Fish Assemblage Metrics: Key Focal Species Physical Habitat Metrics Based On Life History Stage Associations and Population Dynamics; Responses of Native and Invasive Species Populations Sean Hayes, Director of Fisheries Ecosystem Research Unit, NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center Salmon Ocean Ecology Team Leader (enabler?) ???

This one time………. in Scott Creek… John clarified… “So we hope ….we can develop metrics based on specific life history associations with physical habitat conditions, and develop a rating system of alternatives based on understanding how these specific life history associations with physical habitat conditions would play into the dynamics of population growth and recovery ”

Freshwater? Ocean? Can we fix something here? 2 adults return to spawn 4,000 eggs are laid 800 fry hatch 200 smolts go to sea 10 reach adulthood To make more fish here ? How do we DO and MEASURE that?

Metrics 1.Growth 2.Food 3.Survivorship in the new habitat - Water quality, predators…. 4.migration behavior/timing/recruitment in/out of the new habitat 5.subsequent measures of marine survival GOAL- try to change certain perspectives

Benefits of Wetland rearing Case studies – Yolo Bypass- Sacramento – Scott Creek

Ted Sommer - DWR

Knaggs Ranch Agricultural Floodplain Pilot Project Results UCD, DWR, NMFS, Cal Trout USBR and others..

Pilot Project 5-acres

Average Length and Weight 48 mm 1.09 grams Fish planted 1/31/12 The Knaggs Ranch Pilot Project: Testing Chinook growth on an experimental agricultural flood plain

5x the weight in 6 weeks

Scott Creek example

Typical spring downstream migrant (smolt?) After 5-6 months rearing in estuary 100mm Steelhead in Scott Creek ~20% of “smolts” use it- but comprise 85% of returning adults

Food Scott Creek Estuary- benthic crustaceans Corophium and Eogammarus sp Yolo Bypass- seed banks of midge cocoons (Hydrobaenus saetheri)- (Benigno and Sommer 2009) Mokelumne River- Large Pulse flood events from reservoirs produce zooplankton communities including lipid rich Daphnia (Kern et al in prep)

Migration & Survival of Juvenile Salmonids in California’s Central Valley & San Francisco Estuary R.B. MacFarlane A.P. Klimley S.L. Lindley A.J. Ammann P.T. Sandstrom C.J. Michel E.D. Chapman

Coleman Hatchery Red Bluff Diversion Dam Ord Bend Sacramento Confluence with Delta Cross Channel Rio Vista Bridge Chipp’s Island Benicia Bridge Golden Gate Bridge Butte City Bridge Colusa Bridge Thomes Creek Confluence GCID X 1000= Survival

Fall Run acoustic tracking 2012 spring 2012 Pilot Effort Tagging goals Fall run- CNFH – 140 x 2 early/late Apr

5% !!

Central Valley Predator Issues

The Predator Issue….. Just how bad is it? Loboschefsky, E., Benigno, G., Sommer, T., Rose, K., Ginn, T., Massoudieh, A., and Loge, F Individual-level and Population-level Historical Prey Demand of San Francisco Estuary Striped Bass Using a Bioenergetics Model. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 10(1). Sacramento Bay/Delta populations of striped bass consume…. ~25,000,000 KG of fish per year 5% survival …of 12 million fish (600,000 left….) the single largest Chinook release in CA 10,000,000 fish * 5g= 50,000 kg 50,000kg/25,000,000= ….0.2% of striped bass annual metabolic requirements

The envelope continued CA hatcheries release 50million fish (some years)… Mostly sub-yearling, some yearlings… ave 10g fish? 10g *50,000,000= 500,000kg hatchery salmonids 500,000/25,000,000 kg= 2% “Striped Bass are not a problem for salmon…. they rarely appear in their diet…” Striped bass can eat every single juvenile salmon in the Sacramento/San Joaquin basin and they still wont be a significant part of striped bass diet…

Salmon Life cycle The Point? Fish Die… Get over it The salmon life cycle Image courtesy of S. Lindley Escapement+ Harvest= ~105,000 4,000 eggs are laid 800 fry hatch ???? 10 reach adulthood CNFH Fall Run 12,000,000 fry ~0.8% ‘return’ 95%mortality- ~600,000 smolt enter the ocean Marine survival 15-20%!!!

Scott Creek Predation- how much can a few birds really eat? 1939 kJ/day 11.3 g at 4.16 kJ/g 47 kJ/steelhead 41 steelhead/day 1230 steelhead/month

Lagoon Recruitment Months x 2 Mergansers = 6000 Juveniles!

Summer Lagoon Population Dynamics

Point Reyes Bird Observatory Consumption Excretion Back-calculating consumption Recapture 0.84% N= 35,000

Consumption Back-calculating consumption ~ 27% ~ 30-50% of juvenile salmonids consumed by Western gulls In the last 100 feet of stream!

Metrics 1.Growth 2.Food 3.Survivorship in the new habitat - Water quality, predators…. 4.migration behavior/timing/recruitment in/out of the new habitat 5.Entrainment/Entrapment? 6.Subsequent measures of marine survival Fish die… get over it!

Conclusions Multiple metrics can be measured Fairly straight forward – Lots of know-how in RR basin – Logistics cheaper/easier than Sacramento Don’t be afraid of predator issues – trade off of mortality for growth can lead to increased marine survival Given the loss of wetland habitat… – You can probably only improve

Upper river Lower river Delta Estuary Reach % Cumulative Survival 1510 Late Fall Chinook Cumulative Downstream migration and survival Only 7% make it to the ocean!

Points to include Metrics Benefits of floodplain/estuarine/wetland rearing Examples of predation Scott creek Central valley- coleman vs striped bass Final metric must be marine returns

Experiment to Determine Excretion probability +++

Rapid Growth Cosumnes River Natural habitat & Rapid Growth Photos: C. Jeffres

What ? Predators? (Frechette and Osterback) 460 Kcal/day= coho parr

River growth vs. floodplain growth Jeffres et al 2008

Fish released Average Length and Weight 3/12/ mm 5.27 grams Floodplain fatties!

Growth patterns from egg to smolt Ocean upper watershedestuary/lagoon Size threshold for ocean survival 80% of returning adults use estuary pathway