Yakima River Summer Chinook Reintroduction: Life History Characteristics and the Habitat Potential of the Yakima River
Chris Frederiksen Yakama Nation Fisheries - YKFP

Presentation Outline

• Modeling Objectives
• Background Information
• • Historical context and extirpation of summer chinook
• Analysis
• • The EDT model: Nuts and bolts
  • Demographics & life history characteristics
  • Individual life history pattern analysis
  • Composite life history pattern analysis

Modeling Objectives

• Integrate Life History with the spatial and temporal characteristics of Yakima River
• • Yakima River habitat: Sufficient to support a viable population of summer chinook?

Modeling Objectives

• Biological hypothesis
• • Influence of environmental characteristics:
  • • Viable life history patterns
    • Local adaptation
• Adaptive management tool
• • Assist M&E activities
  • Artificial production
  • • Broodstock management (use of natural & hatchery origin adults)
    • Size and duration (#smolts released, adults needed for program)

Presentation Outline

• Modeling Objectives
• Background Information
• • Historical context and extirpation of summer chinook
• Analysis
• • The EDT model: Nuts and bolts
  • Demographics & life history characteristics
  • Individual life history pattern analysis
  • Composite life history pattern analysis

Presentation Outline

• Modeling Objectives
• Background Information
• • Historical context and extirpation of summer chinook
• Analysis
• • The EDT model: Nuts and bolts
  • Demographics & life history characteristics
  • Individual life history pattern analysis
  • Composite life history pattern analysis

EDT Nuts & Bolts

• Quality and quantity of available habitat
• • Numerous abiotic & biotic attributes
  • • Individual stream reaches
    • • Homogenous physical characteristics
  • Environmental variability
  • • Primary attributes
    • • Seasonal variability

• • Spatial and temporal variability

• Beverton-Holt production function
• • Quantify productivity & capacity
  • • Across life stages & life history trajectories

• Life history patterns (trajectories)
• • User defined
  • Weekly time step

Presentation Outline

• Modeling Objectives
• Background Information
• • Historical context and extirpation of summer chinook
• Analysis
• • The EDT model: Nuts and bolts
  • Demographics & life history characteristics
  • Individual life history pattern analysis
  • Composite life history pattern analysis

Demographics & Life History Characteristics

• Static:
• • Adult age structure
  • Sex ratios
  • Fecundity
• Complex:
• • Adult migration & Holding
  • Spawning & Emergence Timing
  • Juvenile rearing/migration patterns

Spawn Timing

• Spawn Timing:
• • Influenced & constrained
  • • Temps > ~13C
  • Delayed spawning, pre-spawn mortality
  • • - (Andrew, Green 1960 as cited by McCullough 1999)
  • Acting mechanism
  • Salmon continue upstream migration
  • • Suitable temperatures
    • Commonly spawn earlier at higher latitudes

- (T. Quinn 2005)

• Examples:
• • American River spring Chinook
  • • Four weeks earlier than Naches
    • Six weeks earlier than upper Yakima
  • Okanogan summer Chinook
  • • Shift in distribution
    • • Higher to lower elevation reaches

Initial Conclusions

• Yakima River has potential to support a natural producing population
• • Large capacity but limited productivity (survival)

• Adult migration timing
• • Significantly influence abundance

• Spawn timing
• • Initiation of spawning potentially limited by temperature regimes
  • Timing can significantly influence stream reach productivity
• Emergence timing & Juvenile out-migration timing
• • Temporal characteristics of habitat seem to favor early emergence and out-migration

• Differences in viable life history patterns across stream reaches will promote and maintain life history diversity of entire population

• M&E:
• • Monitoring spawn timing: Shifts and or changes in spawn timing may be a strong indicator that local adaptation is occurring

Acknowledgements:

• Dr. Fast, Melinda Davis

• WDFW

• Bruce Watson, Greg Blair (Mobrand Jones & Stokes)

• Joel Hubble (BOR)

• BPA (Funding of the project)