Main stem and off-channel habitat use by juvenile Chinook salmon in a sub-Arctic riverscape
Freshwater Biology
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Abstract
- Poor growth and survival in freshwater and marine environments have been implicated as responsible for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) declines across Alaska.
- Lateral connectivity of river main stems with off-channel habitats may play an integral role in sustaining Alaskan salmonid populations because off-channel habitats commonly provide greater growth opportunities than main stem habitats through greater macroinvertebrate productivity and warmer water temperatures. However, off-channel habitats may impose greater mortality risks to juvenile salmonids, as these habitats are typically more susceptible to drying and are often occupied by potential predators.
- We used a hierarchical Bayesian count model to describe juvenile Chinook salmon distributions throughout the Chena River, Alaska in main stem and off-channel habitats and employed diet, prey availability, and bioenergetic analyses to explain these habitat selection decisions from data collected in the summer of 2015.
- We found salmon to be most abundant in off-channel habitats as summer temperature increased, which suggested that salmon dispersed to off-channel habitats to take advantage of energetically favourable growth conditions as indicated by the higher prey biomass in benthic and diet samples collected within off-channel habitats.
- Our results could have significant implications for juvenile salmon under a warming Alaskan climate as access to productive off-channel habitats may be important to offset increased energetic costs as temperature warms.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Main stem and off-channel habitat use by juvenile Chinook salmon in a sub-Arctic riverscape |
| Series title | Freshwater Biology |
| DOI | 10.1111/fwb.13232 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication Date | January 04, 2019 |
| Year Published | 2019 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Seattle |
| Description | 4 p. |
| First page | 433 |
| Last page | 446 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Chena River |