Life-history, Ecology, and Potential Threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶
life history ecology and potential
SMART_READER_LITE
LIVE PREVIEW

Life-history, Ecology, and Potential Threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Aug 10, 2023 198 likes •773 views

Life-history, Ecology, and Potential Threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon in the Marine Environment Kate Myers (email kwmyers@uw.edu ) 2014 Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium, November 19, 2014, Palmer, AK Photo: S.V.

slide-1
SLIDE 1

Life-history, Ecology, and Potential Threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon in the Marine Environment

Photo: S.V. Naydenko

Kate Myers (email kwmyers@uw.edu) 2014 Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium, November 19, 2014, Palmer, AK

slide-2
SLIDE 2

Issue: recent low productivity of Alaska Chinook

2

Source: ADFG Chinook Salmon Research Team 2013

slide-3
SLIDE 3

Total Pacific Rim salmon catches high

3

slide-4
SLIDE 4

Key Questions

  • Is recent low productivity of Alaska kings due

to changes in survival in freshwater or the

  • cean or both?
  • What caused recent changes in freshwater or

marine survival?

4

slide-5
SLIDE 5

Outline

  • Brief review of marine life history & ecology

and potential threats in marine habitats

  • Introduce leading hypotheses linking changes

in marine and freshwater habitats to recent declines

  • Suggestions for next steps

5

slide-6
SLIDE 6

Why is marine life history & ecology important to king salmon?

Open ocean (immature) 1-5 years

Open ocean (maturing) 6 months River (adult) 3 months River (egg-smolt) 1-2 years Coastal Ocean (juvenile) 6 months

Life cycle of king salmon

~99% of total growth occurs in the ocean; ~3% average marine survival (Quinn 2005)

6

slide-7
SLIDE 7

General salmon ocean life history

1 2 3 4 5 Chum Sockeye Pink Chinook Steelhead Coho

Ocean age groups (winters at sea)

7

High abundance Zooplankton feeders Low abundance Micronekton feeders

Six species (% survival)

1 2 3 4 5

1.4 13.1 2.8 3.1 13.0 10.4

% survival = smolt to adult survival estimates (Quinn 2005)

slide-8
SLIDE 8

What is the appropriate spatial & temporal scale to address this issue?

8

slide-9
SLIDE 9

9

slide-10
SLIDE 10

10

slide-11
SLIDE 11

Seasonal distribution of Chinook in research vessel surveys (1956- 1996) in the North Pacific Ocean & Bering Sea Source: Welch et

  • al. 2014 PICES

Presentation (pices.int)

11

slide-12
SLIDE 12

Many factors influence ocean distribution

12

Distribution

slide-13
SLIDE 13

Recent evidence supports concept that ocean migration patterns of salmon are inherited

13

slide-14
SLIDE 14

Evidence indicates Upper Cook inlet kings are

distributed in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea

14

slide-15
SLIDE 15

Tag recovery data provide information on age- specific seasonal distributions of Upper Cook Inlet Kings

15

slide-16
SLIDE 16

Known ocean distribution of Upper Cook Inlet salmon from tag recoveries

Composite of all recoveries 1981-2013

Data source: Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Regional Mark Information System

16

slide-17
SLIDE 17

UCI –1st ocean summer-fall – Age 1.0

17

slide-18
SLIDE 18

UCI –1st ocean winter – Age 1.1

18

slide-19
SLIDE 19

UCI – spring – Age 1.1

19

slide-20
SLIDE 20

UCI – summer – Age 1.1

20

slide-21
SLIDE 21

UCI – fall – Age 1.1

21

slide-22
SLIDE 22

UCI – winter – Age 1.2

22

slide-23
SLIDE 23

UCI – spring/summer – Age 1.2

4-5 7 5

  • 8

7-9 8 5- 7

23

slide-24
SLIDE 24

UCI – fall – Age 1.2

10- 11

24

slide-25
SLIDE 25

UCI – winter – Age 1.3

25

slide-26
SLIDE 26

UCI – spring – Age 1.3

26

slide-27
SLIDE 27

UCI – summer/fall – Age 1.3

8 8

  • 9

7-10 7 7 7-9 7

27

slide-28
SLIDE 28

UCI – spring/summer – Age 1.4

7 5-8

28

slide-29
SLIDE 29

UCI – spring– Age 1.5

29

slide-30
SLIDE 30

Conceptual model of seasonal migration patterns of Upper Cook Inlet Chinook (modified from Larson et al. 2013)

Spring-fall Winter

Juvenile age .0

slide-31
SLIDE 31

Squid Fish

No apparent differences in vertical distribution by ocean age group in winter of trawl bycatch of kings

Ocean surface % of total by age group Record depth of individual fish measured by electronic tag = 1,717 ft (523 m) Data are from 1997-1999

31

slide-32
SLIDE 32

Electronic tag data indicate Chinook vertical distribution is deeper than other species

32

slide-33
SLIDE 33

33

slide-34
SLIDE 34

Tag released in Dutch Harbor,

  • Dec. 2013

Pop-up Apr. 2014

Data and slide provided by Andrew Seitz, UAF Pop-up satellite tag recovery shows temperature- depth distribution & estimates location

34

slide-35
SLIDE 35

December January February March April Bering Sea feeding Gulf of Alaska feeding Gulf of Alaska transit Pop-up

Data and slide provided by Andrew Seitz, UAF

35

slide-36
SLIDE 36

AKST 11 am 6 am 1 am 8 pm 3 pm Depth (feet) 328 ft 656 ft 984 ft 1312 ft

Night

Pop- up tag at sea surf- ace

Day Day

Fish deep in day (yellow), shallow at night (purple-blue)

Data and slide provided by Andrew Seitz, UAF

36

slide-37
SLIDE 37

Fish

Squid are the major prey of kings in the Central Gulf of Alaska in summer (50-56°N, 145°W)

Data from Kaeriyama et al. 2004

Prey composition Unidentified Squid Euphausiid Amphipod

37

slide-38
SLIDE 38

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Prey composition by volume Squid Fish Euphausiids Other

Squid Fish

Squid, fish, and euphausiids are major prey in summer diets of kings in the Bering Sea

Euphausiids

38

slide-39
SLIDE 39

Fish Euphausiids

Winter diets of kings in Bering Sea shelf habitats varied by ocean age group – (samples from trawl bycatch contained pollock offal)

Pollock Offal

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Ocean Age-1 & 2 Ocean Age-3 Ocean Age-4 & 5

Ocean Age Group Mean % Prey Composition

Fish Squid

Other-shrimp, plastic

Euphausiids

1 & 2 3 4 & 5

39

slide-40
SLIDE 40

Life-stage specific responses of Alaska kings to natural climate change

High growth rate if prey not limited Warm climate High ocean survival n Early maturation; early return; adults younger, smaller at return High survival & abundance Low growth rate if prey limited Cool climate n Late maturation; late return; adults older & larger at return Low survival & abundance

Open ocean life stage:

1st Ocean winter Adult Immature

40

slide-41
SLIDE 41

Decreasing trend in average weight of Kings in Upper Cook Inlet Commercial Catch

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Average weight (lbs)

Return Year

Data Source: ADF&G

41

slide-42
SLIDE 42

Possible reasons for declining size and age

42

Slide provided by Ed Farley, NOAA

slide-43
SLIDE 43

Potential threats to Mat-Su Kings

  • Climate change
  • Ocean Fishing
  • Hatchery-wild

interactions in the

  • cean
  • Marine Pollution

43

slide-44
SLIDE 44

Distribution, Growth, & Survival

44

slide-45
SLIDE 45

Chinook frequently caught at cooler range of summer sea surface temperatures (°C) than

  • ther salmon species (Abdul-Aziz et al. 2011)

32*F 57*F

45

slide-46
SLIDE 46

Projected changes in sea surface temperatures indicate loss of most summer thermal habitat of king salmon by the end of the century

1980s 2040s 2080s 86% loss of 1-10°C (34- 50°F) habitat by 2080s Data from Abdul-Aziz et al. 2011 46

slide-47
SLIDE 47
  • Reduced calcification rates for

calcifying (hard-shelled)

  • rganisms
  • physiological stress
  • Shifts in phytoplankton

diversity and changes in food webs

  • Reduced tolerance to other

environmental fluctuations

  • Potential for changes to fitness

and survival, but this is poorly understood

What are the biological implications of

  • cean acidification?

Barrie Kovish

Pacific Salmon

Coccolithophores

Vicki Fabry

Pteropods Copepods

ARCOD@ims.uaf.edu

(Slide provided by Dick Feely, NOAA) 47

slide-48
SLIDE 48

Ocean Fishing: What are the combined impacts of catch, bycatch, dropout mortality, and ecological interactions by commercial fisheries Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea? Guyon et al. 2014

Stock Proportions of Chinook in GOA pollock trawl bycatch

48

slide-49
SLIDE 49

Do interactions with hatchery salmon in the ocean affect productivity of wild Mat-Su salmon? 5 billion per year

Asian & North American releases into ocean

Data Source: npafc.org

49

Hatchery Premise: No Competition

slide-50
SLIDE 50

Regional Wild vs. Hatchery Abundance

Some “pristine” regions have high hatchery production, 1990-2005; Data source: Ruggerone et al. 2010

50

slide-51
SLIDE 51

Marine pollution example: Potential Mechanisms of Juvenile Salmon Mortality Due to Plastic Marine Debris

Direct Mortality

Mechanical injury, starvation, toxicity

Indirect Mortality

Biomagnification & bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals

Indirect Mortality

Transgenerational epigenetic effects on physiology & behavior Freshwater Life Cycle

Adult Egg Fry Maturing Immature Juvenile Smolt 51

slide-52
SLIDE 52

Hypotheses linking changes in FW and Marine Habitats to recent declines

52

Slide provided by Nate Mantua, NOAA

slide-53
SLIDE 53
  • 1. Critical size and period hypothesis

53

Year class strength is set during 1st year at sea

Slide provided by Ed Farley, NOAA/AFSC/Auke Bay Lab

slide-54
SLIDE 54
  • 2. Match Mismatch Hypothesis:

smolts are entering the ocean earlier

Gulf of Alaska

54

Slide provided by Ed Farley, NOAA/AFSC/Auke Bay Lab

slide-55
SLIDE 55

55

Slide provided by Ed Farley, NOAA/AFSC/Auke Bay Lab

slide-56
SLIDE 56
  • 3. Declining adult size reduces productivity

56

Modified from slide provided by Ed Farley, NOAA/AFSC/Auke Bay Lab

slide-57
SLIDE 57

Suggestions for next steps

  • Proceed with recommended ADFG Chinook stock

assessment & research plan (ADFG 2013)

  • Develop a plan for local marine research, monitoring,

& evaluation of juvenile salmon & their nearshore habitats in Cook Inlet

  • Support/collaborate with NOAA’s juvenile salmon

ecosystem monitoring & assessment in shelf habitats

  • f the Bering Sea & Gulf of Alaska
  • Cooperate with treaty organizations addressing these

issues in international waters (high seas) - North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (npafc.org) and North Pacific Marine Science Organization (pices.int)

57