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Whole-Stream Metabolism Responds to Spawning Pacific Salmon in Their Native and Introduced Ranges

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Abstract

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) perform important ecological roles in stream ecosystems by provisioning nutrients as resource subsidies and modifying their physical habitat as ecosystem engineers. These contrasting roles result in concurrent nutrient enrichment and benthic disturbance, where local environmental characteristics potentially determine which effect predominates. Whole-stream metabolism quantifies the functional response to salmon and may identify patterns in enrichment and disturbance not apparent from structural measurements alone. We measured ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross primary production (GPP), along with chemical and physical characteristics, in seven Southeast Alaska streams and two Michigan streams, before and during the salmon run. These streams in the native and introduced ranges of salmon differed in environmental characteristics, from geomorphology at the reach scale to climate at the biome scale. Salmon consistently increased ER across streams and biomes, from an average (±SE) of 1.92 ± 0.23 g O2 m−2 d−1 before salmon to 6.30 ± 1.08 g O2 m−2 d−1 during the run. In the cobble-bottom streams of Southeast Alaska, GPP doubled from 0.29 ± 0.05 g O2 m−2 d−1 before salmon to 0.66 ± 0.16 g O2 m−2 d−1 during the run. In contrast, GPP responded inconsistently to salmon in the sand-bottom Michigan streams, increasing in one and decreasing in the other. Patterns in ER and GPP among streams and time periods were predicted by stream water nutrients (for example, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus) rather than by physical characteristics (for example, light, sediment size, and so on). This study demonstrates that salmon can periodically override physical controls on ER and GPP and enhance whole-stream metabolism via their dual ecological roles as both resource subsidies and ecosystem engineers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to M Brueseke, E Campbell, D D’Amore, R Edwards, K Harriger, S Hebbeler, J Junker, AM Larquier, T Levi, S Meyer, M Stephen, J Summers, C Turner, and S Winikoff for providing the field and technical assistance. The authors also thank the Pacific Northwest Research Station (USDA Forest Service), Craig and Thorne Bay Ranger Districts (USDA Forest Service), and A Moerke (Lake Superior State University) for their logistical support. Support was provided by the USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative (Managed Ecosystems Program 2006-35101-16566), along with an NSF-IGERT Graduate Fellowship (DGE-0504495) and NSF-Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DEB-0910124) to PSL.

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Author notes

  1. Peter S. Levi

    Present address: Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

  2. Janine Rüegg

    Present address: Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA

  3. David J. Janetski

    Present address: Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, Michigan, USA

  4. Scott D. Tiegs

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

    Peter S. Levi, Jennifer L. Tank, Janine Rüegg, David J. Janetski, Scott D. Tiegs, Dominic T. Chaloner & Gary A. Lamberti

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  1. Peter S. Levi
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Correspondence to Peter S. Levi.

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Author contributions

P.S.L. wrote the manuscript along with important contributions from all co-authors. P.S.L. collected the whole-stream metabolism data with assistance from J.R. and D.J.J. who, with P.S.L., also collected and analyzed the physical and biological characteristics of the study streams in Southeast Alaska and the Great Lakes, respectively. S.D.T. coordinated fieldwork and data collection in Southeast Alaska and, along with all co-authors, developed the study design. J.L.T., D.T.C., and G.A.L. (lead) were principal investigators on the grant, developed the study design, and contributed significantly to the manuscript.

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Levi, P.S., Tank, J.L., Rüegg, J. et al. Whole-Stream Metabolism Responds to Spawning Pacific Salmon in Their Native and Introduced Ranges. Ecosystems 16, 269–283 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9613-4

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