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MEPS
Marine Ecology Progress Series

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MEPS 408:227-240 (2010)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08613

Quantifying the contribution of juvenile migratory phenotypes in a population of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Jessica A. Miller1,*, Ayesha Gray2, Joseph Merz3,4

1Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA
2Cramer Fish Sciences, 2245 Clark St., North Bend, Oregon 97459, USA
3Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
4Cramer Fish Sciences, 636 Hedburg Way #22, Oakdale, California 95361, USA

ABSTRACT: Chinook salmon is an anadromous species that varies in size at freshwater emigration, which is hypothesized to increase population resiliency under variable environmental regimes. In California’s Central Valley (USA), the majority of naturally spawned juveniles emigrate in 2 pulses: small juveniles (referred to as fry), typically ≤55 mm fork length (FL), emigrate from natal streams in February–March, whereas larger juveniles (smolts), typically >75 mm FL, emigrate in mid-April–May. In some river systems, there is a smaller pulse of emigrants of intermediate size (parr), typically 56 to 75 mm FL. Although the relative contribution of these migratory phenotypes to the adult population is unknown, management activities focus on survival of larger emigrants and most artificially produced fish (98%) are released from hatcheries at parr and smolt sizes. We reconstructed individual length at freshwater emigration for a sample of adult Central Valley Chinook salmon from 2 emigration years using chemical (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) and structural otolith analyses. The adult sample was comprised of individuals that emigrated as parr (mean = 48%), followed by smolts (32%) and fry (20%). Fry-sized emigrants likely represent natural production because fish ≤55 mm FL comprise <2% of the hatchery production. The distribution of migratory phenotypes represented in the adult sample was similar in both years despite apparent interannual variation in juvenile production, providing evidence for the contribution of diverse migratory phenotypes to the adult population. The contribution of all 3 migratory phenotypes to the adult population indicates that management and recovery efforts should focus on maintenance of life-history variation rather than the promotion of a particular phenotype.


KEY WORDS: Chinook salmon · Migratory phenotype · Otolith chemistry


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Cite this article as: Miller JA, Gray A, Merz J (2010) Quantifying the contribution of juvenile migratory phenotypes in a population of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 408:227-240. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08613

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