Impact of multiple stressors on juvenile fish in estuaries of the northeast Pacific

A key step in identifying global change impacts on species and ecosystems is to quantify effects of multiple stressors. To date, the science of global change has been dominated by regional field studies, experimental manipulation, meta‐analyses, conceptual models, reviews, and studies focusing on a single stressor or species over broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we provide one of the first studies for coastal systems examining multiple stressor effects across broad scales, focused on the nursery function of 20 estuaries spanning 1,600 km of coastline, 25 years of monitoring, and seven fish and invertebrate species along the northeast Pacific coast. We hypothesized those species most estuarine dependent and negatively impacted by human activities would have lower presence and abundances in estuaries with greater anthropogenic land cover, pollution, and water flow stress. We found significant negative relationships between juveniles of two of seven species (Chinook salmon and English sole) and estuarine stressors. Chinook salmon were less likely to occur and were less abundant in estuaries with greater pollution stress. They were also less abundant in estuaries with greater flow stress, although this relationship was marginally insignificant. English sole were less abundant in estuaries with greater land cover stress. Together, we provide new empirical evidence that effects of stressors on two fish species culminate in detectable trends along the northeast Pacific coast, elevating the need for protection from pollution, land cover, and flow stressors to their habitats. Lack of response among the other five species could be related to differing resistance to specific stressors, type and precision of the stressor metrics, and limitations in catch data across estuaries and habitats. Acquiring improved measurements of impacts to species will guide future management actions, and help predict how estuarine nursery functions can be optimized given anthropogenic stressors and climate change scenarios.     

Bimodal size distributions in wild juvenile Atlantic salmon populations and their relationship with age at smolt migration

A bimodal length distribution developed in an Atlantic salmon population planted as start-fed fry in a Norwegian stream. The earliest fish to smolt were from the upper modal group.     

Lake‐specific variation in growth,migration timing and survival of juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka: separating environmental from genetic influences

Time series on juvenile life‐history traits obtained from sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka were analysed to assess lake‐specific environmental influences on juvenile migration timing, size and survival of fish from a common gene pool. Every year for the past two decades, O. nerka have been spawned at a hatchery facility, and the progeny released into two lakes that differ in average summer temperatures, limnological attributes and growth opportunities. Juveniles reared in the warmer, more productive Crosswind Lake were larger and heavier as smolts compared to those from the cooler, less productive Summit Lake and had higher in‐lake and subsequent marine survival. Crosswind Lake smolts migrated from the lake to sea slightly earlier in the season but the migration timing distributions overlapped considerably across years. Fry stocking density had a negative effect on smolt length for both lakes, and a negative effect on in‐lake survival in Summit Lake. Taken together, the results revealed a strong effect of lake‐rearing environment on the expression of life‐history variation in O. nerka. The stocking of these lakes each year with juveniles from a single mixed‐source population provided a large‐scale reverse common‐garden experiment, where the same gene pool was exposed to different environments, rather than the different gene pools in the same environment approach typical of evolutionary ecology studies. Other researchers are encouraged to seek and exploit similar serendipitous situations, which might allow environmental and genetic influences on ecologically important traits to be distinguished in natural or semi‐natural settings.     

Intertidal ecology and potential power impacts, Bay of Fundy, Canada

A large-scale tidal power project in the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy would cause major changes in the tidal elevations of the headpond which would have a pronounced effect on intertidal ecology. The new mean low water level would be, on average, slightly above the present mean sea level whilst the new mean high water level would drop about 0.7 m. This would result in a much compressed intertidal zone. Mud and sand flats, below the present mean sea level, would be converted to sub-tidal habitat, whilst the high saltmarsh, flooded at present only on the highest spring tides, would become colonized by terrestrial vegetation. There would be major shifts in the relative importance of primary production by saltmarshes, intertidal microalgae and phytopiankton, but overall, it is likely that production would increase. Changes in both primary food sources and habitat area would affect the abundance of intertidal invertebrate organisms and the fish and migratory shorebirds that feed upon them.     

Alternative developmental pathways and the propensity to migrate: a case study in the Atlantic salmon

Migratory behaviour with its associated phenotypic changes is generally viewed as an adaptive strategy because it incurs survival or reproductive advantages to migrants. The development of a migrant phenotype is believed to be controlled by threshold mechanisms, where individuals emigrate only after surpassing a particular body size but delay migration if below. For such a strategy to respond to natural selection, part of the phenotypic variance in the propensity to migrate must be explained by variation in additive genetic effects. Here, we use data gathered in the field and from a common rearing experiment to test for a genetic basis associated with seaward migration in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). We document a high heritability of the liability trait underlying the propensity to emigrate in juvenile salmon, and significant differences between offspring grouped according to their sires in body-size threshold values above which emigration takes place. The presence of additive genetic variance in both the liability and thresholds makes the onset of migration a process sensitive to selection and may therefore constitute an important explanatory mechanism for the interpopulation differences in the size at seaward migration observed in this species.     

Evidence for an autumn downstream migration and the subsequent estuarine residence of 0+ year juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L., in England

The use of passive integrated transponder technology facilitated the first observations of the autumn migration of 0+ year Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr into tidal rearing habitats in the U.K. The quality of these habitats in relation to smolt production and the ecological significance of this alternative life-history strategy are presently not understood.     

Community context and the influence of non-indigenous species on juvenile salmon survival in a Columbia River reservoir

Non-indigenous species (NIS) have been called biological pollutants, which implies that reducing their numbers should reduce negative impacts. To test this hypothesis, we used food web models, parameterized with data from field studies, to ask how reducing the number of NIS co-occurring with endangered salmon would affect salmon mortality. Our analyses indicate that predation on Upper Columbia River spring chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead O. mykiss juveniles was affected very little by NIS reduction. The effects of removing NIS were partly or totally offset by indirect food web interactions, and were subtle compared to effects of native predator management. We predict that the most effective way of reducing predation on salmon smolts will involve managing native predators and targeted removals of specific NIS. Minimizing impact of established NIS thus entails not only reducing NIS prevalence, but also considering background management practices and community context.     

采矿业对赞比亚的社会经济及环境的影响

采矿业是赞比亚一类非常重要的工业 ,大量的开采和选矿作业给周边地区带来了严重的环境问题。导致了该区域内地表水、空气、土壤的污染 ,并对当地人民的身体健康带来威胁。本文主要分析铜矿开采业对赞比亚的社会经济及环境的影响 ,进一步探讨可以保持当地采矿业的可持续发展的有效措施。     

Interaction between hatchery and wild Pacific salmon in the Far East of Russia: A review

We review studies of interactions between hatchery and wild Pacific salmon in the Russian Far East. This includes the role of hatchery practices that result in premature migration to the sea and increased mortality, and data on feeding and territorial competition between juveniles of hatchery and wild origin. In the course of downstream migration many juvenile hatchery salmon are eliminated by wild salmon predation. During the marine period, Japanese hatchery chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) distribution overlaps the distribution of Russian wild salmon. Consequently, replacement of wild populations by hatchery fishes, as a result of abundant juvenile hatchery releases combined with extensive poaching in spawning grounds, is apparent in some Russian rivers. Interactions between the populations occur in all habitats. The importance of conservation of wild salmon populations requires a more detailed study of the consequences of interactions between natural and artificially reared fishes.     

Factors affecting the within-river spawning migration of Atlantic salmon,with emphasis on human impacts

We review factors affecting the within-river spawning migration of Atlantic salmon. With populations declining across the entire distribution range, it is important that spawners survive in the last phase of the spawning migration. Knowledge on the factors affecting migration is essential for the protection of populations, and to increase the success of reintroduction programmes. A number of studies have documented that the upstream migration may be delayed for many weeks at man-made obstacles such as power station outlets, residual flow stretches, dams, weirs and fishways. The fish may also be delayed at natural migration barriers. Often, the magnitude of delay is not predictable; fish may be considerably delayed at barriers that appear to humans to be easily passable, or they may quickly pass barriers that appear difficult. Stressful events like catch-and-release angling may affect upstream migration. Impacts of human activities may also cause altered migration patterns, affect the within-river distribution of the spawning population, and severe barriers may result in displacement of the spawning population to other rivers. Factors documented to affect within-river migration include previous experience, water discharge, water temperature, water velocity, required jump heights, fish size, fish acclimatisation, light, water quality/pollution, time of the season, and catch and handling stress. How each of these factors affects the upstream migration is to a varying extent understood; however, the effects may differ among different river sections and sites. There are likely a number of additional important factors, and the relationship between different factors is complex. The understanding of general mechanisms stimulating fish within-river migration are still lacking, and it cannot be reliably predicted under which conditions a fish will pass a given migration barrier or which conditions are needed to stimulate migration at different sites. The strong focus on the effects of water discharge in past work may have hampered consideration of other factors. Exploration of the influence of these other factors in future studies could improve our understanding of what controls the upstream migration.     

Environmental and human health impacts of growing genetically modified herbicide-tolerant sugar beet: a life-cycle assessment

There is ongoing debate concerning the possible environmental and human health impacts of growing genetically modified (GM) crops. Here, we report the results of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental and human health impacts of conventional sugar beet growing regimes in the UK and Germany with those that might be expected if GM herbicide-tolerant (to glyphosate) sugar beet is commercialized. The results presented for a number of environmental and human health impact categories suggest that growing the GM herbicide-tolerant crop would be less harmful to the environment and human health than growing the conventional crop, largely due to lower emissions from herbicide manufacture, transport and field operations. Emissions contributing to negative environmental impacts, such as global warming, ozone depletion, ecotoxicity of water and acidification and nutrification of soil and water, were much lower for the herbicide-tolerant crop than for the conventional crop. Emissions contributing to summer smog, toxic particulate matter and carcinogenicity, which have negative human health impacts, were also substantially lower for the herbicide-tolerant crop. The environmental and human health impacts of growing GM crops need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis using a holistic approach. LCA is a valuable technique for helping to undertake such assessments.     

Climate impacts at multiple scales: evidence for differential population responses in juvenile Chinook salmon

1. We explored differential population responses to climate in 18 populations of threatened spring-summer Chinook salmon Onchorynchus tshawytscha in the Salmon River basin, Idaho. 2. Using data from a long-term mark-release-recapture study of juvenile survival, we found that fall stream flow is the best predictor of average survival across all populations. 3. To determine whether all populations responded similarly to climate, we used a cluster analysis to group populations that had similar annual fluctuations in survival. The populations grouped into four clusters, and different environmental factors were important for different clusters. 4. Survival in two of the clusters was negatively correlated with summer temperature, and survival in the other two clusters was positively correlated with minimum fall stream flow, which in turn depends on snow pack from the previous winter. 5. Using classification and regression tree analysis, we identified stream width and stream temperature as key habitat factors that shape the responses of individual populations to climate. 6. Climate change will likely have different impacts on different populations within this metapopulation, and recognizing this diversity is important for accurately assessing risks.     

Fishes as indicators of environmental and ecological changes within estuaries: a review of progress and some suggestions for the future

Estuarine habitats, and the fish assemblages associated with them, are potentially impacted upon by many anthropogenic influences which can have a direct influence on the food resources, distribution, diversity, breeding, abundance, growth, survival and behaviour of both resident and migrant fish species. The direct and indirect coupling between ichthyofaunal communities and human impacts on estuaries reinforces the choice of this taxonomic group as a biological indicator that can assist in the formulation of environmental and ecological quality objectives, and in the setting of environmental and ecological quality standards for these systems. This review examines the rationale and value of selecting fishes as bio-indicators of human induced changes within estuaries, using examples from both the northern and southern hemispheres. The monitoring of estuarine 'health' using fish studies at the individual and community level is discussed, with an emphasis on the potential use of estuarine fishes and their monitoring and surveillance in national and international management programmes. In illustrating the above concept, examples are presented of the way in which fishes are threatened by anthropogenic impacts and of the way in which teleosts can contribute to a monitoring of estuarine ecosystem health.     

Assessing researcher impacts from a long-term sampling program of wetland communities in the Everglades National Park, Florida, U.S.A.

1. Long‐term monitoring requires repeated visits to a study site, greatly increasing the potential for cumulative visitation effects. For ecological studies in general, and for monitoring in particular, data must be evaluated for confounding artefacts from researcher presence. We compared aquatic communities at long‐term sampling plots (nine sites, each with three plots, studied continuously from 6 to 22 years) in the Everglades National Park to previously unsampled reference plots adjacent to them to assess the effects of researcher visitation on the flora and fauna. 2. We identified two criteria that are sensitive to local habitat heterogeneity for assessment of visitation impacts. First, the long‐term plots must differ from adjacent reference plots by a magnitude that exceeded variation among plots separated by equal or greater distance (i.e. the difference is greater than expected by scaling of community change proportional with distance); and second, multiple reference plots must consistently differ in direction (e.g. greater abundance or less abundance) from adjacent long‐term plots. We also tested for increased heterogeneity among samples from long‐term plots compared with those not previously visited. 3. We found no evidence of researcher effects on fish or macroinvertebrates, and only weak evidence for alteration of emergent plants and periphyton floating mats. Our failure to document visitor impacts may result from either low visitation rate or the dynamic nature of the wetlands studied.     

Temporal and environmental influences on the variation in Atlantic salmon smolt migration in the Burrishoole system 1970–2000

The relationships between a number of environmental variables and the number of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts migrating in the Burrishoole system, western Ireland, were examined over a 30 year period from 1970 to 2000. The number of Atlantic salmon smolts recorded migrating downstream decreased significantly from an annual mean of 11 579 in the 1970s to a mean of 6272 in the 1990s. The primary factor in the decline in Atlantic salmon numbers was a consistent decline in the number of returning adults from the 1970s until the mid 1990s. Timing of the smolt migrations (runs) was consistent throughout the three decades. The mean durations of the smolt runs were 102·1, 92·6 and 103·2 days for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s respectively. Mean surface water temperatures at key points in the smolt run for the three decades were also similar. Mean water temperature values were 5·4, 5·1 and 5·3° C at the start of the smolt runs and 15·2, 14·9 and 15·3° C at the end of the smolt runs in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s respectively. Multivariate analysis identified two groups of environmental variables which had a significant influence on the daily smolt catch. One group of variables dominated by photoperiod and temperature operated prior to the smolt run and was considered to regulate the development of smoltification. The second group of variables dominated by total light and water level operated within the smolt run and was considered to control daily smolt migration.     

Functional response of juvenile pink and chum salmon: effects of consumer size and two types of zooplankton prey

Feeding rate experiments were conducted for pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha fry [mean fork length ( L _F) 39 mm], juveniles (103–104 mm L _F) and juvenile chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta (106–107 mm L _F). Fishes were presented with small copepod ( Tisbi sp.) or larger mysid shrimp ( Mysidopsis bahia ) prey at varying densities ranging from 1 to 235 prey l⁻¹ in feeding rate experiments conducted at water temperatures ranging from 10·5 to 12·0° C under high light levels and low turbidity conditions. Juvenile pink and chum salmon demonstrated a type II functional response to mysid and copepod prey. Mysid prey was readily selected by both species whereas the smaller bodied copepod prey was not. When offered copepods, pink salmon fry fed at a higher maximum consumption rate (2·5 copepods min⁻¹) than larger juvenile pink salmon (0·4 copepods min⁻¹), whereas larger juvenile chum salmon exhibited the highest feeding rate (3·8 copepods min⁻¹). When feeding on mysids, the maximum feeding rate for larger juvenile pink (12·3 mysids min⁻¹) and chum (11·5 mysids min⁻¹) salmon were similar in magnitude, and higher than feeding rates on copepods. Functional response models parameterized for specific sizes of juvenile salmon and zooplankton prey provide an important tool for linking feeding rates to ambient foraging conditions in marine environments, and can enable mechanistic predictions for how feeding and growth should respond to spatial-temporal variability in biological and physical conditions during early marine life stages.     

Effects of varying salinities on Lepeophtheirus salmonis survival on juvenile pink and chum salmon

Survival of the sea louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on juvenile Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha and Oncorhynchus keta was examined with respect to salinity (0, 7, 14, 21 and 28). Rapid mortality was observed in fresh water (0) but motile stage sea lice tolerated higher salinities (7, 14, 21 and 28) for up to 7 days. These findings suggest that salinities juvenile Pacific salmon typically encounter during early marine residence have little affect on motile sea louse survival.     

Habitat selection by juvenile Atlantic salmon: the interaction between physical habitat and abundance

The effect of physical river habitat variables on the distribution of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. in the Rivière de la Trinité, Québec, Canada, was examined using generalized additive modelling. A survey of Atlantic salmon fry and parr densities and habitat variables (flow velocity, water column depth and substratum size) was conducted in the summer months from 1984 to 1992. Clear patterns of habitat use existed: specific ranges of habitat variables were selected, with parr preferring greater velocities, depths and substratum sizes than fry. There was a large variation, however, in juvenile densities for given velocities, depths or substratum sizes, with this variation being greatest in optimal habitats. On examination of an individual year, interaction between the variables was found to explain some of the variation. On a year‐to‐year basis the juvenile Atlantic salmon population was found to exhibit an 'Ideal Free Distribution', which resulted in greatest variation in optimal habitats with year‐to‐year changes in population abundance.     

Eye colour in juvenile Atlantic salmon: effects of social status, aggression and foraging success

Status-based differences in sclera colour in small groups of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar , held in a semi-natural environment over a 20 day period, became obvious 3 days after the start of the study and persisted for the 20 days. Dominant fish had pale sclera, and this pattern was very stable over the experimental period. In contrast, the sclera colour of subordinate fish (ranks 2–5) fluctuated from day to day. Median sclera colour offish ranked 4–5 darkened on days they received more aggression, and sclera of rank 2 fish were lighter on days on which they initiated more attacks. Changes in sclera colour of fish ranked 2–4 were more frequent during feeding periods than non-feeding periods. This study confirms that the relationship between eye colour and status described in tanks is also seen in more natural environments, and also that colour change in juvenile salmonids is a complex response to local events.