Daniel L. B James W. G Abstract approved: AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Jennifer L. Burke ...

98 Pages·2007·4.88 MB·English

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF
Jennifer L. Burke for the degree of Master of Science in Marine Resource Management
presented on August 3, 2004.
Title: Life Histories of Juvenile Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River Estuary, 1916
to the Present
Abstract approved:
Daniel L. B
James W. G
Pacific Coast estuaries provide important rearing habitats leading to improved growth
and survival for juvenile chinook salmon. However, research has suggested that
juvenile salmon have little use for estuarine habitats in the Columbia River. To further
understand salmonid recovery needs in estuaries, I compared historical and
contemporary life history patterns in the estuary to determine if there has been a
change in the importance of the Columbia River estuary to juvenile chinook salmon.
Historical data sources provided evidence of diverse estuarine life history strategies for
juvenile chinook salmon (retrieved from fish surveys and scale analysis), including
differences in time of estuarine entry, growth, and residency. In contrast,
contemporary estuarine salmon populations, which are dominated by hatchery-reared
juveniles, had highly uniform life-history characteristics; most fish entered the estuary
at similar times and sizes and remained for short time periods. The inability to
distinguish the origin of unmarked individuals precluded a separate life-history
assessment for contemporary wild chinook juveniles. Nonetheless, the results suggest
that life-history diversity has declined in response to anthropogenic pressures that
directly affect salmonid populations: harvest, hatcheries, habitat loss, and hydropower
dams. Because estuarine life histories contribute to the resilience of salmonid
populations, recovery efforts should address life history diversity needs in the
Columbia River estuary.
©Copyright by Jennifer L. Burke
August 3, 2004
All Rights Reserved
Life Histories of Juvenile Chinook Salmon in the
Columbia River Estuary, 1916 to the Present
by
Jennifer L. Burke
A THESIS
submitted to
Oregon State University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the
degree of
Master of Science
Presented August 3, 2004
Commencement June 2005
Master of Science thesis of Jennifer L. Burke presented on August 3, 2004.
APPROVED:
Co-Major Professor, representing Marine Resource Management
aj or Professor, enting Marine Resource Management
Dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
Dean of the Graduate School
I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon
State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any
reader upon request.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author expresses sincere gratitude to Daniel L. Bottom and Kim K. Jones for their
support, time, and effort to this project, to the folks at the ODFW Corvallis Lab for
some many good friends, good memories, and good times, to my friends for helping me
in so many subtle and meaningful ways, to Daisy and Grommett for bearing with me,
and to my parents for always encouraging me.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.Introduction 1
2.A Review of Estuarine Life History of Juvenile Chinook Salmon in Northwest
Estuaries 8
2.1. Historical Life History Studies (1900 to 1945) 9
2.2. Contemporary Life-History Studies (1965 to Present) 11
2.2.1. Life History Structure 11
2.2.2. Patterns of Estuarine Use 13
2.2.3. Estuarine Residency and Habitats 16
2.3. Discussion 18
3.Change in Juvenile Salmon Life History, Growth, And Estuarine Residence in
the Columbia River Estuary 21
3.1. Introduction 21
3.2. Data Sources and Methods for Life history Analysis 21
3.2.1. Historical Life Histories and Growth (1914 to 1916) 21
3.2.2. Contemporary Life Histories and Size Characteristics 28
3.3. Life history Reconstruction (1914 to 1916) 31
3.3.1. Stream-Type Juveniles 31
3.3.2. Ocean-Type Juveniles 31
3.4. Historical Estuarine Residence Times and Performance 38
3.4.1. Length Characteristics 38
3.4.2. Estuarine Growth and Residence Times 38
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Page
3.5. Contemporary Estuarine Residence Times and Performance (1966 to the
Present) 44
3.5.1. Patterns of Abundance 44
3.5.2. Habitat Use 47
3.5.3. Length Characteristics 48
3.5.4. Estuarine Residence 54
4.Discussion 55
4.1. Change in Estuarine Life Histories 55
4.2. Historical and Contemporary Factors Affecting Salmonid Life Histories 63
4.2.1. Salmon Harvest 63
4.2.2. Habitat Loss 68
4.2.3. Flow Regime 70
4.2.4. Artificial Propagation of Salmon 72
5.Conclusions 74
6.Management Recommendations 77
7.Bibliography 79
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1.1 Hypothetical contribution of each of six life history variants to a
Chinook salmon population over nine brood years. 5
1.2 Map of the current and historical distribution of anadromous salmonids 6
3.1 The Columbia River estuary and tributaries, with sites sampled by Rich
(1920) from 1914 to 1916. 23
3.2 Example of subyearling Chinook salmon scale patterns analyzed by
Rich (1920). 26
3.3 Range of subyearling Chinook salmon fork lengths collected at Point
Ellice by Rich (1920) from March to August 1916 (31 March collection
included Mayger, Or, Sand Island and Grims Island samples) 29
3.4 Proportion of subyearling and yearling Chinook salmon collected
concurrently in 1916 (Rich 1920) 33
3.5 Subyearling Chinook salmon fork length at time of collection and
percent of total length attributed to estuarine growth. 42
3.6 Subyearling Chinook salmon size at arrival in the estuary and percent
of total length attributed to estuarine growth 43
3.7 Timing correlation between peak abundance at Jones Beach and the
arrival of hatchery-reared subyearling Chinook salmon (reproduced
from Dawley et al. 1986). 45
3.8 Recovery timing of wild and hatchery subyearling Chinook salmon
from the Lewis River at Jones Beach (Data from Mclsaac 1990). 47
3.9. Fork length characteristics of subyearling Chinook salmon collections
from three studies in 1916, 1966, and 1980 in the lower Columbia River
estuary (Data from Rich 1920; Dawley et al. 1985; Earl Dawley, NMFS
Point Adams Field Station, 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR, 97121,
Pers. commun., March 2000) 50
LIST OF FIGURES (continued)
Figure Page
3.10 Fork length characteristics of subyearling Chinook salmon of wild and
hatchery origin recovered in the Columbia River estuary at Megler,
Washington, in 1966 (Data from Earl Dawley, NMFS Point Adams
Field Station, 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR, 97121, Pers. commun.,
March 2000). 51
3.11 Fork length characteristics of subyearling Chinook salmon of hatchery
origin recovered in the Columbia River estuary between 16 and 20 km in
1980 by Dawley et al. (1985) and Dawley (NMFS Point Adams Field
Station, 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR, 97121, Pers. commun.,
March 2000) 52
3.12 Fork length characteristics of subyearling Chinook salmon of unknown
origin recovered in the Columbia River estuary at 16 km (McGowan,
Washington) in 1980 by Dawley et al. (1985) 53
3.13 Historical and contemporary early life history types for one brood-year
of Chinook salmon in the Columbia River estuary 62
3.14 Harvest timeline for Chinook salmon from 1800 to 1916 based on
significant events presented by Oregon State Board of Fish
Commissioners (1890, 1892), Hume (1893), Craig and Hacker (1940),
Fulton (1970), Beininigen (1976), Smith and Wahle (1981), and
Lichatowich and Mobrand (1995). 65
3.15 The effects of seasonal protection of salmon runs in the Columbia River .... 66
3.16 Interpretation of early life history behavior based on scale patterns from
returning salmon adults collected in the Columbia River estuary, 10
May-12 September 1919 (Rich 1925). 67
3.17 River discharges for 1916, 1966, and 1980 (Bottom et al. 2004) 71
3.18 Time and relative duration of subyearling Chinook outmigration from
six tributaries into the Columbia River estuary during 1963 (Reimers
and Loeffel 1967) 73
LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
2.1 Contemporary life histories of juvenile Chinook salmon in three
Northwest rivers. 12
2.2 Patterns of use by Chinook salmon in Pacific coast estuarie 15
3.1 Summary table for 1914-1916 sampling effort and juvenile Chinook
salmon attributes interpreted from scale patterns. 24
3.2 Interpretation of subyearling Chinook life histories 32
3.3 Attributes of fry collected in the Columbia River estuary by Rich (1920) 34
3.4 Summary table of Chinook subyearlings collected at Point Ellice from
May to August 1916 39
3.5 Estuarine and freshwater growth rates from Pacific Northwest river
systems 41