Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Ahead of Print.
There is a need to explicitly consider metapopulation dynamics in the development of conservation strategies for spatially structured populations. We examined the spatial dynamics of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) that spawn in 36 streams of the Stuart River watershed in British Columbia, Canada, using a 69-year record of spawner abundance and a demographically based Bayesian dynamic occupancy model. We identified a set of 12 streams with good habitat conditions that were occupied >90% of years despite large year-to-year changes in abundance. Over 85% of spawners were concentrated in these streams. Many other streams with poorer habitat had small populations that were not persistent over time and were periodically recolonized by dispersers from other streams. Although it is often assumed population diversity and resiliency is maximized when all available habitats are used, for this salmon metapopulation, resiliency is due to the core streams of higher habitat quality. Currently, other streams make only small contributions to population abundance; however, some may have conservation value if their habitats become more suitable for spawning in the future.

中文翻译：

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区域和局部效应推动了红鲑鱼群落产卵流占有率的变化

加拿大渔业和水产科学杂志，提前印刷。
在制定空间结构种群的保护策略时，需要明确考虑元种群动态。我们使用 69 年的产卵鱼丰度记录和基于人口统计的贝叶斯动态占用模型，研究了在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省斯图尔特河流域 36 条河流中产卵的红鲑鱼 (Oncorhynchus nerka) 的空间动态。我们确定了一组 12 条具有良好栖息地条件的溪流，尽管丰度逐年变化很大，但这些溪流已占据了超过 90% 的年份。超过 85% 的产卵者集中在这些溪流中。许多其他栖息地较差的溪流人口较少，随着时间的推移不会持续存在，并且会定期被其他溪流的传播者重新定殖。尽管通常假设在使用所有可用栖息地时种群多样性和恢复力会最大化，但对于这种鲑鱼复合种群，恢复力是由于栖息地质量较高的核心溪流。目前，其他河流对人口数量的贡献很小；然而，如果它们的栖息地在未来变得更适合产卵，一些可能具有保护价值。