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Physiological comparisons of steelhead kelts emigrating from the Situk River, AK and Clearwater River, ID

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Abstract

The physiological status of migrating steelhead kelts (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Situk River, Alaska, and two tributaries of the Clearwater River, Idaho, was evaluated to explore potential differences in post-spawning survival related to energy reserves. Blood plasma samples were analyzed for metrics related to nutritional and osmotic status, and samples of white muscle tissue collected from recent mortalities at weirs were analyzed for proximate constituents. Female kelts from the Situk River had significantly higher plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and calcium concentrations, all of which suggested higher lipid and energy stores. Additional support for energy limitation in kelts was provided by evaluating the presence of detectable proteins in the plasma. Most all kelts sampled from the Situk River populations had detectable plasma proteins, in contrast to kelts sampled from the Clearwater River tributary populations where 27 % of kelts from one tributary, and 68 % of the second tributary were below the limits of detection. We found proximate constituents of kelt mortalities were similar between the Situk and Clearwater River populations, and the lipid fraction of white muscle averaged 0.1 and 0.2 %. Our findings lend support to the hypothesis that energetic limitations likely affect post-spawn survival in the Clearwater River kelts.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission through the Columbia Basin Fish Accords partnership with the Bonneville Power Administration (under Project 2007-401-00; Doug Hatch, project manager). Additional support for synthesis was provided by the United States Geological Survey. We are grateful to Brett Bowersox and Tim Copeland and their Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff for assistance with sampling at Clearwater River weirs. We are grateful to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, especially the Situk weir crew and Bob Chadwick for assistance and collaboration for sampling. At the University of Idaho Carol Hoffman, Boling Sun, Andy Pape, Kala Hamilton, and Will Schrader provided field and laboratory assistance, and Chris Williams provided advice regarding statistical analysis. We are also grateful to Todd Seamons and two anonymous reviewers for insight and critique of earlier drafts this manuscript. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of University of Idaho Animal Care and Use Committee protocol # 2009-10. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

    Zachary L. Penney, Christine M. Moffitt & Bryan Jones

  2. US Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

    Christine M. Moffitt

  3. Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Multnomah Street Suite 1200, Portland, Oregon, NE, 700, USA

    Zachary L. Penney

  4. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1 Fish and Game Plaza, PO Box 49, Yakutat, AK, USA

    Brian Marston

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  1. Zachary L. Penney
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Correspondence to Christine M. Moffitt.

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Penney, Z.L., Moffitt, C.M., Jones, B. et al. Physiological comparisons of steelhead kelts emigrating from the Situk River, AK and Clearwater River, ID. Environ Biol Fish 99, 487–498 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-016-0493-x

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