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  • Quantifying complex linkages between environmental conditions (climate, fire, stream nutrients, hydropower operations, etc.) and growth, survival, and movement of ESA-listed Chinook and steelhead in the Salmon River Basin, Idaho.

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Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) Fish Ecology FE - Ecosystem Analysis

Information

Project
Idaho Chinook - growth, survival and environmental conditions
Title
Quantifying complex linkages between environmental conditions (climate, fire, stream nutrients, hydropower operations, etc.) and growth, survival, and movement of ESA-listed Chinook and steelhead in the Salmon River Basin, Idaho.
Description
This is an ongoing Bonneville Power Administration funded project since 1993 to collect, PIT tag, and release wild Chinook salmon parr annually in up to 16 streams of the Salmon River drainage in Idaho and subsequently monitor these fish through in-stream monitoring sites and downstream dams. The overall study objectives are to: (1) assess the migrational characteristics and estimate parr-to-smolt survival for Snake River wild spring/summer Chinook salmon smolts at Lower Granite Dam; (2) characterize parr and smolt survival and movement out of natal rearing areas of selected streams; and (3) examine the relationships between fish movement, growth, and survival and environmental conditions (e.g., water temperature) within the streams, and weather and climate data. This project also collects parr-to-smolt growth information on previously PIT-tagged wild Chinook salmon parr at the Lower Granite Dam sort-by-code PIT detection system each spring. The goal of this study element is to characterize run-timing of wild fish to determine if consistent patterns are apparent and to provide daily information for real-time management decisions during the smolt out- migrations.

Since 2001, we measure a variety of environmental conditions each summer within study streams. The overarching goal of this study element is to link environmental conditions to growth and survival of individually tagged Chinook and steelhead in Salmon River basin tributaries. Abiotic conditions measured include su

Data Sets

no data found

Research Themes

Ecosystem approach to improve management of marine resources
The California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, Puget Sound and the Columbia River Basin are home to a wide range of freshwater and marine resources that provide a wealth of ecosystem goods and services. Ensuring the resiliency and productivity of the California Current and Pacific Northwest ecosystems requires an integrated understanding of their structure, function, and vulnerability to increased human population growth in coastal communities and competing uses of coastal waterways and oceans. The NWFSC‘s approach to understanding these large ecosystems integrates studies across ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine) and scientific disciplines to inform resource managers responsible for conserving marine resources.

Research Foci

Assess ecosystem status and trends
Tracking the status of ecosystems across time and space is data intensive as it necessitates evaluating a broad range of trophic levels and environmental conditions from pre-European times to the present. Because ecosystems vary across space and time, the NWFSC must maintain a research focus on the design and implementation of monitoring programs that are capable of capturing this variability. Key research elements are the development and application of novel survey designs, the development of information rich metrics and indicators, and the development of novel spatiotemporal decision support models to facilitate the use of monitoring data in science based decision making. Long-term monitoring program design should be integrated with the development of ecosystem models and indicators to ensure that critical data are collected to support these efforts. An important management goal is the ability to quickly detect important changes in the state of ecosystems (e.g., presence of an invasive species) such that preventative actions can be taken as soon as possible; thus, key management questions and uncertainties should be identified as the structure of monitoring program design to facilitate the decision-making process. It is imperative that the NWFSC’s monitoring science strengths be applied to the design of ecosystem monitoring programs for species (e.g., salmon, rockfish) and ecosystems so that such programs are strategically designed to maximize useable information and minimize cost and effort.
Describe the interaction between human activities, particularly harvest of marine resources, and ecosystem function
Humans are an integral component of ecosystems. These ecosystems provide goods and services such as fish and seafood harvests, but these activities and others such as habitat alteration, pollution, and ocean acidification, can have strong impacts. Understanding the nature of these interactions will require observational and experimental studies aimed at identifying ecosystem-level responses to human activities, both individually and cumulatively, as well as human responses to ecosystem changes. Modeling spatial choices for harvesting and other human activities that are affected by ecosystem integrity, for example, can support a better understanding of the effects of ecosystembased management actions.
Provide scientific support for the implementation of ecosystem-based management
Fisheries scientists and managers recognize the potential for ecosystem-based management to improve sustain the delivery of ecosystem goods and services, including sustainable fisheries resources. An Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) is one approach that examines all available information on relevant physical, chemical, ecological and human processes in relation to specified ecosystem management objectives. IEAs provide an efficient, transparent means of summarizing the status of ecosystem components, screening and prioritizing potential risks, and evaluating alternative management strategies against a backdrop of environmental variability. To perform IEAs of major ecosystems will require development of project components, including new and existing data, to develop a suite of indicators that characterize the ecosystem. Careful assessment of ecosystem indicators will provide a powerful means for assessing management efficacy and a basis for adapting and improving management practices. A major focus will be to produce the initial IEA of the California Current LME and then provide annual updates.
Understand how climate influences ecosystem variability
Effective ecosystem management will require an understanding of how climate variability and climate change will alter riverine, estuarine, and marine habitats and consequently how this will affect ecosystem status, function and recovery. Key research elements include better understanding of historical ecological variability through traditional (i.e., indigenous) sources, exploring the vulnerability of key species and biotic communities to expected habitat changes, including decreasing stream flow, increased flood frequency, increasing stream temperature, sea level rise, ocean acidification, shifts in ocean currents, and changed frequency and extent of deoxygenated zones. A secondary goal is to improve understanding of how ecosystems respond to year-to-year and decadal climate variability. Achieving these research goals will provide NOAA and state and local governments with the knowledge and tools needed to incorporate climate change and variability into management of living marine resources.

Keywords

Chinook salmon
species of interest
ESA
regulatory law
Salmon River Basin, Idaho
River basin in Idaho
survival modeling
Survival CJS (Cormack-Jolly-Seber) modeling

Products

Monitoring the migrations of wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon, Collection and Tagging.
Contract report to BPA. "Collection and Tagging"
Monitoring the migrations of wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon, Survival and Timing.
Contract report to BPA. "Survival and Timing"
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Taxa

Species Oncorhynchus mykiss
rainbow trout, steelhead trout, syeelhead trout
Species Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Chinook salmon, king salmon, spring salmon

People

Amber Barenberg
Staff
Benjamin Sandford
Staff
Beth Sanderson
Principal Investigator
Beth Sanderson
Principal Investigator
Gordon Axel
Principal Investigator
Jesse Lamb
Principal Investigator
Jon Drake
Internal Collaborator
Matthew Nesbit
Internal Collaborator
Peter Kiffney
Principal Investigator
Richard Zabel
Internal Collaborator
Ron Marr
Staff