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Map of the Crab Creek study area. Lower Crab Creek and Red Rock Coulee are highlighted in black below Potholes Reservoir. The tributaries and main stems where the Chinook salmon collections in the GAPS data set were made are labeled.
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Lower Crab Creek (LCC) in eastern Washington is a groundwater-fed tributary to the Columbia River at river kilometer 661. The creek traverses agriculturally modified desert habitat, and in several reaches the water quality is poor, summer water temperatures are lethal to fish, and stream habitat is degraded. The creek was thought to be unsuitable f...
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Hybridization with rainbow trout is a primary threat to the conservation of westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi; hereafter cutthroat) across its native range. Cutthroat conservation policy hinges on the degree to which populations are hybridized, yet little is known about differences in the life history of individuals with varyin...
In 2006 the Washington State legislature authorized the Department of Ecology to create the Office of the Columbia River that was tasked to find sources of water for increased residential and agricultural demands. Various options have since been proposed and all options will alter the water operations within the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. A...
Citations
... In Washington State, USA, a population of native Chinook salmon was discovered in Lower Crab Creek, a creek thought unsuitable for their survival. Temperatures in the creek regularly exceed those predicted to be lethal for Chinook salmon, but the habitat was found to support a native, breeding population that is uniquely adapted to survival under the harsh conditions (Small et al. 2011). However, the genetic mechanisms underlying this potential for adaptation remain poorly understood. ...
Understanding how organisms interact with their environments is increasingly important for conservation efforts in many species, especially in light of highly anticipated climate changes. One method for understanding this relationship is to use genetic maps and QTL mapping to detect genomic regions linked to phenotypic traits of importance for adaptation. We used high-throughput genotyping by sequencing (GBS) to both detect and map thousands of SNPs in haploid Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). We next applied this map to detect QTL related to temperature tolerance and body size in families of diploid Chinook salmon. Using these techniques, we mapped 3534 SNPs in 34 linkage groups which is consistent with the haploid chromosome number for Chinook salmon. We successfully detected three QTL for temperature tolerance and one QTL for body size at the experiment-wide level, as well as additional QTL significant at the chromosome-wide level. The use of haploids coupled with GBS provides a robust pathway to rapidly develop genomic resources in nonmodel organisms; these QTL represent preliminary progress toward linking traits of conservation interest to regions in the Chinook salmon genome.
... This study accords with emerging data (e.g., Narum et al. 2010) suggesting that thermal tolerance plays an important role in the evolution of salmonids. Finally, Small et al. (2011, this issue) use 13 microsatellite loci to examine the origin of Chinook salmon in a small Columbia River tributary, lower Crab Creek (LCC). Although the loci do not exhibit nonneutral variation, the data suggest that the Chinook salmon in the LCC are a genetically distinct native population that has persisted despite significant habitat alteration. ...
... Although the loci do not exhibit nonneutral variation, the data suggest that the Chinook salmon in the LCC are a genetically distinct native population that has persisted despite significant habitat alteration. Small et al. (2011) conclude that this population is unique and probably adapted to the rigorous LCC environment , which includes extreme water temperatures in some reaches during summer months. ...
Summer‐run Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha historically spawned in the Columbia River as far upstream as British Columbia, Canada, but the upstream extent of main‐stem spawning in the contemporary Columbia River has been documented in the tailrace of Wells Dam, Washington. We utilized radiotelemetry and video monitoring equipment between 2011 and 2013 to track wild summer‐run Chinook Salmon upstream of Wells Dam and document any main‐stem spawning sites. Two small spawning areas totaling 3,389 m2 were identified within 1.76 km downstream of Chief Joseph Dam and were used by spawning salmon in each year of the study. Redd deposition totaled 70, 59, and 134 redds in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively. When considered with tributary redd counts upstream of Wells Dam from the Methow and Okanogan rivers, main‐stem spawning represented between 1.6% and 2.9% of the annual redd deposition upstream of Wells Dam within each spawning year. Redds were located in depths between 3.7 and 7 m, with spawning occurring between late October and mid‐November in each year. These novel results are the first to detail main‐stem spawning locations of summer‐run Chinook Salmon upstream of Wells Dam and should inform population monitoring metrics, such as annual escapement and prespawn mortality estimates.
Genetic data have become increasingly useful for conservation planning when data regarding population status and long-term viability is limited. The Olympic mudminnow is the only fish species endemic to Washington State, USA. The species is an increasing priority for conservation given its limited distribution and increasing habitat loss. Presently, information important for developing conservation plans including population abundance data, knowledge of population boundaries, and estimates of gene flow among populations are limited. We used microsatellite markers to assess the level of genetic variation within and among Olympic mudminnow collections from 23 sites across the species range. Genetic variation within collections ranged widely and was greatest within the Chehalis River Basin, a former glacial refugium. Analysis of population boundaries showed that each collection site represented a unique population with the exception of collections made within two large wetland and stream complexes. Genetic variation among populations appears to be strongly influenced by glacial history and the species’ life history. Populations originating from the Chehalis River glacial refugium clustered together in multiple analyses and populations from the Olympic Coast, which persisted in separate refugia and have limited capacity for dispersal, showed a high level of differentiation. Competing theories existed regarding the origins of disjunct populations in east Puget Sound and genetic data showed that these populations represent undocumented introductions rather than a glacial remnant or historic colonization from the Chehalis refugium. Data presented in this study will help fill important information gaps and advance conservation planning for this species.
