Influence of multiple dam passage on survival of juvenile Chinook salmon in the Columbia River estuary and coastal ocean.

ABSTRACT: Multiple dam passage during seaward migration is thought to reduce the subsequent survival of Snake River Chinook salmon. This hypothesis developed because juvenile Chinook salmon from the Snake River, the Columbia River's largest tributary, migrate >700 km through eight hydropower dams and have lower adult return rates than downstream populations that migrate through only 3 or 4 dams. Using a large-scale telemetry array, we tested whether survival of hatchery-reared juvenile Snake River spring Chinook salmon is reduced in the estuary and coastal ocean relative to a downstream, hatchery-reared population from the Yakima River. During the initial 750-km, 1-mo-long migration through the estuary and coastal ocean, we found no evidence of differential survival; therefore, poorer adult returns

SUBMITTER: Rechisky EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3637724 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature