• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Fisheries
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • Fisheries
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Spawning site selection of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch in Susitna River tributaries, Alaska

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    McCracken_B_2021.pdf
    Size:
    5.785Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    McCracken, Betsy W.
    Chair
    Sutton, Trent
    Committee
    Falke, Jeffrey
    Carey, Michael
    Keyword
    Coho salmon
    Salmon spawning
    Susitna River
    Habitat
    Habitat suitability index models
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12917
    Abstract
    Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch are the most widely distributed Pacific salmon species across Alaska. The lack of knowledge surrounding the habitat requirements of this species results in challenges for conservation and management due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. Tributaries of the Susitna River drainage in Alaska support many small and distinct Coho Salmon populations. Heterogeneity of in-stream spawning habitat is an ecological concept known to promote resiliency of salmonid populations. The goal of this study was to investigate the best habitat predictors of spawning site selection and the scale by which spawning habitat should be evaluated for management insights. Scale is particularly important when measuring, assessing, and predicting potential impacts to species from development activities because habitat research at the stream rather than the reach scale can overestimate the amount of available spawning habitat. I investigated a suite of field-measured stream habitat variables paired with empirical Coho Salmon spawning survey data in five tributaries during 2013 and 2014. Physical data was defined as biotic and abiotic surroundings of an organism or population that have an influence on survival, development, and evolution. Mixed-effects modeling results indicated that Coho Salmon spawning-site selection was positively related to gravel substrate and the presence of groundwater flux, and that spawning Coho Salmon avoided cobble substrate. Physical data were analyzed at both the stream and reach scales, and mixed-effects modeling results further concluded that variation in spawning activity at the reach scale (variance = 1.34, SD = 1.16) accounted for more variability and was more predictive than at the stream scale(variance = 0.04, SD = 0.19). This is important because fish habitat-associations identified at the reach scale were not identified at the stream scale. These results highlight the need for multi-scale habitat data collections and analyses to identify the most meaningful fish-habitat associations.
    Description
    Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2021
    Date
    2021-12
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    Fisheries

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2023 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.