Research

Aquatic Ecosystems: Current Research

Understanding and predicting Oregon coastal coho salmon freshwater survival

People Involved

• Nate Mantua (contact person), UW Climate Impacts Group (CIG)
• Peter Lawson, NOAA Fisheries, Newport OR
• Elizabeth Logerwell, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle
• Robert Francis, UW School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences and UW Climate Impacts Group

Background

In parallel to our completed study in the ocean environment (Logerwell et al. 2003), we are currently identifying the physical climate processes that affect freshwater productivity of Oregon coastal coho salmon. When complete, this work will be combined with our marine survival findings to develop a full life cycle/climate model for Oregon coastal coho.

Previous research suggests that flow/smolt-production relationships vary depending on each basin's hydrology and habitat characteristics. For instance, a limiting factor for smolt production in steep streams appears to be high spawning and incubation flows. For low-gradient streams, high spawning flows often benefit smolt production by increasing the amount of spawning habitat accessible to returning adults.

Research Questions

• What are the population level consequences of large-scale interannual to interdecadal climate variations for both marine and freshwater salmon productivity?
• How sensitive are climate related limiting factors in freshwater productivity to habitat quality? To what degree can habitat restoration mitigate the vulnerability of salmon to climate variations?
• Is it possible to construct life-cycle models for various salmon populations that can be used to assess climate change impacts on salmon populations?

Selected References

For more publications on CIG's research on climate and PNW aquatic ecosystems, please see CIG Publications.

Logerwell, E. A., N. J. Mantua, P. Lawson, R. C. Francis, and V. Agostini. 2003. Tracking environmental processes in the coastal zone for understanding and predicting Oregon coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) marine survival. Fisheries Oceanography 12(3):1-15.