Distribution, Migration Behavior, Habitat Use, and Species Interactions of Fall-Released Juvenile Hatchery Spring Chinook Salmon on the Deschutes River, Oregon, 2002. Annual Report for 2002

摘要

In a review of National Fish Hatcheries (NFH), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) identified the need to assess the fate of hatchery-reared fish and their potential effect on the aquatic community (USFWS 1998). Additionally, in the Columbia River Biological Opinion, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recommended monitoring and evaluating ecological interactions between hatchery and wild fish (NMFS 1999). In 2002, a study was designed to investigate the fate of hatchery-reared fish and to assess habitat use and fish interactions in the Deschutes River, Oregon. In this study, we used biotelemetry to examine the distribution and behavior of fall-released juvenile hatchery spring Chinook salmon in the Deschutes River. From 2 November, 2002 to 7 February, 2003 we radio tagged and tracked 24 fish. Fish were surgically implanted with radio transmitters and released downstream of a migrant trap on the Warm Springs River. Four telemetry fixed sites were established along the lower Deschutes River and two telemetry fixed sites were used on the Columbia River to monitor fish movement after leaving the Deschutes River.