Upstream migration in the Columbia River Basin: Lessons learned from two decades of adult salmon and steelhead radiotelemetry projects Matthew Keefer 1, Charles Boggs 1, Chris Caudill 1, Brian Burke 2, Tami Clabough 1, Travis Dick 1, Kinsey Frick 2, Mike Jepson 1, Dan Joosten 1, Steve Lee 1, George Naughton 1, & Chris Peery 3 1 Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho 2 Northwest Fisheries Science Center 3 US Fish & Wildlife Service
Acknowledgments Funding!
Presentation objectives 1) Introduce the Columbia River adult salmon and steelhead project 2) Examples of research questions and results Gross simplifications of complex animal behavior
Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program (AFEP): Adult studies Action Evaluate Research Monitor Piggyback Science opportunity Basic research Adaptive Management Applied research Hendy Mp
Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program (AFEP): Adult studies? HOME Straying Operations: upstream & downstream passage A B En route & prespawn mortality Reach & migration survival, harvest C D Fishway modifications Sea lion management
Methods: fish collection AFF Adult Fish Facility (AFF) OR Bonneville Dam WA Trap holding pool Fishway: dewatered Fish ladder
Methods: sample summary 1996-2014: 26,876 radio-tagged adults 11,505 spring-summer Chinook salmon 7,856 summer steelhead 6,139 fall Chinook salmon 1,376 sockeye salmon Intragastric radio tagging Summer Chinook salmon Summer steelhead
Methods: Monitoring / Study area ~180 antenna sites / year Tailraces, fishways at ~8-10 dams Most major tributaries Including Snake & Upper Columbia river sites Wanapum Lower Monumental Lower Granite COLUMBIA R. Priest Rapids Little Goose Ice Harbor John Day McNary SNAKE R. Bonneville The Dalles
Examples of study questions & results
Fishway & dam passage Do adults successfully pass dams? 102 Bonneville Dam passage efficiency 100 Passed dam (%) 98 96 94 92 98% 90 88 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 1997 2000 2001 2002 1997 2013 2014 Columbia & Snake River Dam fishways effectively pass most adult salmonids
Fishways & dam passage The Dalles Dam passage efficiency Some dam passage failure associated with fish orientation and downstream harvest Passed dam (%) 102 100 98 96 94 92 98% Tributary overshoot 90 88 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 1997 2000 2001 2002 1997 2013 2014
Fishways & dam passage Do dams delay upstream migration? Many salmon pass through reservoirs at speeds of 50-75 km/d, likely offsetting some delay at dams 1 day CJFAS 64:979-995 (2007) Most adults pass dams quickly (Medians 1 day), but times are highly variable & many fish must pass 8-9 dams
System-wide escapement How many survive to potential spawning sites? COLUMBIA R. Start! SNAKE R. CJFAS 62:930-949 (2005) 100 km Sp-Su Chinook Fa Chinook Steelhead ~ 8-22% reported harvested along migration corridor ~73% escape ~61% ~62% ~ 12-17% with unknown fate along migration corridor
System-wide escapement What affects migration survival? Probability of survival 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Sockeye salmon survival to tributaries Probability 5% CI 95% CI Conversion probability 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 Sp-Su Chinook salmon survival past 4 dams 0.0 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 0.6 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Columbia River temperature o C Temperature (C) at Bonneville Dam Substantially reduced survival for some stocks exposed to warm water temperatures CJFAS 62:30-47 (2005)
System-wide escapement What affects migration survival? UPPER COLUMBIA SOCKEYE SEARCHING FOR COOLER WATER FOUND DEAD, DISTRESSED IN DESCHUTES RIVER MOUTH Friday, July 10, 2015 2015: exceptionally warm water WARM WATER HITTING RETURNING SOCKEYE HARD: NOAA SAYS MAYBE 80 PERCENT MORTALITY FOR UPPER COLUMBIA Friday, July 31, 2015 250,000-400,000 Sockeye mortalities
System-wide escapement What affects migration success? 10 8 A) Chinook salmon In-river Barged Juvenile transport barge Percent (%) 6 4 2 Barged Chinook salmon: ~3.4 times more likely to fall back at dams as adults Barged fish had reduced survival to the Snake River (~ 10%) Percent (%) 0 10 8 6 4 2 B) Steelhead Barged steelhead: ~1.7 times more likely to fall back at dams Barging impairs adult orientation: - Increased fallback at dams - Increased permanent straying 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Number of fallback events
Downstream fallback 16 fallback events 24 dam passages ~ 3,200 km Volitional and non-volitional fallback is common: 15-21% of each run Results in reduced survival (1-4% impact) for each run Key challenge: minimize fallback risks while providing safe routes for overshoot fish and kelts
Archival tags: temperature & depth Please see poster in: Conserving cool- and coldwater fish symposium CJFAS 66:1731-1747 (2009)
Pinniped predation How do predators affect salmon behavior, survival? Does impact vary among ESA-listed populations? MNBC ODFW CJFAS 68:1615-1624 (2011)
Pinniped predation Early-timed Chinook salmon at high risk Population-specific migration timing & abundance Several ESA-listed populations in the Snake and upper Columbia river basins Predation risk + Observed sea lion predation rates J Jensen
Inter-population variability Flow Temperature Fall Chinook composition River & Ocean environment predictably influence run timing Population timing sequences are stable within species & within life history types
Inter-population variability Steelhead timing Predicted probability of overwintering Main stem overwintering 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 1 Jun 1 Jul 1 Aug 1 Sep 1 Oct 1 Nov Steelhead release date Late steelhead far more likely to overwinter in Hydrosystem reservoirs CJFAS 66:1734-1747 (2009) Warm-water exposure & thermoregulation vary widely among steelhead populations
Looking ahead.... Continue adaptive management, advisory role Data synthesis Prioritizing adult passage and survival issues Post-reactionary summaries Maximize the value of this remarkable dataset! Hendy Mp