Dataset Information

Geo-Referenced, Abundance Calibrated Ocean Distribution of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Stocks across the West Coast of North America.

ABSTRACT: Understanding seasonal migration and localized persistence of populations is critical for effective species harvest and conservation management. Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) forecasting models predict stock composition, abundance, and distribution during annual assessments of proposed fisheries impacts. Most models, however, fail to account for the influence of biophysical factors on year-to-year fluctuations in migratory distributions and stock-specific survival. In this study, the ocean distribution and relative abundance of Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) stocks encountered in the California Current large marine ecosystem, U.S.A were inferred using catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) fisheries and genetic stock identification data. In contrast to stock distributions estimated through coded-wire-tag recoveries (typically limited to hatchery salmon), stock-specific CPUE provides information for both wild and hatchery fish. Furthermore, in contrast to stock composition results, the stock-specific CPUE metric is independent of other stocks and is easily interpreted over multiple temporal or spatial scales. Tests for correlations between stock-specific CPUE and stock composition estimates revealed these measures diverged once proportional contributions of locally rare stocks were excluded from data sets. A novel aspect of this study was collection of data both in areas closed to commercial fisheries and during normal, open commercial fisheries. Because fishing fleet efficiency influences catch rates, we tested whether CPUE differed between closed area (non-retention) and open area (retention) data sets. A weak effect was indicated for some, but not all, analyzed cases. Novel visualizations produced from stock-specific CPUE-based ocean abundance facilitates consideration of how highly refined, spatial and genetic information could be incorporated in ocean fisheries management systems and for investigations of biogeographic factors that influence migratory distributions of fish.

SUBMITTER: Bellinger MR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4511799 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Geo-Referenced, Abundance Calibrated Ocean Distribution of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Stocks across the West Coast of North America.

Bellinger M Renee MR Banks Michael A MA Bates Sarah J SJ Crandall Eric D ED Garza John Carlos JC Sylvia Gil G Lawson Peter W PW

PloS one 20150722 7

Understanding seasonal migration and localized persistence of populations is critical for effective species harvest and conservation management. Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) forecasting models predict stock composition, abundance, and distribution during annual assessments of proposed fisheries impacts. Most models, however, fail to account for the influence of biophysical factors on year-to-year fluctuations in migratory distributions and stock-specific survival. In this study, the ocean ...[more]

PMID: 26200779

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Project description:The Columbia River and its tributaries provide essential spawning and rearing habitat for many salmonid species, including Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Chinook salmon were historically abundant throughout the basin and Native Americans in the region relied heavily on these fish for thousands of years. Following the arrival of Europeans in the 1800s, salmon in the basin experienced broad declines linked to overfishing, water diversion projects, habitat destruction, connectivity reduction, introgression with hatchery-origin fish, and hydropower development. Despite historical abundance, many native salmonids are now at risk of extinction. Research and management related to Chinook salmon is usually explored under what are termed "the four H's": habitat, harvest, hatcheries, and hydropower; here we explore a fifth H, history. Patterns of prehistoric and contemporary mitochondrial DNA variation from Chinook salmon were analyzed to characterize and compare population genetic diversity prior to recent alterations and, thus, elucidate a deeper history for this species. A total of 346 ancient and 366 contemporary samples were processed during this study. Species was determined for 130 of the ancient samples and control region haplotypes of 84 of these were sequenced. Diversity estimates from these 84 ancient Chinook salmon were compared to 379 contemporary samples. Our analysis provides the first direct measure of reduced genetic diversity for Chinook salmon from the ancient to the contemporary period, as measured both in direct loss of mitochondrial haplotypes and reductions in haplotype and nucleotide diversity. However, these losses do not appear equal across the basin, with higher losses of diversity in the mid-Columbia than in the Snake subbasin. The results are unexpected, as the two groups were predicted to share a common history as parts of the larger Columbia River Basin, and instead indicate that Chinook salmon in these subbasins may have divergent demographic histories.

Dataset Information

Geo-Referenced, Abundance Calibrated Ocean Distribution of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Stocks across the West Coast of North America.

Publications

Geo-Referenced, Abundance Calibrated Ocean Distribution of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Stocks across the West Coast of North America.

Similar Datasets

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