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IMPLICATIONS OF FISH MOVEMENT AND SEASONAL HABITAT DYNAMICS FOR RESTORATION PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION
Citation:
EBERSOLE, J. L., S. G. LEIBOWITZ, P. J. WIGINGTON JR, J. P. BAKER, M. A. CAIRNS, M. CHURCH, J. E. COMPTON, B. HANSEN, AND B. MILLER. IMPLICATIONS OF FISH MOVEMENT AND SEASONAL HABITAT DYNAMICS FOR RESTORATION PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION. Presented at Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Anchorage, AK, September 01 - 02, 2005.
Description:
J. L. Ebersole1*, S.G. Leibowitz1, P.J. Wigington Jr. 1, J.P. Baker1, M.A. Cairns1, M.R. Church1, J. Compton1, B. Hansen2, B. Miller3 1 Environmental Protection Agency, 200 SW 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97333, 541-754-4775 (w), 541-754-4799 (f), ebersole.joe@epa.gov 2 USDA, Forest Service, PNW Research Station, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331 3 Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, 4475 Boat Basin Dr., Charleston, OR Abstract: Stream habitat restoration is a tool frequently used to improve the status of fish populations by targeting aspects of the physical, chemical or biological environment that currently constrain population productivity. Efficient allocation of restoration efforts requires identifying the relative benefits of various management actions. Predicting the outcome of restoration can be difficult where the relative influence of various aspects of the stream environment on fish populations is temporally dynamic, or where fish are able to move seasonally among habitats. We present results from a coastal Oregon watershed where we have PIT-tagged 10,000 juvenile salmonids over the past three years, and tracked seasonal movements, growth, and survival. Observed patterns of growth and survival from tagged fish illustrate the potential importance of considering movement and seasonal habitat dynamics in fish-habitat relationships. Preliminary results are also presented from a spatially-explicit coho life cycle model. This model will be used to further explore the importance of coho movement on survival. In our case study, compensatory winter growth and improved survival of juvenile coho using tributary habitats underscores the importance of maintaining connectivity between seasonal habitats that provide a diversity of sheltering and foraging opportunities, particularly where mainstem habitats have been simplified by human activities.