Establishing present‐day Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka|sćwin) spawning capacity in the highly impacted sq,awsitkʷ|Okanagan River to guide population conservation and restoration
{"title":"Establishing present‐day Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka|sćwin) spawning capacity in the highly impacted sq,awsitkʷ|Okanagan River to guide population conservation and restoration","authors":"Antóin M. O'Sullivan, Karilyn I. Alex","doi":"10.1002/rra.4293","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The presence of dams on the Columbia River (CR) has reduced Sockeye Salmon (<jats:italic>Oncorhynchus nerka|sćwin</jats:italic>) numbers to a fraction of their historic numbers. The Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance (SONA) has led voices of concern regarding the impacts of diminishing Sockeye Salmon numbers on the ecosystem health of the sawsitkʷ|Okanagan River (s|OR), a tributary of the CR. In the early 2000s efforts commenced to rehabilitate the s|OR Sockeye population. These efforts have seen the population rise from a running average of 40,000 to 200,000. However, the contemporary spawning capacity of the s|OR is unknown, and this metric is critical to guide the conservation and restoration of this keystone species. We employed a spawning capacity model relating fish length and gravel size to spawning potential. We collected substrate data at 49 sites throughout our 37‐km study area, and used fish length and egg numbers from <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 269 Sockeye Salmon to establish s|OR specific fecundity metrics. The model estimated the s|OR has the capacity to support 147,687 (±33,346) Sockeye spawners, in its current condition. Whilst our model has limitations, we suggest a minimum escapement of 147,687 Sockeye spawners ought to be passed to the s|OR per annum. These fish will have broad ecosystem benefits and will be culturally beneficial to SONA peoples. Finally, continued restoration of s|OR habitat should enhance opportunities for Sockeye Salmon to continue their remarkable recovery.","PeriodicalId":21513,"journal":{"name":"River Research and Applications","volume":"191 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"River Research and Applications","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.4293","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The presence of dams on the Columbia River (CR) has reduced Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka|sćwin) numbers to a fraction of their historic numbers. The Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance (SONA) has led voices of concern regarding the impacts of diminishing Sockeye Salmon numbers on the ecosystem health of the sawsitkʷ|Okanagan River (s|OR), a tributary of the CR. In the early 2000s efforts commenced to rehabilitate the s|OR Sockeye population. These efforts have seen the population rise from a running average of 40,000 to 200,000. However, the contemporary spawning capacity of the s|OR is unknown, and this metric is critical to guide the conservation and restoration of this keystone species. We employed a spawning capacity model relating fish length and gravel size to spawning potential. We collected substrate data at 49 sites throughout our 37‐km study area, and used fish length and egg numbers from n = 269 Sockeye Salmon to establish s|OR specific fecundity metrics. The model estimated the s|OR has the capacity to support 147,687 (±33,346) Sockeye spawners, in its current condition. Whilst our model has limitations, we suggest a minimum escapement of 147,687 Sockeye spawners ought to be passed to the s|OR per annum. These fish will have broad ecosystem benefits and will be culturally beneficial to SONA peoples. Finally, continued restoration of s|OR habitat should enhance opportunities for Sockeye Salmon to continue their remarkable recovery.
期刊介绍:
River Research and Applications , previously published as Regulated Rivers: Research and Management (1987-2001), is an international journal dedicated to the promotion of basic and applied scientific research on rivers. The journal publishes original scientific and technical papers on biological, ecological, geomorphological, hydrological, engineering and geographical aspects related to rivers in both the developed and developing world. Papers showing how basic studies and new science can be of use in applied problems associated with river management, regulation and restoration are encouraged as is interdisciplinary research concerned directly or indirectly with river management problems.