Terrestrial invertebrate prey for juvenile chinook salmon: abundance and environmental controls in an Interior Alaska river

Abstract

Terrestrial prey subsidies can be a key food source for stream fish, but their importance and environmental controls on their abundance have not been widely documented in high latitude ecosystems. This study investigated terrestrial invertebrate prey availability and predation by age-0+ juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), overlap between terrestrial infall and drift to diet, and the relationship between diet to stream temperature and discharge in the Chena River, Interior Alaska. Terrestrial infall, drift, and juvenile chinook diet varied widely through the summers (May-September) of 2008 and 2009. Drift was comprised of 33% terrestrial and 67% aquatic invertebrate mass, while juvenile chinook diet contained 19% terrestrial, 80% aquatic, and 1% unidentifiable invertebrate mass. The proportion of terrestrial invertebrate mass consumed increased through summer and, at times, made up to 39% of total diet. Low similarity of invertebrates in diet and infall, and diet and drift suggested that fish were, in part, prey-selective, selecting hymenopterans and chironomid midges (Diptera). In both years, prey mass consumed and discharge varied inversely, but no correlation was found between proportion of terrestrial invertebrates consumed and discharge. However, the two sampling dates with the highest proportion of terrestrial invertebrates consumed occurred shortly after a 60-year flood, indicating that terrestrial invertebrates may be important during rain and associated high water. This study found that, although terrestrial infall and drift are highly variable, terrestrial invertebrates are an important prey resource for rearing chinook salmon in this high latitude riverine system, especially later in the summer.