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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. Project Collaborators. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Juvenile Salmon Ecology in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary: Tidal Freshwater Research
Presented by Nichole K. SatherNorthwest Power & Conservation CouncilScience to Policy ExchangeAstoria, ORSeptember 10, 2009
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Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryGary Johnson, Nikki Sather, Amy Borde
Oregon Department of Fish & WildlifeChristine Mallette, Tucker Jones, Adam Storch, Ruth Farr
National Marine Fisheries ServiceDavid Teel, Paul Moran
University of WashingtonJohn Skalski
Fisheries ConsultantEarl Dawley
Project Collaborators
Overview
Study areaProject goals and objectivesSandy River delta & vicinity
Key findings: Fish communitySalmon: genetics, size classes, dietsHabitat characteristics
Expanded sampling effortBackgroundPreliminary data
Direction for the future
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Goal: Address critical uncertainties regarding tidal freshwater habitats and the early life history of salmon
Key Findings
SalmonSalmon occur in all habitats sampledSalmon are encountered throughout the year during all seasonsChinook Salmon are the most predominant salmon
Non-SalmonCommon species:
Threespine Stickleback
Peamouth
Northern Pikeminnow
Sucker species
Banded Killifish*
Bluegill*
Non-native Species
Pro
porti
on
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Deschutes FallMid & Upper Columbia SpringSnake FallSpring Creek Group FallUpper Columbia Summer & FallWest Cascade FallWest Cascade SpringWillamette Spring
Genetic Stock Groups: Chinook Salmon
Size Distribution
Unmarked
Fork Length (mm)
40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Cou
nt
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Marked Chinook
Fork Length (mm)
40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Cou
nt
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Salmon Diet Composition
Site A: Reed Island
Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Mea
n P
rop
ort
ion
by
Nu
mb
er
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
AQDIPT OAQI AMPH MYS COPE CLAD FISH OTHER
Habitat Conditions
Plant community structureSubstrateElevationHydrology
10
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May
June
August
September
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
Rkm 190 - 202
Fork Length (mm)
40 60 80 100 120 140
Cou
nt
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160Base Sites
Rkm 109 - 141
Fork Length (mm)
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Cou
nt
0
50
100
150
200
250Blitz Sites
Ongoing Work & Analyses
Determining representativeness of sampling sitesLinking salmon density and fish community structure to habitat attributesGenetic comparisons between sampling regionsPilot study for residence time of Chinook salmon during winter
Associating salmon diet to prey availabilityDiet comparisons among salmon speciesBioenergetics 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.
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Acknowledgements
BPAField 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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