Linking marine and freshwater growth in western Alaska Chinook salmon <i>Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</i>

Ruggerone, Gregory T.; Nielsen, Jennifer L.; Agler, Beverly A.

doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02364.x

Cited by 17 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…These migratory and foraging patterns may help explain the positive relationship between freshwater and first ocean‐year growth because larger individuals can consume larger pelagic fish and squid (see Ruggerone et al. for a similar interpretation in piscivorous Chinook Salmon).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Interactions between Marine Growth and Life History Diversity of Steelhead from the Situk River, Alaska

Catterson

Sutton

McPhee

2020

N American J Fish Manag

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Steelhead (the anadromous form of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss) exhibit a complex life history that is described by variable freshwater and ocean residency and maturation schedules. This diversity confers resilience but complicates their monitoring and management. The Situk River in Southeast Alaska has the longest running set of biological data and scale samples for steelhead in the state, and it is of particular interest because it supports the largest known population of steelhead in Alaska and is free of hatchery influence. We used a retrospective analysis of scales that were collected from 525 individuals over 11 years (1999–2012) to examine the relationships among freshwater growth, early ocean growth, and life history in a mixed‐effects modeling framework. Specifically, we examined the relationships among annual growth stanzas and adult length and we determined how age at maturity varied by sex and growth history while allowing these relationships to vary randomly among calendar years of growth. Within individuals, freshwater and first ocean‐year growth were positively correlated, while second ocean‐year growth was negatively correlated with earlier growth stanzas. Early‐maturing steelhead (returning after two ocean years) grew more quickly during their first ocean year, and they then grew more slowly during their second ocean year and attained smaller adult length than did later‐maturing steelhead (those that returned after three ocean years). Second ocean‐year growth was more variable than first ocean‐year growth and adult length were. Males tended to mature earlier than females did, and later‐maturing males attained larger freshwater growth than their earlier‐maturing male counterparts did and grew larger in overall length than did females. Our analyses identified divergent growth trajectories that were associated with age at maturity that began in freshwater periods but were most pronounced during early ocean residency. We found retrospective scale‐growth analysis to be a useful tool for better understanding the connections between ocean growth and demography in this important sport fish.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Ruggerone et al. () used scale‐pattern analysis to identify positive correlations between freshwater growth and first‐year marine growth in Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha , while subsequent marine growth was also related to previous years’ growth. Conversely, Marco‐Rius et al.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between Marine Growth and Life History Diversity of Steelhead from the Situk River, Alaska

Catterson

Sutton

McPhee

2020

N American J Fish Manag

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“…Growth dependency between adjacent growth zones has been shown for Chinook Salmon from the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers (Ruggerone et al. ; McPhee et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Ruggerone et al. () noted that growth dependency may be the result of developmental changes in prey availability and piscivory by Chinook Salmon (Quinn ; Davis et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of Growth, Survival, and Recruitment of Chinook Salmon in Southeast Alaska Rivers

et al. 2019

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Recent reductions in the run sizes of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Southeast Alaska have resulted in social and economic hardships within the region. For Pacific salmon, including Chinook Salmon, brood year (BY) strength may be determined by size‐selective processes that occur during early marine residence. However, the relative importance of freshwater versus marine growth in determining recruitment success is unknown. We conducted a scale‐based retrospective analysis to examine the relative effects of freshwater and marine growth on survival to the age of reproduction for female Chinook Salmon by BY in the Taku (BYs 1979–1985, 1990–1999, 2002–2004) and Unuk (BYs 1981–1983, 1986–1988, 1994–2003, 2005–2006) rivers located in Southeast Alaska. First‐year marine growth of Chinook Salmon was positively related to total return, productivity (returns per spawner), and marine survival for stocks from both systems. In the Taku River, growth during the third year at sea was positively related to marine survival. Annual growth of Taku River Chinook Salmon was correlated with previous growth through the second year at sea; however, no correlations were detected between adjacent growth zones of Unuk River fish. These findings suggest that current declines in Chinook Salmon abundance in Southeast Alaska is attributed to changes in growth conditions during the first year at sea.

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Understanding the life histories of amphidromous fish by integrating otolith‐derived growth reconstructions, post‐larval migrations and reproductive traits

Egan

Hickford

Schiel

2019

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Amphidromy is the most prevalent type of diadromous migration. Despite this, the conservation and management of amphidromous species is exceptionally challenging because this life history type, with larval development in a pelagic habitat (usually marine) and adult development in fresh water, is poorly resolved.2. The chronological properties of otoliths, together with a spatial and temporal analysis of post-larval migration traits and adult reproductive traits, were used to reconstruct the life history of a widespread, yet declining amphidromous galaxiid, Galaxias maculatus, and to explore relationships between marine and freshwater life phases.3. A wide range of post-larval migration traits were observed over the peak migratory period. Post-larvae were smaller and younger at inward migration late in the migration season (November) and were derived from winter spawning events.Earlier migrants (September) were larger, older and derived from autumn spawning events.4. Age estimates confirmed that G. maculatus is largely an annual species, but backcalculated hatch dates showed that spawning times are more extensive than previously known.5. Growth reconstructions revealed that winter-hatched larvae were faster growing during marine and freshwater life and attained sexual maturity at a younger age than autumn-hatched fish. However, no differences in body size or reproductive investment were detected between autumn-and winter-hatched larvae.6. The first 50 days of marine growth were inter-dependent, indicating that early larval growth may be the critical link to understanding intra-and inter-annual recruitment variations of inward migrating post-larvae. Furthermore, growth after 60 days of larval life propagated through to adult freshwater development, highlighting linkages between late marine and adult freshwater life.7. This study highlights the value of studying the marine and freshwater life phases of amphidromous species in tandem. This interconnected understanding must ultimately be achieved for the conservation and management of species with this poorly understood life history type.

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Linking marine and freshwater growth in western Alaska Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Cited by 17 publications

References 43 publications

Interactions between Marine Growth and Life History Diversity of Steelhead from the Situk River, Alaska

Interactions between Marine Growth and Life History Diversity of Steelhead from the Situk River, Alaska

Evaluation of Growth, Survival, and Recruitment of Chinook Salmon in Southeast Alaska Rivers

Understanding the life histories of amphidromous fish by integrating otolith‐derived growth reconstructions, post‐larval migrations and reproductive traits

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