Correlates of estuarine survival of Atlantic salmon postsmolts from the Southern Upland, Nova Scotia, Canada

Abstract

Acoustic telemetry is a useful tool to monitor the estuarine survival and behaviour of Atlantic salmon postsmolts. Most frequently, survival is reported as the static fraction of tagged postsmolts detected, and while the timing or location of mortality may be reported, covariates of survival or the relationship between migratory behaviour and survival are less often described. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to follow Atlantic salmon smolts migrating to sea from four rivers in Nova Scotia, Canada. Further, we tested the relationship between migratory behaviour and survival and used mark–recapture models to examine the role of body length and tag-to-body mass as survival covariates. Survival was most heavily impacted in estuarine habitats closest to head-of-tide. Survival was affected by body length at three of four sites. The shape and spatial variability of the body length – survival relationship provided insight on mortality vectors, highlighting the potential roles of predation and osmotic stress. Survival was not influenced by repeated landward-seaward migratory movements; however, there was a significant correlation between residency and survival.