Salmon Life Histories, Habitats, and Food Webs in the Columbia River Estuary • Role of estuaries in salmon life history • Major findings of recent CR estuary research • Implications for salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin Changing Ideas About Estuaries and Salmon • Estuaries are irrelevant to salmon production • Estuaries are a threat to salmon survival Estuaries are nursery areas for juvenile salmon • Transition to salt water • Productive feeding area • Refuge from predators Chinook • Fry migrants Life- • Subyearling History migrants Diversity • Yearling migrants Estuaries are one of many alternative rearing habitats • Subyearling for juvenile salmon migrants (mid summer) • Subyearling migrants (late summer/fall) From Reimers 1973 Diverse life histories promote resilience of salmon populations High Diversity Environmental Salmonid variability Response Reduced Diversity Ocean Distribution of Columbia River Fall Chinook From: Beaty (1992) Upriver Brights Tules Estuarine Research Team Daniel Bottom, Ed Casillas, Kurt Fresh, Susan Hinton, Tricia Lundrigan, Regan McNatt, Paul Moran, Curtis Roegner, David Teel, & Jen Zamon NOAA Fisheries Antonio Baptista Oregon Health & Science University David Jay Portland State University Jennifer Burke, Mary Ramirez, Charles Simenstad, Sarah Spilseth, and Lia Stamatiou University of Washington Lance Campbell Oregon State University & Washington Dept. Fish & Wildlife Four Conclusions 1. Habitat opportunities in the estuary contribute to salmon life history diversity and resilience Juvenile Chinook salmon occupy the Marine WSI Mixing Tidal Fresh PE CR estuary LES CS ETI throughout the PAB UCC UI LI year WaI Marine Mixing Chinook Catch Per Effort 2002-2005 Tidal fresh 3.0 2.5 2.0 CPUE 1.5 10 1.0 Log 0.5 0.0 JMMJ SNJMMJ SNJMMJ SNJMMJ SN 2002 2003 2004 2005 Many individuals remain in the estuary for weeks to months 2004 Otolith Analysis • 41% of 94 Chinook sampled near the river mouth had resided in salt water before capture • Mean estuarine residency 73 days (range: 10 - 219) • 46% entered the estuary < 60 mm, 11% < 40 mm. • Estuarine residency was probably much longer since the method cannot detect use of tidal fresh habitats Salmon with subyearling life histories use all wetland types along the tidal gradient Scrub/shrub wetlands Forested swamps Sticklebacks Fish species composition of lower CR estuarine wetlands Emergent wetlands 2004 Banded killifish Chinook salmon Prickly sculpin Sculpin sp. A Jv sculpin Chum salmon Peamouth Other Juvenile salmon are abundant at emergent/scrub- shrub marshes throughout the tidal-freshwater zone Wallace Island 2006 350 Wallace Is. (RKm 77) Wallace Island Mainstem 300 Backside Channel 250 wetland channel 200 UEUE 150 foreshore CP CP Chi 100 nooknook 50 ChiChi k C 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug MonthMonth Lord Is. (RKm 101) Chinook Length Frequency Habitat use by salmon is in Wetland Channels size-related 2004April 60 50 April y 40 nc ue 30 n = 155 q e r F 20 10 0 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 FoMark Lengty h (mm) 30 25 May y 20 nc ue 15 n = 122 q e r F 10 5 0 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 FoJurkne Length (mm) Russian Island 16 14 June Columbia River estuary 12 10 ncy n = 39 8 que e 6 Fr 4 2 • Small size classes frequent 0 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 Fork Length (mm) shallow, nearshore and wetland July Frequency of Occurrence 7 habitats 6 July 5 y c 4 n = 19 uen q 3 e • Few juveniles > 90 mm enter or Fr 2 1 remain in interior marsh 0 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 channels Fork LengthFork Length (m(mm)m) Many juvenile Chinook salmon reside in the same wetland channel for days or weeks Chinook Residency 2006 Russian Island Chinook Salmon Residency 1.00 April – May 2006 0.90 0.80 NW t 0.70 918 marked cen r 0.60 e P e 0.50 v i 224 recaptured (24%) SE lat 0.40 u m u 0.30 C 0.20 Photo courtesy of Clatsop County 0.10 0.00 1 5 9 131721252933 Residence Time (d) • Median residency ~5 days, 14% > 2 weeks, photo Joe Cone • Maximum 34 days Diverse juvenile life histories contribute to adult returns • Each ESU is composed of diverse juvenile life histories • The relative contribution of each life history type to the returning adult population varies with location and year Willamette River Spring Chinook Both 50% Subyearling Contribution to Adults subyearling 128 66 2001 20 and yearling 40% 2002 2003 44 life histories 2004 contribute to 30% returns of 21 39 ent 0-age 20% c 120 179 174 142 Willamette R. 34 73 Per Spring 10% Chinook 88 76 0% above South Fk S Fk-Leaburg Dam above Cripple Cr Cripple-reservoir McKenzie Clackamas From Kirk Schroeder, ODFW Four Conclusions 1.Estuarine habitat opportunities contribute to salmon life history diversity and resilience 2.Changes upriver and in the estuary have reduced salmon life history diversity Chinook salmon life histories have been simplified Historic Fry with platelets only Fry (<60 mm) Fingerling - Recent Arrivals Fingerling - Fluvial rearing e c Fingerling - Estuarine Rearing n a Fingerling - Fluvial and additional rearing Estimated Yearling bund A proportions of e v i t la juvenile salmon e life histories R from historic and Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul contemporary Contemporary Fry Fingerling Natal / Fluvial Rearing surveys Yearling dance un Ab Relative From Burke, 2005. Data from Rich (1920) & Dawley et al. (1985) Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Patterns of estuary use by salmon are now hatchery-driven Juvenile chinook timing, stock composition, and duration in the Columbia River estuary are now largely influenced by hatchery releases Reproduced from Dawley et al. (1986) Habitat Change in the lower Columbia River Estuary Historic wetlands Image by: Jennifer Burke, UW; Historical data from Thomas (1983) Habitat Change in the lower Columbia River Estuary Modern wetlands Image by: Jennifer Burke, UW Changes in Flow • Annual flow cycle of Columbia River at Beaver, 1878-1903 (some data missing) vs. 1970-99. The tidal river has been disconnected from its floodplain Historic: Modern: (From Bottom et al. 2005) Brubaker aerial survey lower Sauvies Island, 4 January 1934 • Overbank flows now rare and floodplain inaccessible to fish • Reduced delivery of nutrients, organic matter, salmon prey, and structure (large wood) • Impact on food webs Water temperatures Estuary-wide Beach Seine C) 25 in the estuary may o 19 oC limit salmon rearing 20 15 opportunities during 10 summer and fall 5 Temp. @ 1.5 m ( 100 Wetland Surveys E Abundance and Water Temperature 10 Russian & Seal Island Marshes Log CPU 1 JMMJSNJMMJSNJMMJSN 2003 2004 2005 19 oC Chinook catch Water temperature (C) Recent survey results support the hypothesis that life history diversity has declined 0. 2 5 0. 2 in beachRelative seining Chinook surveys, salmon 1916 and abundance 2003-03 0. 1 5 0. 1 0. Proportion0 of total CPUE 5 0 March April 2003 May 1916 June July 20 02 Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Four Conclusions 1.Estuarine habitat opportunities contribute to salmon life history diversity and resilience 2.Changes upriver and in the estuary have reduced salmon life history diversity 3.Energy flow to salmon in the estuary is through wetland and other shallow habitats Tidal wetlands provide food and support growth of juvenile salmon • Salmon feed in wetland habitats on insects and amphipods produced in these habitats • Insects from wetlands and other shallow habitats are also a • Mmajorean growthfood source in emergent of fish throughout wetlands ~0.6 the Colmm/day R. estuary Composition of Common Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Prey by Sampling Site Corophium salmonis CorJUVENILEophium spinic oCHINrne OOKClado DIETcera COMDePcapodaOSITI OlarNvae Diptera adult Osteichthys RUSSIAN ISLAND SOUTH EMERGENT MARSH, 2002 100 Other 100% 90 EUHALINE Amphipoda TIDAL FRESHWATER I)I) (Corophium spp.) 80 IR IR ll 80% Arachnida tata 70 oo Other Insects TT 60 60% I %% Neuroptera R ( ( 50 nn %I oo ii 40% Homoptera/Hemiptera itit 40 ss oo 30 Coleoptera pp 20% mm Diptera oo 20 CC 10 0% Chironomidae Small (40 - 59mm) Medium (60 - 79) Large (80 - 121mm) 0 xbar = 52.73 xbar = 71.45 xbar = 87.72 n = 15 n = 22 n = 29 CS WSI PAB PE(From M.A. LoLEStt & L. Stamatiou)ETI UCC Site Salmon use wetland-derived food sources in greater proportion than their apparent abundance in the estuarine system FRACTION 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 58% Fluvial Phytoplankton 40% 37% Vascular Plants 46% 5% Benthic Diatoms Available Organic Matter 14% Utilized Organic Matter Available sources from Simenstad et al. (1990) and Sherwood et al. (1990). Utilized sources from Anderson (2006). Four Conclusions 1.Estuarine habitat opportunities contribute to salmon life history diversity and resilience 2.Changes upriver and in the estuary have reduced salmon life history diversity 3.Energy flow to salmon in the estuary is through wetland and other shallow habitats 4.All Columbia River ESUs use estuarine habitats, and a diversity of genetic groups occupy all tidal wetland types Salmon samples collected throughout the estuary include individuals from a diversity of ESUs • 6 genetic stock groups identified using DNA markers from 36 CR Genetic Stock Assignments for Chinook Salmon, 2002-04 (n = 1,004) populations • All stock groups identified in estuary samples WC F SCG F (evidence weak for 2 WC Sp groups) UWR Sp Int Su/Fa Int Sp Diverse stock groups, including interior summer/fall run groups, utilize wetland habitats Lower Estuary Trapnet Sites 2003 All Sites 27 79 101 40 19 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% Interior Sp 40% 30% 20% Interior Su / F 10% 0% WC F Jan - April May June July - All Months March August WC Sp 40 35 30 SCG F 25 of fish 20 UWR Sp 15 10 5 number 0 KI - F KI - Sh RuI - N RuI - S SI - N SI - S Wetland Sites Diverse stock groups utilize tidal wetlands and channels of estuarine tributaries Subyearling Chinook Stock Compositions in the Lower Willamette River n = 33 56 31 33 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Ducks Unlimited 50% 40% Wetland Sites 30% Interior Sp 20% 2005 / 2006 10% 0% Interior Su / F Feb/Mar April May June WC F WC Sp 100% 45 29 15 90% 80% 70% SCG F LCREP & DU 60% 50% 40% UWR Sp Willamette R 30% 20% Portland Sites 10% 0% Feb/Mar April May June (Ducks Unlimited Samples From Cyndi Baker; April Willamette R.