15 May
Andy Dittman
Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Homing Patterns of Wild and Supplemented Spring Chinook Salmon Within a Watershed: Tradeoffs Between Homing and Spawning Site Selection
Abstract
Andy Dittman is a Research Fishery Biologist in the Physiology Program at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center. He has been studying the olfactory physiology and behavior of fishes, particularly salmonids, for the last 20 years. Andy received a B.A. in Biochemistry from Dartmouth College in 1982 and a joint Ph.D. degree in Fisheries and Pharmacology from the University of Washington in 1994. After post-doctoral fellowships at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Andy joined the NWFSC in 2000. His research utilizes an integrative approach, spanning from molecular biology and electrophysiology to field-based behavior. Current research is focused on development of molecular assays for imprinting, experiments to determine the timing of imprinting and appropriate juvenile rearing and release strategies to minimize straying and field studies examining the spatial scales of homing and the efficacy of hatchery acclimation facilities.
Bio
Homing to the natal site to spawn is fundamental to the unique biology and management of salmon. Exposure to home stream odors during appropriate juvenile stages is critical for olfactory imprinting and successful completion of the adult homing migration. A number of supplementation hatchery programs utilize acclimation facilities to reestablish natural spawning in underutilized stream reaches. These programs seek to exploit the tendency of salmon to imprint and return as adults to the site(s) from which they are released as outmigrating smolts. The final choice of spawning location within a watershed, however, involves complex tradeoffs between homing to the natal site, spawning habitat selection, and mate choice. The goal of this project was to describe the spatial patterns of homing and spawning by wild salmon and hatchery-reared salmon released from acclimation facilities in the upper Yakima River, Washington. Over six years (2002-2007), we comprehensively surveyed the spawning area of the Yakima River spring Chinook population and GPS mapped every carcass recovered (n=9214). The results of this ongoing study indicated that site of acclimation and release significantly affects the distribution of adult spawning within the sub-basin but significant straying from the release site confirmed tradeoffs between homing and habitat selection. Potential biological and environmental factors that may influence straying/spawning site selection will also be discussed.
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