North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 15

Table of Contents

Integrating Multiple Intrinsic Markers to Infer Habitat Use of Sockeye Salmon Stocks (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the North Pacific Ocean

Authors:
Wade D. Smith, Boris Espinasse, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, and Brian P.V. Hunt

Abstract Excerpt:
Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are renowned for their high mobility, complex population structure, and homing to natal spawning grounds. Following a year or more in freshwater and estuarine habitats, sockeye salmon (O. nerka) in British Columbia, for example, are thought to move north and north-west along the coast during their first summer and winter at sea before migrating offshore into the North Pacific Ocean. During their marine phase, they have the potential to occupy a vast range between the Aleutian Islands and the Washington/Oregon coasts before returning to their home rivers and spawning grounds 2–6 years later (Tucker et al. 2009; Farley et al. 2018). Recent studies on salmonids have greatly advanced our understanding of the timing of ocean entry, natal origins, and habitat use during the first year of life (e.g., Barnett-Johnson et al. 2008; Miller et al. 2010; Volk et al. 2010; Stocks et al. 2014; Campbell et al. 2015). However, much less is known about their habitat use, distribution, and migration patterns after their first autumn at sea—a period that comprises the majority of their lives. The great obstacle to resolving ocean habitat use is the logistical challenge of capturing/tracking salmon on the high seas. Yet, tracing movement pathways through the North Pacific is essential to understanding how salmon populations are and will be impacted by regionally dynamic changes in ocean conditions. To advance techniques for tracing complex oceanic movements of salmon, we evaluate the utility of integrated intrinsic genetic, chemical, and microstructural markers to infer habitat use, movement patterns, and their relationship with relative growth rates of O. nerka during their marine phase.

*This is the first paragraph of an extended abstract. Download the full abstract below.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/187.190.

Citation

Smith, W.D., B. Espinasse, E.A. Pakhomov, and B.P.V. Hunt.  2019.  Integrating multiple intrinsic markers to infer habitat use of sockeye salmon stocks (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the North Pacific Ocean.  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 15: 187–190.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/187.190.