Estimating Stock Composition of Migrating Juvenile Fraser River (British Columbia) Sockeye Salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, Using Parasites as Natural Tags

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 586-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Bailey ◽  
L. Margolis ◽  
C. Groot
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Maximum Likelihood ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Natural Tags ◽  
Lake Washington ◽  
The Individual

Simulated mixtures of juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) were constructed using parasite data to represent proportionally the major component stocks of Fraser River and Lake Washington sockeye migrating within the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, in 1982–84. Samples of migrating juveniles were also collected from Bedwell Harbour, South Pender Island, British Columbia, each year and analyzed for parasites and stock composition. The compositions of simulated and sample mixtures were estimated using a maximum likelihood stock composition model. Simulated mixture compositions were accurately estimated for most stocks for all year-classes. When significant misassignment occurred between stocks, the stocks were analyzed as a complex using the allocate-sum procedure. Sample mixture estimates correctly identified the dominant stock for each year-class, although for 1984 the dominant group was determined as a complex of three stocks because the individual stocks were not distinguishable. The results indicate that it is feasible to use parasites as natural tags to estimate stock compositions of migrating juvenile sockeye salmon in the Strait of Georgia.

Limited behavioural thermoregulation by adult upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 480-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Donaldson ◽  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
D. A. Patterson ◽  
S. G. Hinch ◽  
D. Robichaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
And Migration

The objective of this study was to combine radio telemetry with individual thermal loggers to assess the extent to which adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) behaviourally thermoregulate during their migration through the Fraser River mainstem, British Columbia. The Fraser mainstem represents a region of the migration route that contains some of the highest mean temperatures encountered by sockeye salmon during their life history. We found that throughout the study area, individual sockeye salmon body temperatures occasionally deviated from ambient temperatures (ΔT), yet individuals maintained a ΔT of –1 °C or cooler for only 5% of their migration through the study region. There were moderate mean deviations of ΔT in two segments that are known to contain thermally stratified waters. In one of the study segments with the greatest ΔT, mean body temperatures decreased as river temperatures increased and ΔT became increasingly positive with higher river discharge rates, but these relationships were not observed in any of the other study segments. No relationship existed between ΔT and migration rate. While periodic associations with cool water were evident, mean body temperatures were not significantly different than mean river temperatures throughout the lower Fraser mainstem. This finding raises further conservation concerns for vulnerable Fraser River sockeye stocks that are predicted to encounter increasing peak summer river temperatures in the coming decades.

Simulation of juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) migrations in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
RANDALL M. PETERMAN ◽  
SILVIO G. MARINONE ◽  
KEITH A. THOMSON ◽  
IAN D. JARDINE ◽  
ROBERT N. CRITTENDEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Strait Of Georgia

Environmental and Parental Influences on Age at Maturity in Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from the Fraser River, British Columbia

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall M. Peterman ◽  
Michael J. Bradford ◽  
Judith L. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Age Structure ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Age At Maturity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
River Population ◽  
The Mean

Commercial fisheries possess the potential for applying strong selection on size or age at maturity in the populations they exploit. It is therefore important to know the extent to which these traits are inherited. We examined regressions of the mean age at maturity of cohorts of offspring on the mean ages of the female and male spawners which produced them for four populations of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from the Fraser River, British Columbia. Unlike previous researchers, we found that neither genetic nor maternal effects are important, relative to environmental variables, in influencing year-to-year variation in age at maturity in these stocks. The differences between our findings and earlier ones are due to a longer data series and more complete population statistics than were available previously. We further analyzed the age structure of the Adams River population, which has a cyclic pattern of abundance. Fluctuating population density appeared to account for variation in age structure among cycle years in the Adams stock. We concluded that serious concerns about the long-term effects of size-selective fishing on mean age at maturity are probably not warranted for Fraser River sockeye.

Migratory patterns of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) smolts in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, as determined by analysis of parasite assemblages

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 1670-1678 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Groot ◽  
R. E. Bailey ◽  
L. Margolis ◽  
K. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
River System ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Lake Washington ◽  
Migratory Routes ◽  
Migratory Patterns ◽  
Parasite Assemblages

Sockeye salmon smolts from the Fraser River system, migrating northward through the Strait of Georgia towards the Pacific Ocean, follow either an eastern route by immediately travelling northward upon leaving the Fraser River estuary or a western route by first crossing the Strait of Georgia towards Vancouver Island and then moving northward diagonally across the Strait of Georgia to join smolts migrating along the mainland shore. We used variations in parasite assemblages among Fraser River and Lake Washington sockeye smolt stocks and a maximum-likelihood mixture model to estimate the stock composition of the smolts along the two migratory routes. The results showed that most Fraser River sockeye smolts migrate northward via both the eastern and western routes through the Strait of Georgia, indicating that there is no stock specific route selection. Lake Washington smolts were more prevalent along the western route and we suggest that these smolts are transported westward when attempting to cross the Fraser River plume.

Precocial maturation of male sockeye salmon in the Fraser River, British Columbia, and its relationship to growth and year-class strength

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 2248-2257 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Healey ◽  
M A Henderson ◽  
Ingrid Burgetz
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Age Structure ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
The West ◽  
Migration Distance ◽  
Male Brood ◽  
Class Strength

We analyzed historical data on the age structure and abundance of males in 22 populations of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Fraser River, British Columbia, to determine geographical and temporal patterns of precocial maturation, its relationship with growth and maturation at other ages, and the value of precocial males as indicators of year-class strength. Most Fraser sockeye males spend two winters at sea before maturing at 3-5 years of age. Precocial males return to spawn at 2, 3, or 4 years of age (ages 0.1, 1.1, and 2.1) and comprised <1 to >33% of male brood year returns among populations. Precocity was lowest among populations that spawned far upstream and highest among populations spawning to the west of the main Fraser River and was not correlated with migration distance. Precocial maturation was related to growth during the second summer in the ocean to brood line and to brood line abundance. The combination of brood line, abundance, and size of precocial males accounted for more than 75% of the variation in total returns in four populations, suggesting that these variables might be used to predict abundance 1 year in advance.

Parvicapsula minibicornis infections in gill and kidney and the premature mortality of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from Cultus Lake, British Columbia

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bradford ◽  
Jan Lovy ◽  
David A. Patterson ◽  
David J. Speare ◽  
William R. Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Myxosporean Parasite ◽  
Gill Disease ◽  
Gill Lamellae ◽  
Severity Of The Disease ◽  
Using Data

In recent years, large losses of migrating adult sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) from the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada, have resulted in reductions in catches and productivity. We investigated patterns of mortality and the occurrence of the myxosporean parasite Parvicapsula minibicornis in adult sockeye salmon from Cultus Lake, tributary to the Fraser River. Using data from a captive broodstock program, we found that early migrants to Cultus Lake had less severe P. minibicornis infections and were more likely to survive to maturity than those fish that arrived later after they had presumably held in the warmer Fraser River. We found P. minibicornis in kidneys and gills of spawners. In some fish, significant histopathology in the gills that included severe inflammation and hyperplasia of the gill lamellae was observed; the severity of the disease was correlated with the severity of P. minibicornis infections. Kidney and gill pathologies were more prevalent and more severe in fish that died before spawning compared with those that matured successfully. Gill disease associated with P. minibicornis infections had not been previously identified in Fraser River sockeye salmon, and its role in the loss of spawners needs further investigation.

Lipid Reserve Dynamics and Magnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Spawning Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from the Fraser River, British Columbia

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 3083-3089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry C. Kelly ◽  
Samantha L. Gray ◽  
Michael G. Ikonomou ◽  
J. Steve Macdonald ◽  
Stelvio M. Bandiera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Lipid Reserve

Missing the target: uncertainties in achieving management goals in fisheries on Fraser River, British Columbia, sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2722-2733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie A Holt ◽  
Randall M Peterman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Return Migration ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Fishing Regulations

In sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) fisheries, management targets are rarely achieved exactly, thereby creating uncertainties about outcomes from implementing fishing regulations. Although this type of uncertainty may be large, it is seldom incorporated into simulation models that evaluate management options. One objective of this study was to quantify the deviations that occur between realized and target mortality rates (i.e., the target fraction of adult recruits that die each year during return migration, mostly due to harvesting) in fisheries for sockeye salmon from the Fraser River, British Columbia. We found that for some sockeye stocks, realized mortality rates were higher than targets when recruitment was low (resulting in conservation concerns) and lower than targets when recruitment was high (resulting in foregone catch). Scientists and managers can at least partially account for effects of such deviations between realized and target mortality rates (outcome uncertainties) by choosing target harvest rules that reflect typical patterns in those deviations. We derived a method to permit modelers to incorporate those patterns into analyses of management options.

Early marine growth of juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in relation to juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and sockeye salmon abundance

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1499-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Skip McKinnell ◽  
Maxine Reichardt
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
First Year ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Average Survival

Mortality of salmon in the ocean is considered to be greatest during the first few months and that its magnitude is an inverse of growth. First year marine growth (M1) in two Fraser River sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) populations was positively correlated, reflecting a shared oceanic experience as postsmolts. M1 declined abruptly in both populations after 1977, corresponding to a well-documented change in climate. The reduction in average M1 was not accompanied by a detectable reduction in average survival. In both populations, M1 was significantly greater in even years when juvenile pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ) are abundant in the Strait of Georgia, suggesting that interspecific competition there has little effect on M1. All correlations of M1 with regional pink salmon or sockeye salmon abundances, lagged to align ocean entry years, were negative, but few (pink) or none (sockeye) were statistically significant. The negative correlations were due to the long-term changes (pink salmon abundance increasing, sockeye M1 smaller). Odd year dominance of juvenile pink salmon in northern British Columbia, Canada, is persistent and corresponds with the biennial pattern of M1 variation in Fraser River sockeye salmon and may be the source of the significant odd–even year line effect on M1.

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