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Diel movements of out-migrating Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts in the Sacramento/San Joaquin watershed

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Abstract

We used ultrasonic telemetry to describe the movement patterns of late-fall run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) smolts during their entire emigration down California’s Sacramento River, through the San Francisco Bay Estuary and into the Pacific Ocean. Yearling hatchery smolts were tagged via intracoelomic surgical implantation with coded ultrasonic tags. They were then released at four upriver locations in the Sacramento River during the winters of 2007 through 2010. Late-fall run Chinook salmon smolts exhibited a nocturnal pattern of migration after release in the upper river. This is likely because individuals remain within a confined area during the day, while they become active at night and migrate downstream. The ratio between night and day detections of Chinook salmon smolts decreased with distance traveled downriver. There was a significant preference for nocturnal migration in every reach of the river except the Estuary. In contrast, steelhead smolts, which reside upriver longer following release, exhibited a less pronounced diel pattern during their entire migration. In the middle river, Delta, and Estuary, steelhead exhibited a significant preference for daytime travel. In the ocean Chinook salmon preferred to travel at night, yet steelhead were detected on the monitors equally during the night and day. These data show that closely related Oncorhynchus species, with the same ontogenetic pattern of out-migrating as yearlings, vary in migration tactic.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the project was provided by a CALFED Bay Delta program grant; project U-05-SC-047 (A. Peter Klimley and R. Bruce MacFarlane Principal Investigators). We would like to thank Kevin Niemala, Kurt Brown, and Scott Hamelburg of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Coleman National Fish Hatchery) for providing late-fall run Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts and for their support during tagging. We would like to thank Ethan Mora for GIS support and Niel Willits for statistical support. Special thanks to Chuck Morton and Charlotte Cashin from Caltrans for their help with the deployment and download of monitors on bridges in the Bay area. We would also like to thank Bob Null for assisting with downloads in the Upper River.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wildlife Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Eric D. Chapman, Alex R. Hearn, Michael J. Thomas, Philip T. Sandstrom, Gabriel P. Singer, Matthew L. Peterson & A. Peter Klimley

  2. Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 110 Shaffer Rd., Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA

    Cyril J. Michel, Arnold J. Ammann, Steven T. Lindley & R. Bruce MacFarlane

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  1. Eric D. Chapman
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  2. Alex R. Hearn
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  3. Cyril J. Michel
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  4. Arnold J. Ammann
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  5. Steven T. Lindley
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  6. Michael J. Thomas
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  7. Philip T. Sandstrom
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  8. Gabriel P. Singer
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  9. Matthew L. Peterson
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  10. R. Bruce MacFarlane
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  11. A. Peter Klimley
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Correspondence to Eric D. Chapman.

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Chapman, E.D., Hearn, A.R., Michel, C.J. et al. Diel movements of out-migrating Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts in the Sacramento/San Joaquin watershed. Environ Biol Fish 96, 273–286 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0001-x

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