0000000000160394
AUTHOR
Sebastián A. Pardo
Atlantic salmon survival at sea: temporal changes that lack regional synchrony
Spatial and temporal synchrony in abundance or survival trends can be indicative of whether populations are affected by common environmental drivers. In Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.), return rates to natal rivers have generally been assumed to be affected primarily by shared oceanic conditions, leading to spatially synchronous trends in mortality. Here, we investigated the existence of parallel trends in salmon sea survival, using data on migrating smolts and returning adults from seven Canadian populations presumed to share feeding grounds. We analysed sea survival, using a Bayesian change-point model capable of detecting non-stationarity in time series data. Our results indicate that w…
Trends in marine survival of Atlantic salmon populations in eastern Canada
Abstract Declines in wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) abundance throughout the north Atlantic are primarily attributed to decreases in survival at sea. However, comparing trends in marine survival among populations is challenging as data on both migrating smolts and returning adults are sparse and models are difficult to parameterize due to their varied life histories. We fit a hierarchical Bayesian maturity schedule model to data from seven populations in eastern Canada to estimate numbers of out-migrating smolts, survival in the first and second year at sea, and the proportion returning after 1 year. Trends in survival at sea were not consistent among populations; we observe positive, n…