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Marine Ecology Progress Series

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MEPS 503:247-261 (2014)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10726

Regional and inter-annual trends in marine growth of juvenile salmon in coastal pelagic ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada

Bridget E. Ferriss1, Marc Trudel2,3, Brian R. Beckman4,* 

1School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
2Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9T 6N7, Canada
3Department of Biology, University of Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3N5, Canada
4NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, Washington 98112-2097, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: We measured insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) concentrations (a proxy for growth) from juvenile coho Oncorhynchus kisutch, sockeye O. nerka, chum O. keta, and Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha collected in 8 regions of British Columbian coastal waters, in June of 2009, 2010, and 2011. We found annual differences in IGF1 for all 4 species, as well as species-specific regional differences in IGF1 concentrations in coho, chum, and sockeye salmon. Sockeye and chum salmon had consistently higher levels in the northern regions of the Dixon Entrance, Haida Gwaii, Hecate Strait, and lower levels in Queen Charlotte Strait. Regional differences in coho, chum, and sockeye salmon were highly correlated (R2 = 0.61–0.75). These results demonstrate that salmon growth responds to local environmental variability on a scale of several hundred kilometers. Thus, IGF1 measures should generate insight into fish production on relatively local regional and temporal scales, and these same measures may allow the assessment of how habitats vary on these same scales.


KEY WORDS: Oncorhynchus · IGF1 · Spatial · Scale · Ecosystem assessment · Hormone


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Cite this article as: Ferriss BE, Trudel M, Beckman BR (2014) Regional and inter-annual trends in marine growth of juvenile salmon in coastal pelagic ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 503:247-261. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10726

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