Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon?
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations have experienced widespread declines in abundance and abrupt shifts toward younger and smaller adults returning to spawn in rivers. The causal agents underpinning these shifts are largely unknown. Here we investigate the potential role of late-st...
Published in: | PLOS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895375/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606847 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7895375 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7895375 2023-05-15T17:53:50+02:00 Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? Manishin, Kaitlyn A. Cunningham, Curry J. Westley, Peter A. H. Seitz, Andrew C. 2021-02-19 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895375/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606847 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895375/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606847 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 © 2021 Manishin et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY PLoS One Research Article Text 2021 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 2021-03-07T01:42:53Z Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations have experienced widespread declines in abundance and abrupt shifts toward younger and smaller adults returning to spawn in rivers. The causal agents underpinning these shifts are largely unknown. Here we investigate the potential role of late-stage marine mortality, defined as occurring after the first winter at sea, in driving this species’ changing age structure. Simulations using a stage-based life cycle model that included additional mortality during after the first winter at sea better reflected observed changes in the age structure of a well-studied and representative population of Chinook salmon from the Yukon River drainage, compared with a model estimating environmentally-driven variation in age-specific survival alone. Although the specific agents of late-stage mortality are not known, our finding is consistent with work reporting predation by salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) and marine mammals including killer whales (Orcinus orca). Taken as a whole, this work suggests that Pacific salmon mortality after the first winter at sea is likely to be higher than previously thought and highlights the need to investigate selective sources of mortality, such as predation, as major contributors to rapidly changing age structure of spawning adult Chinook salmon. Text Orca Orcinus orca Yukon river Yukon PubMed Central (PMC) Pacific Yukon PLOS ONE 16 2 e0247370 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Research Article |
spellingShingle |
Research Article Manishin, Kaitlyn A. Cunningham, Curry J. Westley, Peter A. H. Seitz, Andrew C. Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
topic_facet |
Research Article |
description |
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations have experienced widespread declines in abundance and abrupt shifts toward younger and smaller adults returning to spawn in rivers. The causal agents underpinning these shifts are largely unknown. Here we investigate the potential role of late-stage marine mortality, defined as occurring after the first winter at sea, in driving this species’ changing age structure. Simulations using a stage-based life cycle model that included additional mortality during after the first winter at sea better reflected observed changes in the age structure of a well-studied and representative population of Chinook salmon from the Yukon River drainage, compared with a model estimating environmentally-driven variation in age-specific survival alone. Although the specific agents of late-stage mortality are not known, our finding is consistent with work reporting predation by salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) and marine mammals including killer whales (Orcinus orca). Taken as a whole, this work suggests that Pacific salmon mortality after the first winter at sea is likely to be higher than previously thought and highlights the need to investigate selective sources of mortality, such as predation, as major contributors to rapidly changing age structure of spawning adult Chinook salmon. |
format |
Text |
author |
Manishin, Kaitlyn A. Cunningham, Curry J. Westley, Peter A. H. Seitz, Andrew C. |
author_facet |
Manishin, Kaitlyn A. Cunningham, Curry J. Westley, Peter A. H. Seitz, Andrew C. |
author_sort |
Manishin, Kaitlyn A. |
title |
Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
title_short |
Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
title_full |
Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
title_fullStr |
Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of Chinook salmon? |
title_sort |
can late stage marine mortality explain observed shifts in age structure of chinook salmon? |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895375/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606847 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 |
geographic |
Pacific Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Yukon |
genre |
Orca Orcinus orca Yukon river Yukon |
genre_facet |
Orca Orcinus orca Yukon river Yukon |
op_source |
PLoS One |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895375/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606847 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 |
op_rights |
© 2021 Manishin et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247370 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
e0247370 |
_version_ |
1766161540268949504 |