Columbia River Basin (CRB) Fish Monitoring and Evaluation Studies
Project ID: W912HZ-16-2-0013
Federal Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Partner Institution: University of Idaho
Fiscal Year: 2016
Initial Funding: $522,481
Total Funding: $3,340,966
Principal Investigator: Caudill, Christopher
Abstract: Task 1) Evaluation of salmon passage at an adult collection facility: The primary goal of this study is to gather information related to adult Chinook Salmon and steelhead attraction, entry and passage at Willamette Valley Project facilities. The 2016 study year will be performed at the Foster Dam (FOS) adult fish facility (AFF). The information will be used to improve the effectiveness of AFF operations and to reduce holding by pre-spawn adult fish in the Foster Dam tailrace and similar WVP facilities such as Minto, Bennett, Dexter, and other locations.
Task 2) Characterization and return rates of UWR Chinook salmon life history types: A core element of the WVP BiOp is development of adequate downstream passage for juvenile salmonids past dams. Available data indicate considerable variability in juvenile early rearing habitat use and downstream migration behavior throughout the system including evidence of rearing in streams above dams, in reservoirs, and in the lower river prior to ocean entry. Importantly, understanding the distribution, abundance and relative performance of life history types is critical to evaluating the potential biological benefits of alternative management strategies because total adult return is the product of smolt production by life history types and the smolt-to-adult (SAR) survival rates of each type, both of which may vary considerably.
Thus, changes in the production of life history types and difference in SAR among types may affect the ultimate effectiveness of improvements aimed at juvenile passage.
Task 3) Evaluation of reintroduction strategies using genetic pedigree analysis, 2016: The primary goal of this study is to inform collection and transport practices related to reintroduction of steelhead (anadromous Oncorhynchus mykiss) above Willamette Valley Projects. Work in 2016 will be conducted at Foster Dam on the South Santiam River where returning adults potentially originate from anadromous parents spawning below the dam, anadromous parents spawning above the dam after outplanting, or are the progeny of resident rainbow trout above the dam. Currently it is unknown what proportion of the unmarked adult steelhead that enter the trap and are outplanted above the dam originate above (or below) the dam, or whether collection and transport above the dam have negative effects on downstream winter steelhead populations (i.e., does collection ‘mine’ downstream populations?). Understanding the relative contribution of resident rainbow trout to anadromous production is important because, if unrecognized, these fish will either cause overestimation of spawning success/straying into the FOS trap by progeny of anadromous adults that spawned downstream of FOS or inflate the apparent fitness of outplanted adults, depending on the assumed origin of adults that do not assign in a pedigree study.
Task 4) Synthesis of status and trend in adult salmon and steelhead passage behavior in the lower Federal Columbia River Hydrosystem, 1997-2014: The value of long-term datasets is greatly enhanced through 1) thorough retrospective analyses through time and space, 2) full documentation of procedures and protocols, and 3) proper archiving of databases. Radio-telemetry studies have tagged 27,476 adult spring/summer Chinook salmon, fall Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon and steelhead in the lower Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) during fourteen study-years in the period 1996-2014. Individual fish have been monitored at dam fishways and tributaries in relation to a variety of specific study objectives. However, synthetic analyses across years at all sites have not been conducted and will address questions such as: What were average passage metrics at each fishway and how have metrics changed with major changes in structures and operations? Have improvements provided cumulative improvement in passage through time? To what degree is interannual variation in passage rates associated with operational and environmental conditions? At which locations would future improvements provide the greatest benefits to upriver ESUs? Secondary goals of the project will be to provide an annotated bibliography of studies on adult salmonids in the FCRPS using radio-, PIT-, and acoustic telemetry, to fully document SOPs and QA/QC procedures used for UI/NOAA radiotelemetry studies in detail, and to provide a database of coded individual radiotelemetry migration histories to the USACE.