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Seasonal, Diel, and Landscape Effects on Resource Partitioning between Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in the Columbia River Estuary

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine if exploitative competition between between juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) reduces the foraging opportunity of juvenile Chinook salmon in tidal channels of the Columbia River estuary. We sampled Chinook salmon and stickleback diets monthly and over a diel cycle in spatially distinct emergent marshes of the Columbia River estuary. Diets of the two fish species did not differ among marsh systems, but both fish species exhibited diel and seasonal differences in diet composition. Diet overlap between the two fish species was greatest in March and June. Exploitative competition was unlikely based on a comparison between consumption rates and estimated invertebrate production.

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Acknowledgments

The US Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration provided financial support for this research. Kurt Fresh of NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Dr. Jennifer Ruesink of the University of Washington provided support with all portions of this research. Members of the Wetland Ecosystem Team at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, particularly Lia Stamatiou, Mary Ramirez, and Beth Armbrust, graciously assisted with field and laboratory portions of this research. Susan Hinton, George McCabe, Regan McNatt, and Mary Bhuthimethee of NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center contributed to fieldwork. We would like to thank Colin Levings, who provided comments on a draft of this manuscript, as well as the anonymous reviewers whose comments strengthened the organization of the manuscript.

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  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Sarah Anne Spilseth & Charles A. Simenstad

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  1. Sarah Anne Spilseth
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Correspondence to Sarah Anne Spilseth.

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Spilseth, S.A., Simenstad, C.A. Seasonal, Diel, and Landscape Effects on Resource Partitioning between Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in the Columbia River Estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 34, 159–171 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-010-9349-3

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