Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon
Science Center Objects
We will examine evidence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using heat shock proteins and gene expression.
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Yukon River Chinook salmon have been in decline since the 1990s for unknown causes and the pace of decline has recently accelerated. Heat stress during spawning migration has the potential to cause significant prespawn mortality of adult fish. Two biomarkers will be used to assess the presence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon, the concentration of a specific heat shock protein (HSP70) associated with stress and the expression (i.e., transcription) of genes involved with thermal stress and physiological pathways affected by thermal stress. Fish will be collected during the spawning migration at established monitoring sites throughout the Yukon River watershed including test fisheries at Emmonak and Eagle, weirs on tributaries (East Fork Andreafsky River and Gisasa River), and a subsistence fish wheel near Tanana. A short (<48 h) manipulative temperature experiment will distinguish baseline protein and gene expression levels in fish held at a cooler control temperature from fish held at temperatures associated with low (18 °C) and high (21 °C) heat stress. The potential influence of migration timing, age, and size on the presence of stress indicators will also be evaluated. The results of this study will be used to assess the likelihood of increases in freshwater adult mortality and reduced reproductive success from heat stress. If heat stress indicators are present, managers may adjust escapement goals to compensate for the likelihood of higher prespawn mortality rates.
Muscle tissue sample from a Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) used for gene transcription and protein concentration analyses. Picture taken during field work at the Rapid River Fish Wheel.
(Credit: Randy J. Brown, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.)
Map of Yukon Chinook salmon muscle tissue sampl locations.
(Credit: Vanessa von Biela, USGS. Public domain.)
Vanessa von Biela with a Chinook salmon on the Yukon River.
(Credit: Randy J. Brown, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.)
Randy Brown adjusts a fish wheel trap on the Yukon River that will catch Chinook salmon.
(Credit: Vanessa von Biela, USGS. Public domain.)
Fish drying at a subsistence fish camp along the Yukon River.
(Credit: Randy J. Brown, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.)
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Fish and aquatic habitats in Alaska support important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries and provide forage fish that support wildlife populations. The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts interdisciplinary research to inform local, state, federal, and international policy makers regarding conservation of fish, aquatic species, and their habitats. We work collaboratively with...
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Muscle biopsy sample from a Chinook salmon
Muscle tissue sample from a Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) used for gene transcription and protein concentration analyses. Picture taken during field work at the Rapid River Fish Wheel.
Vanessa von Biela with a Chinook salmon on the Yukon River
Vanessa von Biela with a Chinook salmon on the Yukon River.
Randy Brown adjusts a fish wheel trap on the Yukon River
Randy Brown adjusts a fish wheel trap on the Yukon River that will catch Chinook salmon.
Fish drying at a subsistence fish camp along the Yukon River
Fish drying at a subsistence fish camp along the Yukon River.
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USGS biological science technician Shannon Waters releases a Chinook Salmon into an Alaskan river.