Predation on Pacific salmonid eggs and carcass's by subyearling Atlantic salmon in a tributary of Lake Ontario

Journal of Great Lakes Research
By: , and 

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Abstract

A binational effort to reintroduce Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that were extirpated in the Lake Ontario ecosystem for over a century is currently being undertaken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Reintroduction actions include the release of several life stages including fry, fall fingerlings, and yearling smolts. In this study we describe the diet of recently released fall fingerling Atlantic salmon in a tributary of the Salmon River, New York. A specific objective of the study was to determine if juvenile Atlantic salmon would utilize the high caloric food source provided by introduced Pacific salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) that includes eggs and carcass flesh. Salmon eggs and carcass flesh comprised 20.5% of the October to January diet in 2013–14 and 23.9% in 2014–15. The consumption of steelhead (O. mykiss) eggs was a major part of the diet in April in both 2014 (54.1%) and 2015 (33.2%). This study documented that recently released Atlantic salmon will consume the high caloric food material provided by Pacific salmonids and that the consumption of this material extends for several months.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Predation on Pacific salmonid eggs and carcass's by subyearling Atlantic salmon in a tributary of Lake Ontario
Series title Journal of Great Lakes Research
DOI 10.1016/j.jglr.2015.12.004
Volume 42
Issue 2
Year Published 2016
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Publisher location Oxford, UK
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Description 4 p.
First page 472
Last page 475
Country United States
State New York
County Oswego
Other Geospatial Beaver Dam Brook
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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