skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Endangered winter-run Chinook salmon rely on diverse rearing habitats in a highly altered landscape

Journal Article · · Biological Conservation
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Sacramento, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Center for Watershed Sciences
  3. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Center for Watershed Sciences; National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz, CA (United States). Southwest Fisheries Science Center
  4. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Glenn T. Seaborg Inst.
+ Show Author Affiliations

Protecting habitats for imperiled species is central to conservation efforts. However, for migratory species, identifying juvenile habitats that confer success requires tracking individuals to reproduction. Here in this paper, we used otolith strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) to reconstruct juvenile habitat use by endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon that survived to adulthood. The isotope data revealed that 44–65% of surviving adults reared in non-natal habitats, most of which is not designated as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Juveniles entered these non-natal habitats at small sizes, yet left freshwater at a similar size to those that reared in the mainstem Sacramento River, suggesting these alternate rearing habitats provide suitable growth conditions. These findings indicate Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon rely on rearing habitats across a broader geographic region than previously known, potentially opening up greater restoration and conservation opportunities for species recovery.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; 2005; P1596028
OSTI ID:
1418922
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-739342
Journal Information:
Biological Conservation, Vol. 217, Issue C; ISSN 0006-3207
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 23 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (24)

Validation of Sr isotopes in otoliths by laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS): opening avenues in fisheries science applications
  • Barnett-Johnson, Rachel; Ramos, Frank C.; Grimes, Churchill B.
  • Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 62, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1139/f05-194
journal November 2005
Tracking natal origins of salmon using isotopes, otoliths, and landscape geology journal July 2008
Diversity of juvenile Chinook salmon life history pathways journal June 2016
Ecology of juvenile chinook salmon in a small non-natal stream of the Yukon River drainage and the role of ice conditions on their distribution and survival journal November 2001
Strontium isotopes delineate fine-scale natal origins and migration histories of Pacific salmon journal May 2015
The Importance of Juvenile Migration Tactics to Adult Recruitment in Stream-Type Chinook Salmon Populations journal September 2014
Past and Present Status of Central Valley Chinook Salmon journal September 1994
100 years of California’s water rights system: patterns, trends and uncertainty journal August 2014
Salmon origin in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin river system as determined by otolith strontium isotopic composition journal January 1999
Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) growth in off-channel and main-channel habitats on the Sacramento River, CA using otolith increment widths journal April 2009
Phenomenological vs. biophysical models of thermal stress in aquatic eggs journal November 2016
Quantifying the contribution of juvenile migratory phenotypes in a population of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha journal June 2010
Rearing of Juvenile Chinook Salmon in Nonnatal Tributaries of the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia journal May 1989
From birds to butterflies: animal movement patterns and stable isotopes journal May 2004
Conserving mobile species journal September 2014
Stock composition and ocean spatial distribution inference from California recreational Chinook salmon fisheries using genetic stock identification journal October 2015
Ocean Size and Corresponding Life History Diversity among the Four Run Timings of California Central Valley Chinook Salmon journal April 2017
The portfolio concept in ecology and evolution
  • Schindler, Daniel E.; Armstrong, Jonathan B.; Reed, Thomas E.
  • Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 13, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1890/140275
journal June 2015
Juvenile Chinook Salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) Utilization of Hawks Creek, a Small and Nonnatal Tributary of the Upper Fraser River
  • Scrivener, J. Charles; Brown, Thomas G.; Andersen, Bruce C.
  • Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 51, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1139/f94-113
journal May 1994
Freshwater movement patterns by juvenile Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. before they migrate to the ocean: Oh the places you'll go!: movement patterns in juvenile oncorhynchus spp. journal July 2014
Reconstructing the Migratory Behavior and Long-Term Survivorship of Juvenile Chinook Salmon under Contrasting Hydrologic Regimes journal May 2015
Diverse juvenile life-history behaviours contribute to the spawning stock of an anadromous fish population journal May 2014
Size, growth, and origin-dependent mortality of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha during early ocean residence journal July 2013
Variability in fish size/otolith radius relationships among populations of Chinook salmon journal July 2010

Cited By (3)

Anadromy sustained in the artificially land-locked population of Sakhalin taimen in northern Japan journal July 2019
Quantifying habitat use of migratory fish across riverscapes using space‐time isotope models journal May 2019
Unnatural selection of salmon life histories in a modified riverscape journal December 2019

Similar Records

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
California Central Valley
Habitat use
Non-natal habitat
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Critical habitat
Otolith chemistry