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The timing of anadromous bull trout migrations in estuarine and marine waters of Puget Sound, Washington

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Abstract

The timing of anadromous migrations varies greatly among species, reflecting foraging opportunities, predation risk, and physical factors in freshwater and marine habitats. We studied the timing of bull trout, Salvelinus. confluentus, migrations downstream into Puget Sound, Washington, and the return migration using data from a combination of traps and beach seining to capture juveniles and adults, and acoustic telemetry to quantify movements in river, estuary, and marine waters. The period of marine residence overlapped among fish from different river basins and was generally brief; most bull trout entered marine waters from April to June and migrated back into rivers by July and August as temperatures were increasing, despite the increasing availability of prey fishes. The timing of return migration upriver occurred earlier in rivers with warmer temperatures than in cooler rivers, such that the fish entered at similar temperatures but different dates. However, the trapping and acoustic tag detections indicated that some exceptions occur, as individuals were in marine waters at times of the year when most of their populations were upriver. These timing patterns and other complex migration pathways and life history patterns indicated by the combination of sampling techniques, revealed the diversity in migratory behavior in this species, and the connections to the region’s abiotic and biotic conditions.

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Data availability

Telemetry detections is publicly available in the Hydra System. Catch data from Skagit fish trap is recorded in annual reports from the WDFW.

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Acknowledgements

The collection and tagging of ESA listed bull trout was authorized under USFWS Recovery Permits Section 10(a)(1)(A) number TE-041023-1 thru TE-041023-7. We thank Mike Hayes and Steve Kelly (USGS), Curt Kraemer (WDFW), Chuck Ebel (USACE), Kelly Andrews (NOAA Fisheries), John Blaine and Jim Devereaux (KCNDR) for their assistance; Correigh Greene (NOAA Fisheries), Shawn Larson and Jeff Christiansen (SA), Kurt Dobszinsky, Paul Winchell, David Welch and Debbie Goetz for deployment of receivers. The sampling described here involved a great many people over the years at the different sites, and we are most grateful to all for their help. In the Snohomish River, we especially acknowledge Todd Zackey and Matt Pouley (Tulalip Tribes), Jason Hall (Cramer Fish Sciences), and Anna Kagley and Kurt Fresh (NOAA). The Skagit River smolt trapping has been supported by Dingell-Johnson Sportfish Restoration Act fund, Washington State General Funds, and Seattle City Light, and we thank Jim Repoz and Dean Toba for help in the field, and Joseph Anderson for project supervision and editorial help.

Funding

The telemetry portion of this study was supported by funding and/or in-kind assistance by the Seattle District US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Seattle City Light (SCL), H. Mason Keeler Endowment and the Richard and Lois Worthington Endowment at the University of Washington, Skagit River Systems Cooperative (SRSC), the Port of Everett, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Transportation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), US Geological Survey (USGS), Shared Strategy, Seattle Aquarium (SA), NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST), and Hydrophone Data Repository (HYDRA). Sampling in the Skagit River estuary and nearshore were funded through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board’s Intensively Monitored Watershed Program, administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, and Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation funding administered through the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission to the Skagit River System Cooperative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, 1122 NE Boat St, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    F. A. Goetz & T. P. Quinn

  2. US Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, 4735 E. Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA, 98134, USA

    F. A. Goetz

  3. Skagit River System Cooperative, 11426 Moorage Way, La Conner, WA, 98257, USA

    E. Beamer

  4. Seattle City Light, City of Seattle, 700 Fifth Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA

    E. J. Connor

  5. R2 Resource Consultants, 15250 NE 95th Street, Redmond, WA, 98052, USA

    E. Jeanes & C. Morello

  6. Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N. Olympia, Washington, WA, 98501, USA

    C. Kinsel

  7. Northwest Fisheries Sciences Center, NOAA Fisheries, 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA

    J. W. Chamberlin

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  1. F. A. Goetz
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  2. E. Beamer
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  3. E. J. Connor
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  4. E. Jeanes
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  5. C. Kinsel
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  6. J. W. Chamberlin
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  7. C. Morello
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  8. T. P. Quinn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. A. Goetz.

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Ethics approval

Ethical approval was not required. The collection and tagging of ESA listed bull trout was authorized under USFWS Recovery Permits Sect. 10(a)(1)(A) number TE-041023–1 thru TE-041023–7.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 3 Receiver deployments in Puget Sound freshwater (FW), estuary (EST) and marine (M) areas, ordered (top to bottom) from north to south. In 2010, only 20 receivers were deployed, all in south-central Puget Sound (not listed)
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Goetz, F.A., Beamer, E., Connor, E.J. et al. The timing of anadromous bull trout migrations in estuarine and marine waters of Puget Sound, Washington. Environ Biol Fish 104, 1073–1088 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01136-1

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