Salish Sea Marine Survival Project researchers analyzed marine survival trends for chinook populations across Southeast Alaska, northern British Columbia, west coast of Vancouver Island, the Washington/Oregon coast, and the Salish Sea. Regional-scale differences in survival trends between Salish Sea and non-Salish Sea populations were observed; Salish Sea population trends were highly variable and less spatially coherent than coastal populations. While survival of southern coastal populations was associated with a large-scale ocean circulation pattern (the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation), survival of Salish Sea populations was not. These results suggest that local environmental factors may have stronger impacts on Salish Sea chinook than on coastal chinook populations. Read more: Ruff et al. (2017) Salish Sea Chinook salmon exhibit weaker coherence in early marine survival trends than coastal populations. DOI: 10.1111/fog.12222
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