Geology topics

Karl D. Stenberg

Publications and source records attributed to Karl D. Stenberg.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

Seasonal trophic dynamics drive growth potential and predation risk for reintroduced Chinook salmon in Shasta Reservoir

Reservoir ecosystems can significantly affect anadromous salmon populations reintroduced upstream of impassable high-head dams. In this study, we examine how a novel reservoir food web created by an impoundment can limit juvenile growth or survival through the seasonal production or access to food, promote competition for available resources, and affect risk of the food supply or predation mortality, all of which can be strongly influenced by the thermal regime. Shasta Reservoir, the largest impoundment in California’s Central Valley Project, presents opportunities and risks for winter-run Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), a federally endangered population targeted for reintroduction into the McCloud River, which flows into the reservoir. We integrated field sampling, stable isotope analysis, hydroacoustic surveys, and bioenergetics modeling to characterize Shasta Reservoir’s food web and evaluate seasonal growth potential and predation risk for juvenile salmon. Zooplankton, dominated by Daphnia , provided favorable foraging conditions in spring but declined sharply by late summer, coinciding with high consumption demand from abundant threadfin shad ( Dorosoma petenense ). Bioenergetics simulations indicated that fry that would ordinarily enter the reservoir in autumn would face poor growth opportunities. They would also be exposed to elevated predation risk driven by warm temperatures and high metabolic demand, particularly from piscivorous salmonids and Sacramento pikeminnow ( Ptychocheilus grandis ). Limited information on predator abundances precludes the ability to quantify total predation demand. Alternatively, juveniles entering the reservoir the following spring would encounter greater prey availability and reduced predation pressure. These findings highlight the strong influence of seasonal thermal structure and food web dynamics on reservoir constraints and underscore the need to incorporate the dynamics of key habitats into reintroduction management and decisions. Our framework provides a quantitative, mechanistically-based approach for evaluating the role of reservoirs in salmon reintroductions above high-head dams.

California↗

USGS2024

Change in growth and prey utilization for a native salmonid following invasion by an omnivorous minnow in an oligotrophic reservoir

Aquatic invasive species can affect food web structure, native fish growth, and production, depending on the traits of the invasive species and the pre-invasion conditions of the ecosystem. Thermal tolerances and behavioral traits can further influence differential exploitation of resources shared between native and invasive species. An unauthorized introduction of redside shiner ( Richardsonius balteatus ) into reservoirs in the Upper Skagit River, Washington, USA caused concern of potential competition, decreased production, and recruitment of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). We combined bioenergetics modeling and stable isotope analysis with field data to quantify consumption demand of native and invasive fishes and related consumption to the availability of key zooplankton prey. Per capita consumption on Daphnia by redside shiner was low; however, their high abundance imposed considerable demand on prey resources in Ross Lake. Although monthly consumption demand by the fish community was less than 50% of the monthly production and biomass of Daphnia in Ross Lake, the current Daphnia densities and growth of rainbow trout were considerably lower than before the invasion. These reductions correspond to lower annual consumption of Daphnia . Our study provides insight on mechanisms that influence food web impacts of an invasive omnivore in cold-water reservoirs.

Washington↗

USGS2024

Shift in piscivory by salmonids following invasion of a minnow in an oligotrophic reservoir

Predation can play an important role in structuring ecological communities, and predator–prey dynamics can be altered following the introduction of new species. An unauthorized introduction of redside shiner ( Richardsonius balteatus ) into reservoirs in the Upper Skagit River, Washington, USA created concern that a consequent shift in predator–prey dynamics in the reservoirs could reduce recruitment and production of native salmonids in the basin. We estimated predation mortality in Ross Lake on nonnative redside shiner and juvenile native salmonids to evaluate the potential role of predation in regulating these populations and limiting survival of native species of concern. We used bioenergetics modelling and stable isotope analysis combined with directed field measurements of growth, seasonal diet and thermal experience of piscivorous salmonids to quantify their consumption demand on prey fishes to evaluate the relative magnitude of predation mortality on invasive redside shiners and native salmonids. While redside shiner are the dominant prey fish species in Ross Lake, the modest biomass of native salmonids consumed could translate into substantial mortality, the magnitude of which depended on the timing and size at which prey fishes were eaten. This information provides important context for how nonnative species may indirectly impact native species through shared predation (apparent competition) and can inform conservation decisions surrounding nonnative species control, sustainability of native salmonids and introductions of anadromous fishes.

Ecology of Freshwater Fish↗

USGS2023

Growth performance of Rainbow Trout in reservoir tributaries and implications for steelhead growth potential above Skagit River dams

Objective In the Pacific Northwest (USA), Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. populations have been declining significantly for decades, prompting stakeholders to respond with a variety of conservation and restoration measures. One such measure being considered in the Skagit River basin (Washington, USA) is the introduction of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (anadromous Rainbow Trout) above the impassable Gorge, Diablo, and Ross dams to bolster their populations. Because freshwater growth is key to survival at subsequent life stages, we evaluated current trends in size and growth of Rainbow Trout among key tributaries to Gorge, Diablo, and Ross reservoirs using empirical data collection and bioenergetics modeling. Methods For nine candidate streams, a bioenergetics model was used to assess how temperature and prey consumption affected growth performance of Rainbow Trout between annuli 1 and 2, and 2 and 3. Thermal scenarios were created to evaluate how fish growth responded to temperature variability while total annual consumption was constrained within empirical growth estimates. We then compared these results to back-calculated size thresholds established by size-at-age observed in wild steelhead adults that returned to the Skagit River below the dams. Result Of the streams proposed for introductions, there was one instance (McMillan Creek) in the nominal simulations where growth met or exceeded the size at annulus 2 or 3 of a returning adult steelhead (24.9 g at annulus 2 and 50.3 g at annulus 3). Modeled growth under different thermal scenarios showed that colder temperatures (0.1–10.7°C, Canyon Creek) produced higher growth than under the nominal or warm scenarios (2.0–15.3°C, Canyon Creek), as well as one additional tributary where size at annulus 2 or 3 (±2 SE) was comparable to the threshold established by adult steelhead below the dams (Big Beaver Creek, annulus 3). Conclusion These results suggest Rainbow Trout growth is most limited by prey availability in the examined upper Skagit tributaries.

Washington↗

USGS2021

Investigation of otolith microstructure and composition for identification of rearing strategies and associated Baker Lake sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) smolt production, Washington, 2016–17

Baker River (Washington, USA) sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are a recovering Puget Sound stock that are aided by trap-and-haul and hatchery programs to mitigate for the presence of a high head dam. The relative contribution of hatchery and natural adults to overall production of smolts and recruits is unknown. The ability to identify three different sockeye production groups (natural production, artificial incubation, and artificial spawning beach) within the Baker system is crucial to moving forward with management goals. The examination of otoliths was proposed as a technical tool for improved understanding and management of Baker sockeye rebuilding efforts. Otoliths were chosen as they provide a chronological record on an individual fish basis and have been shown to identify fish origin through both otolith microstructure and chemistry. The goal of this pilot project was to determine the feasibility of assigning sockeye to their production source based on otolith analysis. A variety of methods were employed and compared for accuracy of group assignment. The maximum overall accuracy capable of attainment was 88.57 percent, however complete confidence (100 percent) in the separation of natural production from artificial production was reached through the analysis of trace elements alone. Some segregation of the two artificial production groups was reached through analysis of a few specific trace elements (magnesium, manganese, and zinc). This confidence in assignment for the artificial production groups was aided by a two-step process of combining trace elements with microstructure. The Sr isotope ratios supported the trace element findings but did not help to boost the overall level of confidence in the separation of production groups. Based upon the results from this preliminary investigation, one could choose a statistically sound, efficient, and cost-effective use of otoliths as a tool for discriminating between the sockeye production groups of the Baker Lake system.

Washington↗

USGS2013

Effectiveness of an integrated hatchery program: Can genetic-based performance differences between hatchery and wild Chinook salmon be avoided?

Performance of wild (W) and hatchery (H) spring Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) was evaluated for a sixth generation hatchery program. Management techniques to minimize genetic divergence from the wild stock included regular use of wild broodstock and volitional releases of juveniles. Performance of HH, WW, and HW (hatchery female spawned with wild male) crosses was compared in hatchery and stream environments. The WW juveniles emigrated from the hatchery at two to three times the rate of HH fish in the fall (HW intermediate) and 35% more HH than WW adults returned (27% more HW than WW adults). Performance in the stream did not differ statistically between HH and WW fish, but outmigrants (38% WW, 30% HW, and 32% HH fish) during the first 39 days of the 16-month sampling period composed 74% of total outmigrants. Differences among hatchery-reared crosses were partially due to additive genetic effects, were consistent with domestication (increased fitness for the hatchery population in the hatchery program), and suggested that selection against fall emigration from the hatchery was a possible mechanism of domestication.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗

USGS2012

Differences in survival and growth in hatchery and stream environments, and in maturation of residuls in a stream, between progeny of hatchery and wild steelhead (Study sites: Brushy Fork Creek and Dworshak Hatchery; Stocks:Dworshak hatchery and Fish Creek wild; Year classes: 1992 and 1993)

Freshwater survival in hatchery and natural rearing environments was compared between progeny of hatchery (H) and wild (W) steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from the Clearwater River drainage in Idaho. Adults from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery and wild adults from Fish Creek fish were artificially spawned, and their progeny were genetically marked at the PEPA allozyme locus and released together as unfed fry in production facilities at the hatchery and in Brushy Fork Creek, also in the Clearwater River drainage, in a common garden design. Survival was higher for H than for W progeny at the hatchery but lower for H than for W progeny in Brushy Fork, indicating reduced fitness of the hatchery population for natural rearing and suggesting domestication as the cause. Survival at the hatchery was lower than is typical due to disease outbreaks. Survival of the first year-class of experimental fish to smolt release was only 18%. Survival of H fish was 3.8 times that of W fish under these poor survival conditions. All fish from the second year-class died halfway through the scheduled 10 month rearing period. Survival of H fish was 5.2 times that of W fish to when 1% of the initial fry were still alive indicating that W fish succumbed to the epizootic sooner than did H fish. Emigrants from the Brushy Fork study reach were sampled for three years and fish residing in the study reach were sampled for six years following fry release. Most emigrants were one or two years old and too small to be smolts (mean fork length at age-2 = 93 mm). Survival in Brushy Fork was lower for H than for W fish of the first year-class. Survival of the second year-class was higher for H than for W fish during the first two months in the stream but was lower for H than for W fish thereafter, and net survival from release to ages 3 and older was also lower for H than for W fish if our emigrant samples were representative (periods of inoperative emigrant traps prevented certainty about this). Differences between progeny groups were also found for growth (H>W) and condition (H>W) in the hatchery and downstream migration success of hatchery-reared fish after release (H>W), and for growth (H<W for one year-class; H>W for the other), condition (H>W), downstream dispersal (H>W for one year-class; H=W for the other), and maturation of residuals (ovaries weight was greater for H than for W females at ages 4 and 5; testes weight was less for H than for W age-3 males of one year-class) in Brushy Fork. A thunderstorm-induced power outage interrupted flow to the incubation trays at the hatchery and compromised a major tenet of the common garden design for the second year-class, possibly contributing to the inconsistency in relative survivals in Brushy Fork between year-classes. The storm caused the incubation environment to differ between the stocks as a result of reduced oxygen levels and substantially higher densities for H alevins. This difference was illustrated by a 55% loss for H fish during the event, about twice that for W fish.

Idaho↗

USGS2012

Effect of incubation temperature on post-embryonic survival and growth of steelhead in a natural stream and a hatchery (Study sites: Dworshak Hatchery and North Fork Palouse River; Stocks: Dworshak hatchery; Year classes: 1994 and 1995)

We tested whether varying incubation temperatures to match development between embryos from different spawning dates affected survival and growth of unfed steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss fry released in a stream and in hatchery ponds. Hatchery steelhead returning to the Clearwater River, Idaho were artificially spawned on two dates separated by a four week interval. Progeny from the early date (ExE, from early males and early females) were incubated in chilled (7°C) water and those from the late date (LxL) in ambient (12°C) water until developmental stage matched. A third group, created by fertilizing eggs from late females with cryopreserved milt from early males (ExL), was included to control for any genetic differences between early and late returning adults. Survival in the stream to 3 and 15 months after release was similar among crosses. Survival in the hatchery to near the end of the standard one year rearing period was similar among crosses for one of two year - classes but different for the other; however, it was difficult to ascribe the differences (ExL>ExE; LxL intermediate but closer to ExE) to incubation temperature differences. We conclude that there was little if any effect of incubation temperature on survival. Length of juveniles of one year - class differed among crosses in the stream and in the hatchery. Length of the other year - class differed among crosses in one pond at the hatchery but not in the other pond or in the stream. When length differed the pattern was always the same: ExE>LxL; ExL intermediate but closer to LxL. We speculate that incubation temperature may have affected growth of juveniles, and in particular that a longer period of incubation in chilled water may have caused fast juvenile growth relative to a shorter incubation period in ambient water.

Idaho, Washington↗

USGS2012

Effect of size of unfed fry at release on survival and growth of juvenile steelhead in streams and a hatchery (Study sites: Dworshak Hatchery, Silver Creek, and Twenty-Mile Creek; Stock: Dworshak hatchery; Year classes: 1996 and 1999)

We tested whether differences in size of unfed fry at release affected survival and growth of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in hatchery ponds and streams. Differences in fry size were produced by selecting and spawning females that differed in the mean size of their eggs. Experiments were initiated in 1996 and 1999 with hatchery steelhead returning to the Clearwater River, Idaho. Fry size groups were small (mean fork length=26.7 mm, mean weight=0.149 g) and large (28.1 mm, 0.197 g) in 1996 and small (27.5 mm, 0.159 g), medium (28.2 mm, 0.190 g), and large (28.9 mm, 0.201 g) in 1999. Survival in the hatchery to near the end of the standard one year rearing period and in streams to late summer, three months after release, was higher for the large than for the small group in 1996 but was similar among groups in 1999. Survival in streams to age - 1 appeared to show the same pattern (large>small in 1996; no difference in 1999), but differences among fry size groups in emigration as well as mortality may have been involved. The inconsistency between years may have resulted because some 1996 female parents of the small group had exceptionally small eggs and were a year younger than the other 1996 females and all 1999 females. Growth in the hatchery was similar among groups in both years whereas growth in streams was faster for the large than for the small group in both years and intermediate for the medium group in 1999. Growth in streams appeared to be limited by food availability. Initially large fry probably out - competed smaller fry for limited food; however, we found no evidence that dispersal from release sites or emigration from streams was caused by competitive displacement of small by larger fish.

Idaho↗

USGS2012

Genetic differences between hatchery and wild steelhead for survival, growth, dispersal, and male maturation in a natural stream (Study site: Twenty-Mile Creek; Stocks: Dworshak hatchery and Selway River wild; Year classes: 1994 and 1995)

This study was initiated in the early 1990s to provide managers with data comparing genetic fitness for natural rearing, as measured by survival of juveniles in freshwater, between steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery and wild steelhead from the Clearwater River, Idaho. We artificially spawned hatchery steelhead and wild steelhead from the Selway River, a Clearwater River tributary, released the resulting genetically marked (at the PEPA allozyme locus) progeny (HxH, HxW from hatchery females and wild males, and WxW) as unfed fry in a second order tributary of the South Fork Clearwater River, and monitored fish residing in the stream or emigrating from it for five years. Barrier falls prevented access to the stream by naturally produced steelhead. Over 90% of the emigrants were one or two years of age and too small to be smolts (mean fork length at age-2 = 103 mm). Per fry released, the HxH cross produced 0.64-0.83 times as many emigrants as the WxW cross (P<0.05). The HxH cross produced 0.63 times as many age-4 residuals as the WxW cross for one year-class (P=0.051) and 0.68 times as many for the other (ns). Survival from age-1 to age-4 was lower for HxH than for WxW residuals of one year-class (P<0.05) and survival from age-2 to age-4 may have been lower for HxH than for WxW residuals of the other (P=0.062). Collectively, these results indicate lower survival for HxH than for WxW fish. Size was often greater for HxH than for WxW fish indicating faster growth for the former, and condition factor was also usually greater for HxH than for WxW fish. Dispersal of fry from release sites and emigration of one- and two-year olds from the study stream were greater for WxW than for HxH fish, and apparently neither was from competitive displacement of small by larger fish. Incidence of flowing milt was higher for HxH than for WxW fish at age-2. Peak incidence of flowing milt for older residuals was similar among crosses (about 50%), but the peak occurred at greater size and age for WxW than for HxH residuals. HxW fish were intermediate between HxH and WxW fish, not similar to HxH fish, in survival, growth, condition, dispersal, and maturation, so differences among crosses likely resulted from additive genetic differences between the hatchery and wild populations rather than from maternal differences between hatchery and wild females. During our study, local managers decided against supplementing most wild steelhead populations in the Clearwater basin. Our study indicates that supplementing with Dworshak Hatchery fish is likely to reduce the fitness of wild populations through interbreeding and therefore supports that decision.

Idaho↗

USGS2012

A test for the relative strength of maternal and stock effects in spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from two different hatcheries (Study site: Warm Springs Hatchery; Stocks: Warm Springs Hatchery and Carson Hatchery; Year class: 1993)

An experiment was undertaken to determine the relative strength of maternal and stock effects in Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) reared in a common environment, as a companion study to our investigation of hatchery and wild Chinook salmon. Pure-strain and reciprocal crosses were made between two hatchery stocks (Carson and Warm Springs National Fish Hatcheries). The offspring were reared together in one of the hatcheries to the smolt stage, and then were transferred to a seawater rearing facility (USGS-Marrowstone Field Station). Differences in survival, growth and disease prevalence were assessed. Fish with Carson parentage grew to greater size at the hatchery and in seawater than the pure-strain Warm Springs fish, but showed higher mortality at introduction to seawater. The analyses of maternal and stock effects were inconclusive, but the theoretical responses to different combinations of maternal and stock effects may be useful in interpreting stock comparison studies.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2012

Effect of developmental stage of unfed fry on survival and growth of steelhead released in a stream and hatchery ponds (Study sites: Dworshak Hatchery and North Fork Palouse River; Stock: Dworshak hatchery; Year class: 1996)

We tested whether differences in developmental stage of unfed fry at release affected subsequent survival and growth of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in a stream and hatchery ponds. Differences in development were created by artificially spawning hatchery steelhead from the Clearwater River, Idaho, and incubating their progeny at three different temperatures (means=10.9, 11.3, and 11.7°C). Time between fertilization and maximum alevin wet weight (MAWW) was predicted from incubation temperature using a model. MAWW is equivalent to the button - up fry stage of development. Developmental stages at release were “underdeveloped” (97.7% of model - predicted time to MAWW, mean weight=0.177 g, proportion yolk=0.087), “intermediate” (102.5%, 0.179 g, 0.044), and “overdeveloped” (107.9%, 0.156 g, 0.030). Neither survival nor growth in the hatchery to near the end of the standard one year rearing period differed among groups. In the stream, frequency of overdeveloped fish relative to the other two groups decreased fro m release in May to September, probably indicating lower survival for the overdeveloped fish during that interval since emigration of sub - yearlings is typically negligible. Length in September was less for overdeveloped than for intermediate fish and was in between for underdeveloped fish, suggesting that growth between May and September was less for overdeveloped fish than for intermediate fish. Although changes in relative frequency and size occurred among fry development groups from September to one ye ar later, those changes may have reflected differences in emigration rate during the interval rather than differential survival or growth. Our results show a cost to survival and growth in a stream, but not in a hatchery, from overdevelopment characterize d by loss of weight and yolk reserves relative to fry closer to MAWW at release. We didn’t find any cost from underdevelopment; however, our underdeveloped fry were closer to MAWW than the overdeveloped fry, and they may have been no farther from MAWW than the intermediate fry based on percentage of model - predicted time to MAWW at release.

Idaho, Washington↗