Determination of Swimming Speeds and Energetic Demands of Upriver Migrating Fall Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) in the Klickitat River, Washington.

Abstract

This report describes a study conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Bonneville Power Administration's Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program during the fall of 2001. The objective was to study the migration and energy use of adult fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) traveling up the Klickitat River to spawn. The salmon were tagged with either surgically implanted electromyogram (EMG) transmitters or gastrically implanted coded transmitters and were monitored with mobile and stationary receivers. Swim speed and aerobic and anaerobic energy use were determined for the fish as they attempted passage of three waterfalls on the lower Klickitat River and as they traversed free-flowing stretches between, below, and above the falls.Of the 35 EMG-tagged fish released near the mouth of the Klickitat River, 40% passed the first falls, 24% passed the second falls, and 20% made it to Lyle Falls. None of the EMGtagged fish were able to pass Lyle Falls, either over the falls or via a fishway at Lyle Falls. Mean swimming speeds ranged from as low as 52.6 centimeters per second (cm s -1 ) between falls to as high as 189 (cm s -1 ) at falls passage. Fish swam above critical swimming speeds while passing the falls more often than while swimming between the falls (58.9% versus 1.7% of the transmitter signals). However, fish expended more energy swimming the stretches between the falls than during actual falls passage (100.7 to 128.2 kilocalories [kcals] to traverse areas between or below falls versus 0.3 to 1.0 kcals to pass falls).Relationships between sex, length, and time of day on the success of falls passage were also examined. Average swimming speeds were highest during the day in all areas except at some waterfalls. There was no apparent relationship between either fish condition or length and successful passage of waterfalls in the lower Klickitat River. Female fall chinook salmon, however, had a much lower likelihood of passing waterfalls than males.The study also examined energy costs and swimming speeds for fish released above Lyle Falls as they migrated to upstream spawning areas. This journey averaged 15.93 days to travel a mean maximum of 37.6 km upstream at a total energy cost of approx 3,971 kcals (34% anaerobic and 66% aerobic) for a sample of five fish. A bioenergetics example was run, which estimated that fall chinook salmon would expend an estimated 1,208 kcal to pass from the mouth of the Columbia River to Bonneville Dam and874 kcals to pass Bonneville Dam and pool and the three falls on the Lower Klickitat River, plus an additional 2,770 kcals above the falls to reach the spawning grounds, leaving them with approximately 18% (1,089 kcals) of their original energy reserves for spawning. Results of the bioenergetics example suggest that a delay of 9 to 11 days along the lower Klickitat River may deplete their remaining energy reserves (at a rate of about 105 kcal d -1 ) resulting in death before spawning would occur.iv v Executive SummaryPacific Northwest National Labora...

Slow dam passage in adult Columbia River salmonids associated with unsuccessful migration: delayed negative effects of passage obstacles or condition-dependent mortality?

“…First, environmental conditions during migration probably contributed to the passage time -fate relationship. Factors that increase the time spent in dam tailraces and fishways, including high spill and flow levels (Caudill et al 2006a), fallback behavior (Boggs et al 2004), temperature (Caudill et al 2006b;Goniea et al 2006;High et al 2006), and hydraulics at the base of ladders (Naughton et al 2006), may be particularly important to the overall energetics of migration and migration success because passage of these areas is energetically demanding (Brown and Geist 2002;Brown et al 2006). Generally, impoundment, hydrosystem operations, and natural climate drivers affect the environmental conditions encountered by migrating fishes in regulated rivers in ways that probably influence migration success, including in this study.…”

Movement, Swimming Speed, and Oxygen Consumption of Juvenile White Sturgeon in Response to Changing Flow, Water Temperature, and Light Level in the Snake River, Idaho

“…Although it is now possible to monitor a number of different physiological variables of free-swimming fish, only electromyogram (EMG) telemetry is well represented in the fisheries literature (reviewed in Lucas et al 1993 andCooke et al 2004). The EMGs recorded from the locomotor muscles in most fish can be used as quantitative indicators of overall fish activity, and when calibrated to tailbeat rate, swimming speed, or oxygen consumption, also become a quantitative estimate of swimming speed or active metabolism (i.e., oxygen consumption) of free-swimming fish (McKinley and Power 1992;Briggs and Post 1997;Brown and Geist 2002).…”

The Use of Electromyogram (EMG) Telemetry to Assess Swimming Activity and Energy Use of Adult Spring Chinook Salmon Migrating through the Tailraces, Fishways, and Forebays of Bonneville Dam, 2000 and 2001

“…Unlike the reservoir passage component, it is a component that is amenable to human manipulation and improvement. EMG telemetry can be useful for determining swimming behavior and its energetic consequences on a fine scale, making it possible to determine the swimming speeds (and consequently energy use) of fish throughout a dam's fishways (Hinch et al 1996;Hinch and Rand 1998;Rand and Hinch 1998;Hinch and Bratty 2000;Brown and Geist 2002).…”

“…Similarly, Webb (1995) states that burst swimming can be maintained less than about 30 seconds. Brown and Geist (2002) found fall chinook salmon attempting to pass waterfalls used burst swimming for periods with a mean of only 20 seconds at a time. Thus, fish may use excess energy and be delayed at dams if water velocities exceed critical swimming speeds for long distances without areas to rest.…”