Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lundin, Jessica I
• Spromberg, Julann A
• Jorgensen, Jeffrey C
• Myers, James M
• Chittaro, Paul M
• Zabel, Richard W
• Johnson, Lyndal L
• Neely, Robert M
• Scholz, Nathaniel L
• Holt, Carrie A.

Titel

Legacy habitat contamination as a limiting factor for Chinook salmon recovery in the Willamette Basin, Oregon, USA

Ist Teil von

• PloS one, 2019-03, Vol.14 (3), p.e0214399

Ort / Verlag

United States: Public Library of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

Free E-Journal (出版社公開部分のみ）

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In the western United States, the long-term recovery of many Pacific salmon populations is inextricably linked to freshwater habitat quality. Industrial activities from the past century have left a legacy of pollutants that persist, particularly near working waterfronts. The adverse impacts of these contaminants on salmon health have been studied for decades, but the population-scale consequences of chemical exposure for salmonids are still poorly understood. We estimated acute and delayed mortality rates for seaward migrating juvenile Chinook salmon that feed and grow in a Superfund-designated area in the Lower Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. We combined previous, field-collected exposure data for juvenile Chinook salmon together with reduced growth and disease resistance data from earlier field and laboratory studies. Estimates of mortality were then incorporated into a life cycle model to explore chemical habitat-related fish loss. We found that 54% improved juvenile survival-potentially as a result of future remediation activities-could increase adult Chinook salmon population abundance by more than 20%. This study provides a framework for evaluating pollution remediation as a positive driver for species recovery.