Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon, Nutrients, and Trace Metals from the Wilson and Blossom Rivers to Smeaton Bay, Southeast Alaska

Sugai, Susan F.; Burrell, David C.

doi:10.1139/f84-019

Cited by 41 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Reports of the influence of spawning salmon on DON concentrations are rare. However, our finding that DOC concentrations were significantly higher in the spawning reach of Peterson Creek compared with the upstream reach differs from previous studies that have shown no significant increase in DOC associated with spawning salmon (Sugai and Burrell 1984;Chaloner et al 2004;Mitchell and Lamberti 2005). A study on spawning Chinook salmon in a Lake Ontario stream did find that concentrations of DOC were significantly correlated with salmon carcass density (Sarica et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

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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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

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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“…Our study convincingly shows that, across streams in the Juneau area and in mesocosm streams, NH and SRP concentrations in ϩ 4 streamwater increase on average 10-and 3-fold, respectively, in the presence of spawning salmon, whereas NO and DOC western Washington stream. Sugai and Burrell (1984) observed a fivefold increase in both NH and SRP during the spawning likely was the result of the combination of salmon excretion while alive and tissue decomposition after death. Previous studies have shown that the prominent nutrients in fish excretion are NH and SRP (Meyer and Schultz 1985; ϩ 4 Brabrand et al 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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

2005

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Spawning Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) historically transported massive quantities of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) into nutrient-poor streams of the Pacific Northwest. In southeast Alaska, we measured the effects of MDN on streamwater chemistry and epilithon standing stock (1) through time during two consecutive years in one stream, Fish Creek; (2) over space in six salmon streams; and (3) salmon carcasses in artificial streams. Overall, salmon clearly increased the concentrations of important dissolved nutrients in southeast Alaska streams. Responses in epilithon were more variable, however, suggesting that multiple environmental factors including light and disturbance likely regulate epilithon growth in salmon streams. Nutrient mass transport estimates revealed that a substantial amount of MDN (46%-60% depending on element) is exported directly back to the estuarine environment, suggesting that salmon represent a key marine-freshwater coupling in nutrient cycling.

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“…A week or two later, levels of ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in stream water further increase, probably leached from carcasses or gametes released during spawning activities. As salmon continue to die and biomass from the carcasses is processed by consumer or microbial activity, SRP and NH 4 + increase but then decrease as the number of fish in the stream declines (e.g., Brickell andGoering 1970, Sugai andBurrell 1984). Finally, when only the skeletal tissue remains, P and Ca in the bones are the primary nutrients left.…”

Section: Dispersal Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pacific Salmon in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Gende¹,

Edwards²,

Willson³

et al. 2002

BioScience

453

416

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Articles Salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest have been declining for decades, so much so that many runs are threatened or endangered; others have been completely extirpated (Nehlsen et al. 1991). This "salmon crisis" looms large in the public eye, because it has serious and wideranging economic, cultural, and ecological repercussions. Billions of dollars have gone into industrial and agricultural projects that alter regional rivers in ways that, often unintentionally, make them inaccessible or unsuitable for salmon. Recently, billions more have been spent in largely unsuccessful attempts to restore the languishing salmon runs (Lichatowich 1999). Moreover, enormous nonmonetary resources have been expended in assigning and denying responsibility for failed runs and debating the possible efficacy of various remedies.As resources that are devoted to reversing declining runs of salmon have increased, scientists and resource managers have been expanding our understanding of the ecological role of salmon and other anadromous fishes, which return from the sea to spawn in fresh water. We have known for years that spawning salmon serve as a food resource for wildlife species (e.g., Shuman 1950) and, when they die after spawning (as most Pacific salmon do), their carcasses provide nutrients (e.g., carbon [C], nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P]) to freshwater systems (e.g., Juday et al. 1932). More recently, scientists have documented that these "salmon-derived nutrient" subsidies may have significant impacts on both freshwater and riparian communities and on the life histories of organisms that live there (Willson et al. 1998, Cederholm et al. 1999.Because of the burgeoning interest in salmon, growing indications of their ecological importance, and recent calls for management to consider the role of salmon in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., Larkin and Slaney 1997), we take this opportunity to review what is understood about the function of salmon as key elements of ecological systems. Our objectives are twofold. First, we expand on previous reviews of salmon (Willson et al. 1998, Cederholm et al. 1999) to include recent research that has amplified and modified earlier ideas about the contribution of salmon to ecosystem processes. In doing so, we describe the composition, magnitude, and distribution of marine inputs to freshwater and terrestrial systems via salmon. We use an expanding group of studies pertaining to stream nutrient budgets and salmon physiology to construct a schematic that illustrates salmon-derived products and the pathways by which they enter and are retained in aquatic and terrestrial food webs. We then consider the ecological variation associated with salmonid ecosystems and how this may influence the ecological response to the salmon input. Second, we consider how this variation in ecosystem response may influence management and conservation efforts.

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Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon, Nutrients, and Trace Metals from the Wilson and Blossom Rivers to Smeaton Bay, Southeast Alaska

Cited by 41 publications

References 22 publications

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

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

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

Pacific Salmon in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

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