Kelt Reconditioning: A Research Project to Enhance Iteroparity in Columbia Basin Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), 2001 Annual Report.
Repeat spawning is a life history strategy that is expressed by some species from the family Salmonidae. Rates of repeat spawning for post-development Columbia River steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations range from 1.6 to 17%. It is expected that currently observed iteroparity rates for wild s...
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/902988 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/902988 https://doi.org/10.2172/902988 |
| Summary: | Repeat spawning is a life history strategy that is expressed by some species from the family Salmonidae. Rates of repeat spawning for post-development Columbia River steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations range from 1.6 to 17%. It is expected that currently observed iteroparity rates for wild steelhead in the Basin are artificially and in some cases severely depressed due to development and operation of the hydropower system and various additional anthropogenic factors. Increasing the natural expression of historical repeat spawning rates using fish culturing means could be a viable technique to assist the recovery of depressed steelhead populations. Reconditioning is the process of culturing post-spawned fish (kelts) in a captive environment until they are able to reinitiate feeding, growth, and again develop mature gonads. Kelt reconditioning techniques were initially developed for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea-trout (S. trutta). The recent Endangered Species Act listing of many Columbia Basin steelhead populations has prompted interest in developing reconditioning methods for wild steelhead populations within the Basin. To address recovery, we captured wild emigrating steelhead kelts from the Yakima River and tested reconditioning and the effects of several diet formulations on its success at Prosser Hatchery on the Yakama Reservation. Steelhead kelts from the Yakima River were collected at the Chandler Juvenile Evaluation Facility (CJEF, located at Yakima River kilometer 48) from 12 March to 5 July 2001. Kelts were reconditioned in circular tanks and fed a mixed diet of starter paste, adult sized trout pellets, and freeze-dried krill. Formalin was used to control outbreaks of fungus and we tested the use of Ivermectin{trademark}to control internal parasites (e.g., Salmincola spp.). Surviving specimens were released for natural spawning in two groups on 15 November 2001 and 18 January 2002. Overall success of the reconditioning process was based on the proportion of fish that survived in ... |
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