Dietary and Spatial Analysis of Salmon in the San Juan Archipelago and the Salish Sea

• Main Author: Fletcher, Andrew
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Salmon; predatory fish; dietary analysis; forage fish; Salish Sea; Pacific; San Juan; Pink salmon
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/48604

Salmon in the Salish Sea and the San Juan Archipelago are important keystone species with both ecological and commercial value. Analysis of the diets of king, pink, and silver salmon between the years of 2018 to 2021 suggest temporal changes in the amount and presence of the prey species of interest. Pacific herring and Pacific sand lance displayed the most variance in abundance and frequency of occurrence in all prey species observed. Herring displayed an increase in abundance in 2021, while sand lance displayed a decrease in abundance. Spatial analysis also suggests a separation in the spatial distribution of species, as well as differences in distribution based on prey type consumed. Additionally, shifts in the diet of pink salmon from crustaceans to herring have been observed.