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.
Return to Wildlife, Fish, and Habitats >> Fish and Aquatic Ecology
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.
A spawning Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) captured near Pilot Station, Alaska, in June 2018 as part of an experimental temperature manipulation study to validate heat stress biomarkers.
(Credit: Shannon Waters, USGS. Public domain.)
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.)
Fish and Aquatic Ecology
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...
-
Date published: May 6, 2019Status: ActiveWinter Habitat of Juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River
In the Arctic, rivers often freeze all the way to the bottom each winter leaving fish with limited habitat where they can survive.
Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Randy J. BrownAttribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 25, 2018Status: ActiveArctic Lake Food Webs
From 2011 to 2013 we investigated freshwater food webs of Arctic Coastal Plain lakes in Alaska to improve our understanding how Arctic freshwater food webs may respond to landscape change the warmer, drier future.
Contacts: Sarah Laske, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Joshua C Koch, Ph.D., Joel A Schmutz, Ph.D., Amanda Rosenberger, Ph.D., Mark Wipfli, Matthew WhitmanAttribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 25, 2018Status: ActiveCondition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave
Changes in the body condition of a key forage fish species, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are examined to understand how energy transfer to predators may have been disrupted during the recent marine heatwave in the North Pacific (late 2013 to mid 2016).
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 24, 2018Status: ActiveEcosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas
In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.
Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., David Douglas, Daniel Esler, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Bryan Black, Kenneth Dutton -
Date published: April 24, 2018Status: ActiveLake Trout Biochronologies as Long-term Climate and Productivity Indicators in Alaska Lake Ecosystems
High latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments.
Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Bryan Black, Randy J. Brown, Dan YoungAttribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 19, 2018Status: ActivePrimary Production Sources and Bottom-up Limitations in Nearshore Ecosystems
Kelp forests are among the world’s most productive habitats, but recent evidence suggests that production is highly variable.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 18, 2018Status: ActiveHydro-Ecology of Arctic Thawing (HEAT): Ecology
Permafrost thaw is leading to a myriad of changes in physical and chemical conditions throughout the Arctic.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 18, 2018Status: ActiveEffect of Elodea spp. on Fish Performance Mediated Through Food Web Interactions
The potential for invasive species introductions in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems is growing as climate change manifests and human activity increases in high latitudes.
Contacts: Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Suresh Andrew Sethi, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Dan Young, Gordon Reeves, Theresa Tanner -
Date published: April 17, 2018Status: ActiveSockeye Salmon Migrating at the Northern Edge of Their Distribution
The physiological challenge for anadromous fish to migrate upriver to spawn and complete their life cycle is influenced by river temperature.
Contacts: Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Stephen D McCormick, Amy Regish, Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Kevin D. Keith, Merlyn Schelske, Charlie LeanAttribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 16, 2018Status: ActiveNearshore Fish Surveys in the Beaufort Sea
Nearshore systems provide habitat to a unique community of marine and diadromous (lives in both fresh and saltwater) fish and support high fish abundance.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center
-
Date published: October 9, 2020Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Measured During a Manipulative Thermal Challenge Experiment for Adult Salmonids, Yukon River, Alaska, 2018
This data set documents the temperature and dissolved oxygen of water during the implementation of a new experimental thermal challenge protocol for migrating adult Pacific salmon in remote settings. This experiment was conducted with migrating adult Chinook salmon near Pilot Station, Alaska, along the Yukon River in a location without access to utilities. The analysis of this data was publis...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: October 9, 2020Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Measured in Muscle Tissue of Chinook Salmon, Yukon River Watershed, Alaska, 2016–2018
This data set documents the gene transcription levels for a panel of 12 selected genes and the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) protein abundance measured in the muscle tissue of individual wild Chinook salmon captured from locations within the U.S. portion of the Yukon River watershed. Chinook salmon were primarily captured in 2016 and 2017 from existing field efforts (n = 477). A small n
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Spawning Yukon River Chinook salmon
A spawning Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) captured near Pilot Station, Alaska, in June 2018 as part of an experimental temperature manipulation study to validate heat stress biomarkers.
Shannon Waters Releases Chinook Salmon, Alaska
USGS biological science technician Shannon Waters releases a Chinook Salmon into an Alaskan river.
Chinook Salmon Released into Yukon River, AK
Chinook salmon released into Yukon River in Alaska, USA.
Scientist Preparing to Release Chinook Salmon into Yukon River, AK
Scientist preparing to release Chinook salmon into the Yukon River in Alaska, USA.
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.
Fish drying at a subsistence fish camp along the Yukon River
Fish drying at a subsistence fish camp along 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.
Vanessa von Biela with a Chinook salmon on the Yukon River
Vanessa von Biela with a Chinook salmon on the Yukon River.