smolt then swim downstream the river towards the saltwater, and will then spend their life (approximately 6 years) at sea. Something that I personally find very interesting about the Pacific Salmon is that after several years of being away, they are still able to return to the same stream where they were hatched in order to continue the life cycle. They have this innate ability because they “imprint” on the odors of their own stream, and are able to remember this smell for years. This has been proven through experiments in which odorants were added to the streams, and fish were tagged to determine if they returned to the correct streams. Because salmon are so precise in their recognition of their natal home, they have become reproductively isolated from other salmon. This has led to an uprising in species stratification. Due to these isolated gene pools, the Pacific Salmon lead diverse and specialized evolutionary paths, working to the benefit of each individual

The example given is the coral trout, a fish that is commercially important. Since the water temperature has risen higher up in the water, these trout tend to be more lethargic now; they stay lower in the water. This is crucial because all of their hunting and mating ground is higher

The global climate change is affecting the fish populations and communities and changing the freshwater ecosystems in North America and Canada, according to four new studies.