Download Presented - Northwest Power and Conservation Council (Council)

Juvenile Salmon Ecology in the
Lower Columbia River and
Estuary:
Tidal Freshwater Research
Presented by Nichole K. Sather
Northwest Power & Conservation Council
Science to Policy Exchange
Astoria, OR
September 10, 2009
1
Project Collaborators
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Gary Johnson, Nikki Sather, Amy Borde
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
Christine Mallette, Tucker Jones, Adam Storch,
Ruth Farr
National Marine Fisheries Service
David Teel, Paul Moran
University of Washington
John Skalski
Fisheries Consultant
Earl Dawley
Overview
Study area
Project goals and objectives
Sandy River delta & vicinity
Key findings: Fish community
Salmon: genetics, size classes, diets
Habitat characteristics
Expanded sampling effort
Background
Preliminary data
Direction for the future
3
Goal: Address critical
uncertainties regarding
tidal freshwater habitats
and the early life history
of salmon
Key Findings
Salmon
Non-Salmon
Salmon occur in all
Common species:
habitats sampled
Threespine Stickleback
Peamouth
Salmon are encountered
throughout the year during
Northern Pikeminnow
all seasons
Sucker species
Banded Killifish*
Chinook Salmon are the
most predominant salmon
Bluegill*
Non-native Species
Genetic Stock Groups: Chinook Salmon
1.0
Proportion
0.8
0.6
Deschutes Fall
Mid & Upper Columbia Spring
Snake Fall
Spring Creek Group Fall
Upper Columbia Summer & Fall
West Cascade Fall
West Cascade Spring
Willamette Spring
0.4
0.2
0.0
y
y
h
ar
ar arc
u
u
r
n
M
Ja Feb
il
r
Ap
ay une
M
J
ly
st
er
er
er
er
b
b
b
Ju ugu mb
o
m
m
ct
A
te
ve ece
O
p
o
N
D
Se
Size Distribution
Marked Chinook
300
120
250
100
200
80
Count
Count
Unmarked
150
60
40
100
20
50
0
0
40
60
80
100
Fork Length (mm)
120
140
160
40
60
80
100
120
Fork Length (mm)
140
160
180
Salmon Diet Composition
Mean Proportion by Number
Site A: Reed Island
1.0
0.8
0.6
AQDIPT
OAQI
AMPH
MYS
COPE
CLAD
FISH
OTHER
0.4
0.2
0.0
Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Habitat Conditions
Plant community structure
Substrate
Elevation
Hydrology
10
May
June
August
September
11
Validation
Is the SRD & vicinity
representative of other tidal
freshwater habitats?
Is the expression of early
life history strategies
similar between various
reaches within the tidal
freshwater area of the
LCRE?
Longview
St. Helens
Length Frequency Distribution
Chinook Salmon
Base Sites
Blitz Sites
160
250
Rkm 190 - 202
Rkm 109 - 141
140
200
120
100
Count
Count
150
80
100
60
40
50
20
0
0
40
60
80
100
Fork Length (mm)
120
140
20
40
60
80
100
Fork Length (mm)
120
140
160
Ongoing Work & Analyses
Determining
representativeness of
sampling sites
Linking salmon density
and fish community
structure to habitat
attributes
Genetic comparisons
between sampling
regions
Pilot study for residence
time of Chinook salmon
during winter
Associating salmon diet to
prey availability
Diet comparisons among
salmon species
Bioenergetics modeling:
assess energetic
constraints on fish growth
Summary
Addressing critical
uncertainties in tidal freshwater
encompasses multiple abiotic
and biotic attributes.
As we build our knowledge of
salmon ecology in tidal
freshwater, the data will be
applied to ecosystem
restoration prioritization and
decision-making to identify
actions and strategies to
recover ESA listed stocks.
16
Acknowledgements
BPA
Field and Technical
Support
Amanda Bryson, Mike
Anderson, Chris
Anderson, Shon
Zimmerman, Ron
Kauffman, Dave Nichols
Project partners: ODFW,
NOAA, UW, E. Dawley
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