North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 15

Table of Contents

A Compilation and Meta-analysis of Salmon Diet Data in the North Pacific Ocean

Authors:
Caroline Graham, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, and Brian P.V. Hunt

Abstract Excerpt:
Although the freshwater phase of the salmon life cycle has been studied in depth, there is much less information available on the marine phase, even though Pacific salmon can spend anywhere from one to seven years of their life in the ocean. With rapidly changing ocean conditions, it is important to understand this phase of the salmon life cycle. One of the most significant factors affecting the survival of salmon is the presence and abundance of nutritious prey. Although it is difficult to measure prey occurrence across the scale of the Pacific Ocean basin, information on prey presence and abundance can be obtained by studying salmon diets. Diet data can give insight into food webs, niche overlap between species/stocks, potential competition, health, and changing ocean conditions. Over the past century, there has been sporadic research on salmon diets in the ocean, and inconsistent methods have been used to quantify this information. There is an urgent need to consolidate available data in a useful way to understand salmon habitat, identify knowledge gaps, and project future changes.

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

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/196.

Citation

Graham, C., E.A. Pakhomov, and B.P.V. Hunt.  2019.  A compilation and meta-analysis of salmon diet data in the North Pacific Ocean.  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 15: 196.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/196.