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Population interconnectivity and implications for recovery of a species of concern, the Pacific hake of Georgia Basin

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Abstract

To aid the recovery of a species, understanding the extent to which populations are connected is useful for targeting conservation efforts. Pacific hake within waters of Puget Sound, Washington State, USA, and Georgia Strait, British Columbia, Canada are listed as a species of concern under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due to dramatic declines in the Puget Sound population. To assess the role of dispersal in the recovery of Pacific hake, we sought to quantify patterns of connectivity between populations in Puget Sound and Georgia Strait. Using natural chemical markers from otoliths of fish sampled from these two populations, we linked natal signatures of fish to signatures of individuals from known spawning grounds. Results indicated that 82 % of individuals collected from Puget Sound (n = 78) were estimated to have originated there, while 40 and 92 % of the individuals collected from two cohorts within Georgia Strait (n = 9 and 24, respectively) had originated from Puget Sound. A trend of “population abandonment” of fish from Puget Sound suggests that recovery of this Pacific hake population will depend on local management practices.

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Notes

  1. ESA allows for conservation of organisms at the subspecies level and thus defines “species” as “any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature” USFWS-NMFS (1996) Policy regarding the recognition of distinct vertebrate population segments under the Endangered Species Act. Federal Register. 61(26):4722–4725.

  2. Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous reviewers, J. Samhouri, K. Andrews, and B. Burke for their constructive comments, C. Knaack for lab support, and researchers at WDFW and DFO for their hard work in obtaining and maintaining these samples. This study was supported by a Species of Concern Grant.

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  1. Wayne Palsson

    Present address: Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E., Seattle, WA, 98112, USA

    Paul M. Chittaro & Richard W. Zabel

  2. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA

    Wayne Palsson

  3. Marine Ecosystem and Aquaculture Division, Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6N7, Canada

    Chris Grandin

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  1. Paul M. Chittaro
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Correspondence to Paul M. Chittaro.

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Communicated by M. A. Peck.

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Chittaro, P.M., Zabel, R.W., Palsson, W. et al. Population interconnectivity and implications for recovery of a species of concern, the Pacific hake of Georgia Basin. Mar Biol 160, 1157–1170 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2168-x

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