Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pacific salmon effects on stream ecosystems: a quantitative synthesis

  • Ecosystem Ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) disturb sediments and fertilize streams with marine-derived nutrients during their annual spawning runs, leading researchers to classify these fish as ecosystem engineers and providers of resource subsidies. While these processes strongly influence the structure and function of salmon streams, the magnitude of salmon influence varies widely across studies. Here, we use meta-analysis to evaluate potential sources of variability among studies in stream ecosystem responses to salmon. Results obtained from 37 publications that collectively included 79 streams revealed positive, but highly inconsistent, overall effects of salmon on dissolved nutrients, sediment biofilm, macroinvertebrates, resident fish, and isotopic enrichment. Variation in these response variables was commonly influenced by salmon biomass, stream discharge, sediment size, and whether studies used artificial carcass treatments or observed a natural spawning run. Dissolved nutrients were positively related to salmon biomass per unit discharge, and the slope of the relationship for natural runs was five to ten times higher than for carcass additions. Mean effects on ammonium and phosphorus were also greater for natural runs than carcass additions, an effect attributable to excretion by live salmon. In contrast, we observed larger positive effects on benthic macroinvertebrates for carcass additions than for natural runs, likely because disturbance by live salmon was absent. Furthermore, benthic macroinvertebrates and biofilm associated with small sediments (<32 mm) displayed a negative response to salmon while those associated with large sediments (>32 mm) showed a positive response. This comprehensive analysis is the first to quantitatively identify environmental and methodological variables that influence the observed effects of salmon. Identifying sources of variation in salmon–stream interactions is a critical step toward understanding why engineering and subsidy effects vary so dramatically over space and time, and toward developing management strategies that will preserve the ecological integrity of salmon streams.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alba-Lynn C, Detling JK (2008) Interactive disturbance effects of two disparate ecosystem engineers in North American shortgrass steppe. Oecologia 157:269–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambrose HE, Wilzbach MA, Cummins KW (2004) Periphyton response to increased light and salmon carcass introduction in northern California streams. J North Am Benthol Soc 23:701–712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnqvist G, Wooster D (1995) Meta-analysis: synthesizing research findings in ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 10:236–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Augerot X (2005) Atlas of Pacific Salmon: the first map-based status assessment of salmon in the North Pacific. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Behnke RJ (2002) Trout and salmon of North America. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilby RE, Fransen BR, Bisson PA (1996) Incorporation of nitrogen and carbon from spawning coho salmon into the trophic system of small streams: evidence from stable isotopes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 53:164–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilby RE, Fransen BR, Bisson PA, Walter JK (1998) Response of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to the addition of salmon carcasses to two streams in southwestern Washington, USA. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:1909–1918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilby RE, Fransen BR, Cederholm JK, Scarlett WJ (2001) Preliminary evaluation of the use of nitrogen stable isotope ratios to establish escapement levels for Pacific salmon. Fisheries 26:6–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cederholm CJ, Houston DB, Cole CL, Scarlett WJ (1989) Fate of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) carcasses in spawning streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 46:1348–1355

    Google Scholar 

  • Cederholm CJ, Kunze MD, Murota T, Sibatani A (1999) Pacific salmon carcasses: essential contributions of nutrients and energy for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Fisheries 24:6–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloner DT, Martin KM, Wipfli MS, Ostrom PH, Lamberti GA (2002) Marine carbon and nitrogen in southeastern Alaska stream food webs: evidence from artificial and natural streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:1257–1265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloner DT, Lamberti GA, Merritt RW, Mitchell NL, Ostrom PH, Wipfli MS (2004) Variation in responses to spawning Pacific salmon among three south-eastern Alaska streams. Freshw Biol 49:587–599

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloner DT, Lamberti GA, Cak AD, Blair NL, Edwards RT (2007) Inter-annual variation in responses of water chemistry and epilithon to Pacific salmon spawners in an Alaskan stream. Freshw Biol 52:478–490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Compton JE, Andersen CP, Phillips DL, Brooks JR, Johnson MG, Church MR, Hogsett WE, Cairns MA, Rygiewicz PT, McComb BC, Shaff CD (2006) Ecological and water quality consequences of nutrient addition for salmon restoration in the Pacific Northwest. Front Ecol Environ 4:18–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford SS (2001) Salmonine introductions to the Laurentian Great Lakes: an historical review and evaluation of ecological effects. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, vol 132. NRC, Ottawa

  • Crooks JA (2002) Characterizing ecosystem-level consequences of biological invasions: the role of ecosystem engineers. Oikos 97:153–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond J (1986) Overview: laboratory experiments, field experiments, and natural experiments. In: Diamond J, Case TJ (eds) Community ecology. Harper and Row, New York, pp 3–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman DE (1996) Response of freshwater fish communities to spawning sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). MS Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle

  • Finney BP, Gregory-Eaves I, Sweetman J, Dougas MSV, Smol JP (2000) Impacts of climatic change and fishing on Pacific salmon abundance over the past 300 years. Science 290:795–799

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flecker AS (1996) Ecosystem engineering by a dominant detritivore in a diverse tropical stream. Ecology 77:1845–1854

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gende SM, Edwards RT, Willson MF, Wipfli MS (2002) Pacific salmon in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. BioScience 52:917–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresh T, Lichatowich J, Schoonmaker P (2000) An estimation of historic and current levels of salmon production in the Northeast Pacific ecosystem: evidence of a nutrient deficit in the freshwater systems of the Pacific Northwest. Fisheries 25:15–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groot C, Margolis L (1991) Pacific salmon life histories. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurevitch J, Hedges LV (2001) Meta-analysis: combining the results of independent experiments. In: Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 347–369

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurevitch J, Morrow LL, Wallace A, Walsh JS (1992) A meta-analysis of competition in field experiments. Am Nat 140:539–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassan MA, Gottesfeld AS, Montgomery DR, Tunnicliffe JF, Clarke GKC, Wynn G, Jones-Cox H, Poirier R, MacIsaac E, Herunter H, Macdonald SJ (2008) Salmon-driven bed load transport and bed morphology in mountain streams. Geophys Res Lett 35:L04405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges LV, Olkin I (1985) Statistical methods for meta-analysis. Academic, Orlando

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedges LV, Gurevitch J, Curtis PS (1999) The meta-analysis of response ratios in experimental ecology. Ecology 80:1150–1156

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones CG, Lawton JH, Shachak M (1994) Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69:373–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones CG, Lawton JH, Shachak M (1997) Positive and negative effects of organisms as physical ecosystem engineers. Ecology 78:1946–1957

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitchell JF, Schindler DE, Herwig BR, Post DM, Olson MH, Oldham M (1999) Nutrient cycling at the landscape level: the role of diel foraging migrations by geese at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. Limnol Oceanogr 44:828–836

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohler AE, Rugenski A, Taki D (2008) Stream food web response to a salmon carcass analogue addition in two central Idaho, USA streams. Freshw Biol 53:446–460

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kondolf GM, Wolman MG (1993) The sizes of salmonid spawning gravels. Water Resour Res 29:2275–2285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krümmel EM, Gregory-Eaves I, MacDonald RW, Kimpe LE, Demers MJ, Smol JP, Finney B, Blais JM (2005) Concentrations and fluxes of salmon-derived polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in lake sediments. Environ Sci Technol 39:7020–7026

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lackey RT (2003) Nutrient addition to restore salmon runs: considerations for developing environmental protection policies and regulations. In: Stockner JG (ed) Nutrients in salmonid ecosystems: sustaining production and biodiversity. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 34, Bethesda, pp 283–285

  • Lamberti GA, Steinman AD (1993) Research in artificial streams: applications, uses, and abuses. J North Am Benthol Soc 12:313–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langellotto GA, Denno RF (2004) Responses of invertebrate natural enemies to complex-structured habitats: a meta-analytical synthesis. Oecologia 139:1–10

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levin SA (1992) The problem of pattern and scale in ecology. Ecology 73:1947–1967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marczak LB, Thompson RM, Richardson JS (2007) Meta-analysis: trophic level, habitat, and productivity shape the food web effects of resource subsidies. Ecology 88:140–148

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Sutherland JP (1987) Community regulation: variation in disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. Am Nat 130:730–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minakawa N, Gara RI (1999) Ecological effects of a chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) spawning run in a small stream of the Pacific Northwest. J Freshw Ecol 14:327–335

    Google Scholar 

  • Minakawa N, Gara RI (2005) Spatial and temporal distribution of coho salmon carcasses in a stream in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Hydrobiologia 539:163–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell NL, Lamberti GA (2005) Responses in dissolved nutrients and epilithon abundance to spawning salmon in southeast Alaska streams. Limnol Oceanogr 50:217–227

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JW (2006) Animal ecosystem engineers in streams. BioScience 56:237–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JW, Schindler DE, Scheuerell MD (2004) Disturbance of freshwater habitats by anadromous salmon in Alaska. Oecologia 139:298–308

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JW, Schindler DE, Carter JL, Fox J, Griffiths J, Holtgrieve GW (2007) Biotic control of stream fluxes: spawning salmon drive nutrient and matter export. Ecology 88:1278–1291

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Johnston CA, Kelley JC (1988) Alteration of North American streams by beaver. BioScience 38:753–762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Bilby RE, Schindler DE, Helfield JM (2002) Pacific salmon, nutrients, and the dynamics of freshwater and riparian ecosystems. Ecosystems 5:399–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osenberg CW, Sarnelle O, Cooper SD, Holt RD (1999) Resolving ecological questions through meta-analysis: goals, metrics, and models. Ecology 80:1105–1117

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswood MW (1997) Streams and rivers in Alaska: a high latitude perspective on running waters. In: Milner AM, Oswood MW (eds) Freshwaters of Alaska: ecological syntheses. Springer, New York, pp 331–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson DP, Foote CJ (2000) Disturbance of small-stream habitat by spawning sockeye salmon in Alaska. Trans Am Fish Soc 129:924–934

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Allan JD, Bain MB, Karr JR, Prestegaard KL, Richter BD, Sparks RE, Stromberg JC (1997) The natural flow regime. BioScience 47:769–784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polis GA, Hurd SD (1995) Extraordinarily high spider densities on islands: flow of energy from the marine to terrestrial food webs and the absence of predation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:4382–4386

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Polis GA, Anderson WB, Holt RD (1997) Toward an integration of landscape and food web ecology: the dynamics of spatially subsidized food webs. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:289–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polis GA, Power ME, Huxel GR (eds) (2004) Food webs at the landscape level. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn TP (2005) The behavior and ecology of Pacific salmon and trout. University of Washington Press, Seattle

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg MS, Adams DC, Gurevitch J (2000) MetaWin statistical software for meta-analysis version 2. Sinauer, Sunderland

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheuerell MD, Moore JW, Schindler DE, Harvey CJ (2007) Varying effects of anadromous sockeye salmon on the trophic ecology of two species of resident salmonids in southwest Alaska. Freshw Biol 52:1944–1956

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler DE, Scheuerell MD, Moore JW, Gende SM, Francis TB, Palen WJ (2003) Pacific salmon and the ecology of coastal ecosystems. Front Ecol Environ 1:31–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stockner JG (ed) (2003) Nutrients in salmonid ecosystems: sustaining production and biodiversity. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 34, Bethesda

  • Stockner JG, MacIsaac EA (1996) British Columbia lake enrichment programme: two decades of habitat enhancement for sockeye salmon. Regul Rivers Res Manag 12:547–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stockner JG, Rydin E, Hyenstrand P (2000) Cultural oligotrophication: causes and consequences for fisheries resources. Fisheries 25:7–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thayer CW (1979) Biological bulldozers and the evolution of marine benthic communities. Science 203:458–461

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tiegs SD, Chaloner DT, Levi P, Rueegg J, Tank JL, Lamberti GA (2008) Timber harvest transforms ecological roles of salmon in Southeast Alaska rain forest streams. Ecol Appl 18:4–11

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanni MJ (2002) Nutrient cycling by animals in freshwater ecosystems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:341–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanni MJ, DeAngelis DL, Schindler DE, Huxel GR (2004) Overview: cross-habitat flux of nutrients and detritus. In: Polis GA, Power ME, Huxel GR (eds) Food webs at the landscape level. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 3–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Aber JD, Howarth RW, Likens GE, Matson PA, Schindler DW, Schlesinger WH, Tilman DG (1997) Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences. Ecol Appl 7:737–750

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentworth CK (1922) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J Geol 30:377–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whicker AD, Detling JK (1988) Ecological consequences of prairie dog disturbances. BioScience 38:778–785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willson MF, Gende SM, Marston BH (1998) Fishes and the forest. BioScience 48:455–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willson MF, Gende SM, Bisson PA (2004) Anadromous fishes as ecological links between ocean, fresh water, and land. In: Polis GA, Power ME, Huxel GR (eds) Food webs at the landscape level. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 284–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilzbach MA, Harvey BC, White JL, Nakamoto RJ (2005) Effects of riparian canopy opening and salmon carcass addition on the abundance and growth of resident salmonids. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 62:58–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS, Hudson JP, Caouette JP (1998) Influence of salmon carcasses on stream productivity: response of biofilm and benthic macroinvertebrates in southeastern Alaska, USA. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:1503–1511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS, Hudson JP, Chaloner DT, Caouette JP (1999) Influence of salmon spawner densities on stream productivity in Southeast Alaska. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 56:1600–1611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS, Hudson JP, Caouette JP, Chaloner DT (2003) Marine subsidies in freshwater ecosystems: salmon carcasses increase the growth rates of stream-resident salmonids. Trans Am Fish Soc 132:371–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright JP, Jones CG (2004) Predicting effects of ecosystem engineers on patch-scale species richness from primary productivity. Ecology 85:2071–2081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge three anonymous reviewers for providing suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. We also thank members of the Stream Ecology Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, as well as Peter Levi, David Lodge, and Jason McLachlan. Mark Drew generously performed GIS analyses and generated the map of study locations, and Matthew Goslin assisted with salmon distribution meta-data. Michael Brueseke, Susanne Hebbler, Margaret O’Sullivan, and Alexander Reisinger assisted with data extraction and management. Jared Aldstadt, Jessica Gurevitch, Laurie Marczak, and Michael Rosenberg kindly provided important insights regarding methodological questions. We also thank Shannon Claeson, Larry Hanne, JoAnna Lessard, and Margaret Wilzbach for providing unpublished data. Funding was provided by the USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (Managed Ecosystems Program 2006-35101-16566) and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (Project 2007.857). D.J.J. was also supported by fellowships from the Center for Aquatic Conservation at the University of Notre Dame and the Peter J. Schmitt Foundation.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Scott D. Tiegs

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    David J. Janetski, Dominic T. Chaloner, Scott D. Tiegs & Gary A. Lamberti

Authors
  1. David J. Janetski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dominic T. Chaloner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Scott D. Tiegs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gary A. Lamberti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Janetski.

Additional information

Communicated by Marc Mangel.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(DOC 42 kb)

(DOC 1075 kb)

(DOC 93 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Janetski, D.J., Chaloner, D.T., Tiegs, S.D. et al. Pacific salmon effects on stream ecosystems: a quantitative synthesis. Oecologia 159, 583–595 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1249-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1249-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation