North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 15

Table of Contents

Quantifying Juvenile Salmon Prey Quality and Exploring Trophic Linkages in Puget Sound, WA, USA

Authors:
Amanda K. Winans, BethElLee Herrmann, Minna Hiltunen, Ursula Strandberg, Michael Brett, and Julie E. Keister

Abstract Excerpt:
Prey composition and quality are critically important to the growth of juvenile salmon and to their survival to adulthood. Juvenile fish need more than just sufficient caloric intake—they also need to have a balanced composition of essential nutrients to achieve high growth rates. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3) are essential fatty acids (EFA) needed for fish well-being and growth that must be acquired through diet (Bell et al. 1997; Glencross 2009; Daly et al. 2010). High growth rates in the early marine period of a juvenile salmon may be critical to future survival (Beamish et al. 2004; Cross et al. 2009; Duffy and Beauchamp 2011). Puget Sound serves as an important nursery area for juveniles to feed and grow for several weeks to months before migrating to the ocean, but little is known about the fatty acid content and composition, and therefore quality as prey, of the zooplankton. The goal of this project was to gain insight into the lower trophic level food web that supports salmon growth by addressing these main objectives: 1) Assess dietary quality of juvenile salmon prey taxa in Puget Sound and adjoining waters; 2) Assess spatial variability in availability of essential fatty acids (EFAs) across Puget Sound basins; 3) Assess temporal variability across seasons in availability of EFAs.

*This is the first paragraph of an extended abstract. Download the full abstract below.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/107.108.

Citation

Winans, A.K., B. Herrmann, M. Hiltunen, U. Strandberg, M. Brett, and J.E. Keister.  2019.  Quantifying juvenile salmon prey quality and exploring trophic linkages in Puget Sound, WA, USA.  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 15: 107–108.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/107.108.