Interannual variability in life-stage specific survival and life history diversity of coho salmon in a coastal Oregon basin

Abstract

We quantified the population dynamics and life history diversity of seven brood years of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) using a life-cycle approach. Four life history patterns, composed of fry, fry–nomad, parr, and yearling migrants indicated the importance of connectivity and access to a full range of freshwater and estuarine rearing environments through the year. Survival of each life history type varied annually with the yearling migrants contributing an average of 70% to the spawners in all but one return year. Fifty-eight percent of the spawners of the 2013 return year had an estuarine rearing strategy, primarily parr migrants that overwintered in the estuary. Fry migrants, thought to be surplus production, were consistently observed in the estuary and represented in the returning spawners. The annual contribution of alternative rearing strategies to the spawners may support the resilience and viability of the population. We recommend that life cycle models of coho salmon account for the contribution of estuary migrants to the productivity and persistence of coho salmon in support of management and restoration of populations.