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[[File:Sockeye salmon jumping over beaver dam Lake Aleknagik, AK Kristina Ramstad 1997.jpg|thumb|120px|left|Sockeye salmon jumping over a beaver dam, [[Aleknagik Lake]], AK]]
[[File:Sockeye salmon jumping over beaver dam Lake Aleknagik, AK Kristina Ramstad 1997.jpg|thumb|120px|left|Sockeye salmon jumping over a beaver dam, [[Aleknagik Lake]], AK]]


The conservation status of sockeye populations in Canada is under review by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of its Wild Salmon Policy strategy to standardize monitoring of wild salmon status.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild Salmon Policy 1|url=http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/species-especes/salmon-saumon/wsp-pss/strat1-eng.htm}}</ref> Salmon runs of particular note are the Skeena and Nass river runs, and the most famous is the Fraser River sockeye run.
The [[conservation status]] of sockeye populations in Canada is under review by [[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]] as part of its Wild Salmon Policy strategy to standardize monitoring of wild salmon status.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild Salmon Policy 1|url=http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/species-especes/salmon-saumon/wsp-pss/strat1-eng.htm}}</ref> Salmon runs of particular note are the Skeena and Nass river runs, and the most famous is the Fraser River sockeye run.


The Fraser River salmon run has experienced declines in productivity since the 1990s, mirroring a similar decline in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking for the Salmon proceedings: Summit of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon: Understanding Stock Declines and Prospects for the Future March 30-31, 2010|url=http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/resources/1289336126.pdf}}</ref>
The Fraser River salmon run has experienced declines in productivity since the 1990s, mirroring a similar decline in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking for the Salmon proceedings: Summit of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon: Understanding Stock Declines and Prospects for the Future March 30-31, 2010|url=http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/resources/1289336126.pdf}}</ref>
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|accessdate=Oct 2009
|accessdate=Oct 2009
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
and the return abundance was the lowest in over 50 years. The reasons for this (former) decline remain speculative. According to a consortium of scientists assembled to review the problem, the decline highlights the uncertainty in forecasting salmon returns.
and the return abundance was the lowest in over 50 years. The reasons for this (former) decline remain speculative. According to a [[consortium]] of scientists assembled to review the problem, the decline highlights the uncertainty in forecasting salmon returns.
<ref name="Think Tank Statement">{{cite web
<ref name="Think Tank Statement">{{cite web
|url=http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/resources/1273690566.pdf
|url=http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/resources/1273690566.pdf

Revision as of 04:27, 15 November 2013

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Sockeye salmon
Male ocean-phase sockeye
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subclass:
Neopterygii
Infraclass:
Teleostei
Order:
Salmoniformes
Family:
Salmonidae
Genus:
Oncorhynchus
Species:
O. nerka
Binomial name
Oncorhynchus nerka
(Walbaum, 1792)

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) — also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the United States — is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. Sockeye salmon is the third most common Pacific salmon species, after pink and chum salmon.[2] The name "sockeye" is an anglicization of suk-kegh (sθə́qəy̓), its name in Halkomelem, the language of the indigenous people along the lower reaches of the Fraser River (one of British Columbia's many native Coast Salish languages). Suk-kegh means "red fish".[3][4]

Range and habitat

Sockeye salmon range as far south as the Columbia River in the eastern Pacific (though individuals have been spotted as far south as the 10 Mile River on the Mendocino Coast of California) and northern Hokkaidō Island in Japan in the western Pacific, and as far north as Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west.[5]

Landlocked populations

Male spawning phase sockeye.

Completely landlocked populations of the same species also are known. Some sockeye live and reproduce in lakes and are commonly called kokanee, their name in the Okanagan language[6] or "silver trout".[7] They are much smaller than the anadromous variety and are rarely over 350 mm (14 in) long. In Okanagan Lake and many others, there are two kinds of kokanee populations - one spawns in streams and the other near lake shores. Landlocked populations occur in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada, and in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming in the United States. Nantahala Lake is the only place in North Carolina where kokanee salmon are found. The fish, which is native to western North America, was stocked in Nantahala Lake in the mid-1960s by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission in an attempt to establish the species as a forage fish for other predator fishes in the lake. This stock has remained and become a favorite target for anglers.

In Japan, a landlocked variety termed black kokanee, or "kunimasu" in Japanese, was deemed to be extinct after 1940, when a hydroelectric project made its native lake in northern Akita Prefecture more acidic. The species seems to have been saved by transferring eggs to Saiko Lake, 500 kilometers to the south, however.[8] This fish has been treated as a subspecies of sockeye Oncorhynchus nerka kawamurae, or even an independent species Oncorhynchus kawamurae.

Lifecycle

See also: Salmon run
Spawning sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon spawn in a side channel of the Adams River

Sockeye are blue tinged with silver in color while living in the ocean. Sockeye spawn mostly in streams whose watersheds include a lake. The young fish, known as fry, spend up to three years in the freshwater lake before migrating to the ocean. Some stay in the lake and do not migrate. Migratory fish spend from one to four years in salt water, and thus are four to six years old when they return to spawn between July and August. Navigation to the home river is thought to be done using the characteristic smell of the stream, and possibly the sun.

Some fish spend as long as four years in fresh water lakes before migrating. In rivers without lakes, many of the young move to the ocean soon after hatching. These salmon mature after one to four years in the ocean.

Diet

Sockeye salmon use patterns of limnetic feeding behavior, which encompasses vertical movement, schooling, diel feeding chronology, and zooplankton prey selectivity. They can change their position in the water column, timing and length of feeding, school formation, and choice of prey to minimize the likelihood of predation. This also ensures they still get the minimum amount of food necessary to survive. All of these behaviors contribute to the survivability, and therefore fitness of the salmon. Depending on location and threat of predation, the levels of aggressive feeding behavior can vary.[9][10]

Sockeye salmon, unlike other species of Pacific salmon, feed extensively on zooplankton during both freshwater and saltwater life stages.[11] Their numerous gill rakers strain the plankton from the water. This diet may be the reason for the striking hue of their flesh, as well as their very low concentration of methylmercury. They also tend to feed on small aquatic organisms such as shrimp. Insects are part their diets at the juvenile stage.

Reproduction

Males partake in competitive and sneaking tactics, formation of hierarchies, and non-hierarchical groupings around females who are ready to mate.[12] Reproductive success varies more in males than females. The greater variability in male reproduction is associated with the greater average size and exaggerated shape of males. Reproductive success in females is determined by the number of eggs she lays, her body size, and the survival of the eggs, which is due in part to the quality of the nest environment.[13] Male spatial distribution depends on shifts in reproductive opportunities, physical traits of breeding sites, as well as the operational sex ratio (OSR) of the environment.[12]

Non-dominant males adopt a subordinate behavior, acting as a satellite to mated pairs. During spawning, a subordinate male will move quickly into the redd and release their sperm. Nearby dominant males from other redds will also do this.[14] Male social status is positively correlated to length and dorsal hump size. Larger females tend to spawn in shallower water, which is preferred over deeper water.[13]

There is a dramatic sexual dimorphism at maturity.[13] Males go through numerous morphological changes at maturation including, an increase in body depth, hump height, and snout length. Snout size also increases in females, but hump height and adipose fin length do not increase. This could mean that longer snout sizes are sexually selected, but hump height and adipose fin length are not. Females develop large gonads that are about 25% of the body mass.[15]

Females are responsible for parental care. They select, prepare, and defend a nest site until they die or are displaced. Males do not participate in parental care at all, and they move between females after egg deposition.[16]

Sexual selection and natural selection

Sexual selection favors large males and females.[17] Males choose females based on their readiness to spawn and their size in order to maximize their breeding opportunities. Females vary their breeding rate depending on the size of the courting male, mating more quickly with larger males. This increases the likelihood that larger males will displace attending, smaller males. Males preferentially spawn with females who are red, which is the usual color of females. Even small changes in wavelength, saturation, and brightness can affect preference. Both sexually naïve males and experienced males showed the same preferences, which illustrates that preference for a red hue may be innate.[16]

Some traits that lead to reproductive success, such as body size and sexual dimorphism can affect one’s survival. This leads to opposing pressures of natural selection and sexual selection. Larger males are favored, unless the risk of predation is very high. Sockeye salmon that die prematurely from predation are typically the larger ones in a population. This shows natural selection against large bodies. Populations with higher levels of predation tend to evolve smaller body size. Without the threat of predation, salmon that breed early in the season live longer than those that breed late in the season.[17]

Energy cost

Reproduction is marked by depletion in energy stores. Fat, protein, and somatic energy stores decrease from the final moments in marine migration through freshwater entry, spawning, and death.[15] Sockeye salmon have a semelparous life cycle and do not feed during reproduction.[14] Feeding ends once they enter into freshwater, which can be several months before spawning.[15] Embryos are maintained with only endogenous food supplies for about 3-8 months.[18] Reproduction in the sockeye salmon has to be accomplished with the energy stores brought to the spawning grounds. How the salmon use their energy during migration and spawning affects how successful they will be reproductively; energy used for migration cannot also be used for courtship. If they waste too much energy, they might not be able to spawn. Males must also make the decision whether to invest energy in fighting for a female or for longevity on the spawning grounds. [14]

Competition

Aggressive behavior displayed by dominant males is predominantly directed towards intruding dominant males. Sometimes sockeye salmon males behave aggressively towards subordinate males. These encounters are short, with the intruding male leaving after one or two aggressive interactions. Spawning females direct their aggression primarily towards intruding females or other spawning females that are close by. However, they may also direct aggression towards intruding or subordinate males. Aggressive interactions between females only last one or two charges and/or chases. The intruder retreats and the spawning female settles back in her redd. These acts of aggression are important in terms of reproductive success, because they determine the quality of the nest site the female obtains and the access to females by males.[14]

Competition for food or space while the salmon are in their lake residence period can exist. This happens when there is a more populous class of young sockeye or when there are multiple classes present. It can also happen when resources are in short supply. Interspecific competition can also occur, and can lead to interactive segregation. Interspecific competition can affect the growth rates of the salmon if their access to resources is limited.[19]

Commerce

Smoked sockeye salmon ready for consumption
See also: Salmon (food)

Commercial fishermen net this species using seines and gillnets for fresh or frozen fillet sales and canning. Annual catch can reach 30 million fish in Bristol Bay, Alaska, which is the site of the world's largest sockeye harvest.[20]

The largest spawning grounds in Asia are located on the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Russian Far East, especially on the Ozernaya River of the Kurile Lake, which accounts for nearly 90% of all Asian sockeye salmon production,[21] and is recognized as the largest spawning ground outside of Alaska.[22] Illegal fishing in Kamchatka is subject to environmental concern.[23]

Canners prefer the fish due to its rich orange-red flesh. More than half of the catch is sold frozen. Smoked sockeye has a stronger flavor and firmer texture than coho salmon.

Conservation status

See also: Salmon conservation

United States

Spawning Kokanee salmon in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho

United States sockeye salmon populations are currently listed under the US Endangered Species Act[24] by the National Marine Fisheries Service as an endangered species in the Snake River (Idaho, Oregon and Washington area) and as a threatened species in Lake Ozette, Washington. Other sockeye populations in the upper Columbia River and in Puget Sound (Washington) are not listed under the Act.

Sockeye is an exception to 2010's forecast resurgence of Oregonian fish stocks. Spring Chinook, summer steelhead, and Coho are forecast to increase by up to 100% over 2008 populations. The sockeye population peaked at over 200,000 in 2008 and were forecast to decline to just over 100,000 in 2010. As an early indication of the unexpectedly high sockeye run in 2010, on July 2, 2010, the United States Army Corps of Engineers reported over 300,000 sockeye had passed over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Lower temperatures in 2008 North Pacific waters brought in fatter plankton, which, along with greater outflows of Columbia River water, fed the resurgent populations.[25]

Proposed legislative efforts, such as the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, are attempting to protect the headwaters of the sockeye salmon by preventing industrial development in roadless areas.

Record numbers of a once-waning population of sockeye salmon have been returning to the Northwest's Columbia Basin (as of June 2012), with thousands more crossing the river's dams in a single day than the total numbers seen in some previous years.[26]

Canada

Sockeye salmon jumping over a beaver dam, Aleknagik Lake, AK

The conservation status of sockeye populations in Canada is under review by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of its Wild Salmon Policy strategy to standardize monitoring of wild salmon status.[27] Salmon runs of particular note are the Skeena and Nass river runs, and the most famous is the Fraser River sockeye run.

The Fraser River salmon run has experienced declines in productivity since the 1990s, mirroring a similar decline in the 1960s.[28]

The return abundance (population) of Fraser River sockeye in 2009 was estimated at a very low 1,370,000,[29] 13% of the pre-season forecast of 10,488,000.[30] That represented a decline from the recent (1993) historical cycle peak of 23,631,000 [31] and the return abundance was the lowest in over 50 years. The reasons for this (former) decline remain speculative. According to a consortium of scientists assembled to review the problem, the decline highlights the uncertainty in forecasting salmon returns. [32] After the low returns, the Government of Canada launched a formal inquiry into the decline, the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River.[33] [34]

The Commission has been tasked with investigating all the factors which may affect Fraser River sockeye salmon throughout their life cycle. According to the terms of reference,[33] [34] the subjects of investigation are "the impact of environmental changes along the Fraser River, marine environmental conditions, aquaculture, predators, diseases, water temperature and other factors that may have affected the ability of sockeye salmon to reach traditional spawning grounds or reach the ocean."

During the commission, hundreds of thousands of documents and scientific research papers were reviewed. Twelve technical reports were published using that information, looking at the possible impacts of diseases and parasites, hatchery diseases, contaminants, marine ecology, salmon farms, fisheries, predators, climate change and government management on the productivity of Fraser River sockeye runs.[35]

The commission will submit its final report by October 29, 2012.[36]

While the commission was holding public hearings, in the late summer of 2010, the largest run of sockeye since 1913 returned to the Fraser River system.[37] Final counts show that approximately 30 million salmon returned to the Fraser River and its tributaries in 2010. In total, approximately 11,591,000 Fraser sockeye were caught by Canadian fishers and 1,974,000 Fraser sockeye were caught by American fishers. The final projected escapement (fish which were not caught) was 15,852,990 fish.[38]

Recent unpredictable fluctuations in runs are speculated to be due to changing water temperatures.[39]

References

  1. ^ "iucnredlist.org". iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  2. ^ "Sockeye Salmon". NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  3. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 455. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  4. ^ USA. "nationalgeographic.com". Animals.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  5. ^ "Sockeye Salmon". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  6. ^ "Kokanee Lake". BC Geographical Names.
  7. ^ "Fish Resources - Salmon/Steelhead". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  8. ^ Scientist says he found Japan fish thought extinct Bay Ledger, December 14, 2010
  9. ^ Eggers, Douglas M. (3). "Limnetic feeding behavior of juvenile sockeye salmon in Lake Washington and predator avoidance". ASLO. 23 (6): 1114–1125. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Clark, Colin W. (1988). "Diel Vertical Migrations by Juvenile Sockeye Salmon and the Antipredation Window". The American Naturalist. 131 (2): 271–290. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Sockeye salmon". adfg.state.ak.us. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  12. ^ a b Quinn, Thomas P. (26). "Behavioral Tactics of Male Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) under Varying Operational Sex Ratios". Ethology. 102 (2): 304–322. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1996.tb01127.x. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ a b c Quinn, Thomas P. (1). "The effects of body size and sexual dimorphism on the reproductive behaviour of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka". Animal Behaviour. 48 (4): 751–761. doi:10.1006/anbe.1994.1300. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  14. ^ a b c d Healey, M.C. (1). "Energy expenditures during reproduction by sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)". Behaviour. 140 (2): 161–182. doi:10.1163/156853903321671488. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ a b c Hendry, Andrew P. (1999). "Secondary sexual characters, energy use, senescence, and the cost of reproduction in sockeye salmon". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 77: 1663–1675. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b Foote, Chris J (1). "Female colour and male choice in sockeye salmon: implications for the phenotypic convergence of anadromous and nonanadromous morphs". Animal Behaviour. 67 (1): 69–83. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.02.004. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ a b Quinn, Thomas P. (2001). "Balancing natural and sexual selection in sockeye salmon: interactions between body size, reproductive opportunity and vulnerability to predation by bears". Evolutionary Ecology Research. 3: 917–937. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Quinn, Thomas P. (1995). "The Influence of Life History Trade-Offs and the Size of Incubation Gravels on Egg Size Variation in Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)". Oikos. 74: 425–438. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Groot, C. (1991). Pacific salmon life histories. Vancouver: UBC Press. ISBN 0-7748-0359-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Species profile: Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)". ADF&G Home. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  21. ^ Gustafson, R.G., T.C. Wainwright, G.A. Winans, F.W. Waknitz, L.T. Parker, and R.S. Waples. 1997. Status review of sockeye salmon from Washington and Oregon. U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-33, 282 p. Life History of Oncorhynchus nerka
  22. ^ "Discovering Kamchatka: Terrestrial and aquatic fauna". The Royal Geographical Society. 2008. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  23. ^ Dronova, Natalia (2008). "Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Pacific Salmon Fishing in Kamchatka" (PDF). WWF Russia, IUCN. Retrieved 14 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ nmfs.noaa.gov, U.S. Endangered Species Act
  25. ^ "Fish Boom Makes Splash in Oregon". Wall Street Journal. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010. [dead link‍]
  26. ^ "Sockeye Salmon rebounding in Oregon's Columbia Basin". Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  27. ^ "Wild Salmon Policy 1".
  28. ^ "Speaking for the Salmon proceedings: Summit of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon: Understanding Stock Declines and Prospects for the Future March 30-31, 2010" (PDF).
  29. ^ "NewsRelease10" (PDF). Pacific Salmon Commission News Releases. Sept 11, 2009. Retrieved Sept 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  30. ^ "NewsRelease01" (PDF). Pacific Salmon Commission News Releases. July 10, 2009. Retrieved Jul 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ "Fraser River Annual Report to the Pacific Salmon Commission on the 2005 Fraser River sockeye and pink salmon fishing season" (PDF). Fraser River Panel reports to the Pacific Salmon Commission: 26. October 2009. Retrieved Oct 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  32. ^ "Managing Fraser sockeye in the face of declining productivity and increasing uncertainty: Statement from Think Tank of Scientists" (PDF). December 2009. Retrieved Dec 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ^ a b "Terms of Reference for the Commission of Inquiry into Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River". November 2009. Retrieved Nov 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Terms of Reference" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  34. ^ a b "Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River". Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  35. ^ "Cohen Commission technical reports".
  36. ^ "Cohen Commission to submit final report by October 29, 2012".
  37. ^ "Consumers catch a deal in record sockeye run". August 27, 2010. Retrieved Sept 07 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  38. ^ "Surveillance Report British Columbia Commercial Sockeye Salmon Fisheries. November 2011".
  39. ^ "Record number of sockeye salmon return in B.C." August 25, 2010. Retrieved Sept 07 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Technical reports

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