The relationships among behavior, environment, and migration success in anadromous fishes are poorly understood. We monitored migration behavior at eight Columbia and Snake river dams for 18 286 adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (sea-run Oncorhynchus mykiss) over 7 years using radiotelemetry. When statistically controlling for variation in flow, temperature, fisheries take, and other environmental variables, we observed that unsuccessful individuals — those not observed to reach spawning areas — had longer passage times at nearly all dams than fish that eventually reached tributaries. In many cases, times were also longer for unsuccessful adults passing through a multiple-dam reach. Four ecological mechanisms may have contributed to these patterns: (i) environmental factors not accounted for in the analyses; (ii) inefficient responses by some fish to passage conditions at dams that resulted in slowed passage, energetic depletion, and unsuccessful migration; (iii) ongoing selection for traits needed to pass obstructions; and (or) (iv) passage rate was not directly linked to migration success, but rather, both resulted from relatively poor phenotypic condition upon river entry in unsuccessful migrants. Overall, these results illustrate the need for a mechanistic understanding of the factors that influence migration success and the need for fitness-based criteria to assess the effects of dams on anadromous fishes.

Dams in the Columbia River basin present significant obstacles to declining populations of anadromous Pacific lampreys Lampetra tridentata. Mitigation efforts have focused on fine‐scale improvements in passage at individual dams, but there is an increasing need for basinwide estimates of survival and escapement. We developed a half‐duplex passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag monitoring array at five Columbia and Snake River dams to evaluate adult lamprey migrations. We tagged 3,598 lampreys over 3 years and calculated the rates of main‐stem escapement through 15 river reaches. From these data, we assessed the relative effects of lamprey size, river discharge, water temperature, and migration timing on upstream passage. The results indicated high attrition as lampreys progressed upstream. In each year, about one‐half of the fish passed one dam, 28–33% passed two dams, 17–19% passed three dams, 4–5% passed four dams, and about 1% passed the first dam on the Snake River (five dams and >300 km upstream from their release sites). In most reaches, upstream passage was strongly size dependent, the largest lampreys being two to four times more likely to pass than the smallest fish. Lamprey size was more predictive of passage than were the river discharge, temperature, or migration timing variables. These findings suggest that adult Pacific lamprey migration is affected by physiological constraints and that effective mitigation for the difficult passage conditions at dams should include size‐related considerations.

Adult Pacific lampreys Lampetra tridentata migrate through areas of difficult passage and high water velocity by attaching their oral discs to substrate and then releasing and bursting upstream. In fishways at dams, this burst‐and‐attach behavior can be ineffective, particularly where suitable attachment surfaces are unavailable. We used an experimental fishway to test performance of adult Pacific lampreys when confronted with a series of structural challenges. These included vertical steps near fishway weir orifices, squared versus rounded orifice entrances, and floor‐mounted metal grates. All experimental challenges simulated common existing structures in weir‐and‐orifice fishways at Columbia and Snake River dams. Most experiments were paired with field evaluations of radio‐tagged Pacific lampreys or video observations of untagged individuals in situ. Field and experimental results consistently indicated that the structural challenges reduced passage efficiency and lengthened passage times. Improving Pacific lamprey passage may be facilitated by removing or modifying vertical steps and other sharp‐edged corners and by providing adequate attachment surfaces. Such accommodations should be especially beneficial in areas with high water velocity. The findings demonstrate how fish morphology and behavior should be explicitly considered in the design or retrofitting of fish passage structures.

Accurate estimates of escapement by adult anadromous salmonids are difficult, especially in large, multistock river systems. We used radiotelemetry and a fishery reward program to calculate escapement, harvest, and unaccounted for loss rates for 10 498 adult chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and 5324 steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during six return years in the Columbia River basin. Mean annual escapements to spawning sites, hatcheries, or the upper bounds of the monitored hydrosystem were 73.4% (spring–summer chinook salmon), 61.3% (fall chinook salmon), and 62.6% (steelhead). Mean reported harvest rates were 8.7% (spring–summer chinook), 22.0% (fall chinook), and 15.1% (steelhead) within the mainstem hydrosystem and 5.9%, 3.4%, and 5.7%, respectively, in lower hydrosystem tributaries. On average, 12%–17% of each run had unknown fates in the mainstem hydrosystem. Escapement, harvest, and loss varied significantly between runs and years, within runs between known-origin subbasin stocks, and between interdam river reaches. Multiyear quantitative assessments like this can reduce uncertainty, clarify inter- and intra-annual variability, and help managers better evaluate fisheries, identify conservation priorities, and help protect evolutionarily significant populations.

We examined the effects of river environment on the timing of spawning migrations by anadromous Pacific lamprey, Lampetra tridentata, in the Columbia River (U.S.A.). In a 41-year time series of adult lamprey counts, migration timing was earliest in warm, low-discharge years and latest in cold, highflow years. Threshold temperatures associated with run timing were similar throughout the dataset despite significant impoundment-related warming, suggesting that temperature-dependent migration cues have been temporally stable. Within each year, migration rates of PIT-tagged lampreys were positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with discharge through multiple river reaches, offering additional evidence for environmental control of upstream movement. Both visual count and PIT-tag data indicated that there may be population-based differences in migration timing within the aggregate Columbia River lamprey run. These life history and behavioral results have potentially farreaching implications for management of lamprey species.

An experimental fishway was used to examine adult Pacific lamprey, Lampetra tridentata (Gairdner), behaviour in a series of attraction and passage-performance tests. Among all experiments, lamprey oriented to the fishway floor and walls and were attracted to both ambient and concentrated flow. When confronted with highvelocity areas (vertical-slot and submerged-orifice weirs), many lamprey failed to pass upstream. However, lamprey were able to find and take advantage of low-velocity refuges when they were provided. Lamprey climbed shallow-and steep-angled ramps when attraction cues were sufficient and other passage routes were restricted. The combined results demonstrated the passage challenges that fishways designed and operated for salmonids present to non-salmonid species. They also highlight the importance of evaluating trade-offs between fishway attraction and passage efficiency. The experiments were integrated with tagging studies and development of lamprey-specific passage structures, a research combination that provided an effective template for fishway performance evaluations.K E Y W O R D S : burst swimming, Columbia River, fishway performance, migration barrier, rheotaxis, velocity refuge.

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We developed a telemetry and remote‐sensing instrument platform for a small vessel (6.1‐m inboard jetboat) to collect fish telemetry and environmental data in real time as well as to collect data during habitat surveys in the Columbia River estuary. The instrumentation consisted of two acoustic telemetry hydrophones, an acoustic telemetry receiver, a conductivity—temperature—depth probe, an acoustic Doppler current profiler, a differential Global Positioning System, and a side‐scan sonar integrated with an onboard portable computer. The system can be used on other vessels, has the flexibility to adapt to a range of telemetry and small oceanographic instrument systems, and allows for deployment and data collection from all instruments simultaneously.