Implications of Trends in Marine-derived Nutrient Influx to South Coastal British Columbia Salmonid Production

Coho Salmon Master Plan, Clearwater River Basin.

“…For example, Bilby et al (1998) found a positive relationship between marine derived nitrogen and smolt production. Similar observations have been made in individual river systems from Alaska to Washington (Piorkowski 1997, Larkin and Slaney 1997, Bilby et al 1996, Kline Jr. et al 1993, and Mathisen 1972.…”

Macroinvertebrate community dynamics: strong negative response to salmon redd construction and weak response to salmon-derived nutrient uptake

“…spawn and die (Kline et al 1990, Larkin and Slaney 1997, Cederholm et al 1999, Bilby et al 2003. These marine-derived nutrients stimulate primary production and increase freshwater productivity and the growth and survival of stream-dwelling salmonids (Wipfli et al 2003).…”

Spatial variability of stable isotopes and fossil pigments in surface sediments of Alaskan coastal lakes: Constraints on quantitative estimates of past salmon abundance

“…In particular, fisheries interceptions may affect the production, biodiversity, and community structure of freshwater, riparian, and terrestrial ecosystems that rely on marine-derived nutrients (MDN) transported by salmon (Cederholm et al 1999;Helfield and Naiman 2002). For example, anadromous, semelparous salmon accumulate ,95% of their mass in the marine environment and can act as substantial sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to lakes after spawning (Mathisen et al 1988) because adult fish are numerous, large (2-20 kg), and rich in P (0.36% by mass) and N (3.04% by mass) (Larkin and Slaney 1997). Although smolt emigrations may export up to 20% of MDN contributions from spawning adults (Moore and Schindler 2004), variations in fisheries escapement (i.e., unharvested fish) and associated MDN influx appear to regulate the primary production of nursery lakes (Finney et al 2000;Schindler et al 2005).…”