Responses in dissolved nutrients and epilithon abundance to spawning salmon in southeast Alaska streams

Mitchell, Nicole L.; Lamberti, Gary A.

doi:10.4319/lo.2005.50.1.0217

Cited by 70 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies tracking dissolved nutrients have shown similar patterns (Minakawa and Gara 1999, Chaloner et al 2002, Johnston et al 2004, Mitchell and Lamberti 2005, Claeson et al 2006. Delta 15 N in horsetail and scraper macroinvertebrates did not vary with spawner density in any season, suggesting little or no MDN assimilation by these lower trophic levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Seasonal persistence of marine‐derived nutrients in south‐central Alaskan salmon streams

Rinella

Wipfli

Walker³

et al. 2013

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Spawning salmon deliver annual pulses of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) to riverine ecosystems around the Pacific Rim, leading to increased growth and condition in aquatic and riparian biota. The influence of pulsed resources may last for extended periods of time when recipient food webs have effective storage mechanisms, yet few studies have tracked the seasonal persistence of MDN. With this as our goal, we sampled stream water chemistry and selected stream and riparian biota spring through fall at 18 stations (in six watersheds) that vary widely in spawner abundance and at nine stations (in three watersheds) where salmon runs were blocked by waterfalls. We then developed regression models that related dissolved nutrient concentrations and biochemical measures of MDN assimilation to localized spawner density across these 27 stations. Stream water ammonium-N and orthophosphate-P concentrations increased with spawner density during the summer salmon runs, but responses did not persist into the following fall. The effect of spawner density on d 15 N in generalist macroinvertebrates and three independent MDN metrics (d 15 N, d 34 S, and x3:x6 fatty acids) in juvenile Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) was positive and similar during each season, indicating that MDN levels in biota increased with spawner abundance and were maintained for at least nine months after inputs. Delta 15 N in a riparian plant, horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile), and scraper macroinvertebrates did not vary with spawner density in any season, suggesting a lack of MDN assimilation by these lower trophic levels. Our results demonstrate the ready assimilation of MDN by generalist consumers and the persistence of this pulsed subsidy in these organisms through the winter and into the next growing season.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Seasonal persistence of marine‐derived nutrients in south‐central Alaskan salmon streams

Rinella

Wipfli

Walker³

et al. 2013

Ecosphere

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“…The upstream site (Upper Peterson) is above a barrier waterfall that blocks spawning salmon, whereas the downstream site (Lower Peterson) receives spawning runs of Oncorhynchus gorbushcha (pink salmon), Oncorhynchus keta (chum salmon), and Onchorhynchus kisutch (coho salmon) in the late summer and autumn (JulySeptember). The maximum wet mass of the Peterson Creek salmon run has been estimated at .200,000 kg (Bethers et al 1993) and previously measured spawner densities range from 0 to 0.53 fish m 22 (Mitchell and Lamberti 2005). During this study, salmon were first observed at the site on the 02 August sampling date and the majority of carcasses were washed downstream from the site by 03 September.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…In studies in Peterson Creek (Chaloner et al 2004;Mitchell and Lamberti 2005) and in other streams in Alaska, Canada, and the Great Lakes (Sugai and Burrell 1984;Schuldt and Hershey 1995;Minakawa and Gara 1999;Johnston et al 2004; R. T. Edwards unpubl. data), streamwater concentrations of NH 4 -N associated with salmon spawning did not exceed 300 mg L 21 and concentrations of SRP did not exceed 40 mg L 21 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Salmon returning to spawn in their natal streams release nutrients to aquatic ecosystems through several pathways including excretion across gill membranes, leaching from gametes, and leaching from decaying carcasses (Gende et al 2002). These salmon-derived nutrients (SDN) have previously been shown to increase chlorophyll standing stocks (Johnston et al 2004;Mitchell and Lamberti 2005) and the density and growth rates of invertebrates and fish in streams (Bilby et al 1998;Chaloner and Wipfli 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Salmon influences on dissolved organic matter in a coastal temperate brownwater stream: An application of fluorescence spectroscopy

Hood

Fellman

Edwards

2007

Limnology & Oceanography

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We examined how spawning Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) affect streamwater concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus and dissolved organic matter in Peterson Creek, a stream in southeast Alaska. When spawning salmon were present, concentrations of ammonium (NH 4 -N) increased by more than 100 times over prespawning levels and concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus increased by more than an order of magnitude. In contrast, concentrations of nitrate (NO 3 -N) increased by only two to three times during spawning and were not significantly higher than at an upstream reference site with no salmon. During spawning, concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved organic nitrogen were significantly higher in the spawning reach compared with the upstream reference site. The influx of salmon-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) altered the fluorescence index (FI), which has previously been used to distinguish between terrestrial and aquatic sources of DOM, with the FI increasing significantly during the salmon run. Salmon DOM was rich in protein compared with the DOM derived from the terrestrial portion of the watershed. Spawning salmon may be an important source of labile DOM in Peterson Creek.

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“…However, the net effects of spawning salmon can vary (Harding et al 2014); salmon can subsidize freshwater and riparian habitats through excretion and egg and carcass deposition (Kline et al 1990, Cederholm et al 1999, Janetski et al 2009, and can export nutrients with juvenile emigration and disturbance as adults dig and defend nests (Moore et al 2007, Kohler et al 2013. Although considerable amounts of salmon-derived nutrients imported into coastal watersheds are retained, large proportions are also exported downstream to estuaries (Gende et al 2004, Mitchell and Lamberti 2005, Cak et al 2008. The influence of salmon nutrients in estuaries has received some mention (Reimchen 1994, Wipfli et al 1998, Cederholm et al 1999, Lessard and Merritt 2006, Field and Reynolds 2013, but research on the topic is limited (Fujiwara and Highsmith 1997, Jauquet et al 2003, Cak et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From earth and ocean: investigating the importance of cross‐ecosystem resource linkages to a mobile estuarine consumer

Harding

Reynolds

2014

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Externally derived resources often contribute to the structuring of ecological communities.Estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and provide an ideal system to test how communities may be shaped by resource subsidies because they occur at the intersection of marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Here we tested the effects of both terrestrial-and salmon-derived subsidies, in addition to other factors such as habitat area, on the diet (inferred from stable isotopes), abundance and size of a mobile estuarine consumer, the Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister). Crab trap surveys encompassed 19 watersheds over two seasons in the central coast of British Columbia, Canada, which spanned natural gradients in estuary size, watershed size, riparian tree composition, and Pacific salmon spawning density. Stable isotope ratios of crab tissue confirmed the predictions that estuarine nutrient regimes can be strongly affected by upstream watershed size, salmon density, and the dominance of nitrogen-fixing red alder (Alnus rubra). There were more crabs in larger estuaries and the largest crabs were found in estuaries below the largest watersheds. The proportional contributions of terrestrial-and salmon-derived subsidies to the diet of Dungeness crabs increased with watershed size and salmon density, respectively. These results confirmed that resource subsidies can constitute large proportions of the Dungeness crab's diet, that crab abundance is determined by habitat size, but that crab size is affected by the magnitude of terrestrial resource influx.

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Responses in dissolved nutrients and epilithon abundance to spawning salmon in southeast Alaska streams

Cited by 70 publications

References 35 publications

Seasonal persistence of marine‐derived nutrients in south‐central Alaskan salmon streams

Seasonal persistence of marine‐derived nutrients in south‐central Alaskan salmon streams

Salmon influences on dissolved organic matter in a coastal temperate brownwater stream: An application of fluorescence spectroscopy

From earth and ocean: investigating the importance of cross‐ecosystem resource linkages to a mobile estuarine consumer

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