North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 15

Table of Contents

Genetic Characterization of Juvenile Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) Migrating out of the Yukon River Delta

Authors:
Genevieve M. Johnson, Christine M. Kondzela, Jacqueline A. Whittle, Katharine Miller, and Jeffrey R. Guyon

Abstract Excerpt:
To identify critical life history stages for salmon survival, it may be informative to compare adult returns with abundances at various life-history stages. The transitional period from freshwater to saltwater is speculated to be a major source of mortality for salmon and information about early life stages may help reduce uncertainty around survival estimates and future run-size predictions. Past genetic studies demonstrated that relative abundances of Yukon summer-run and fall-run juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) caught on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during late summer/early fall are correlated with adult returns for their respective year classes (Kondzela et al. 2016). We are interested in testing whether earlier life history stages are also correlated with adult returns. Our study provides insights into the relative proportions of summer-run and fall-run juvenile chum salmon that out-migrate from the Yukon River during the spring/summer period.

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

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/51.53.

Citation

Johnson, G.M., C.M. Kondzela, J.A. Whittle, K. Miller, and J.R. Guyon.  2019.  Genetic characterization of juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) migrating out of the Yukon River Delta.  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 15: 51–53.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/51.53.