AquaNISInformation system on aquatic non-indigenous and cryptogenic species |
Species | Oncorhynchus tshawytscha [WoRMS] | |
Authority | (Walbaum, 1792) | |
Family | Salmonidae | |
Order | Salmoniformes | |
Class | Actinopterygii | |
Phylum | Chordata | |
Synonym (?) | Oncorhynchus chouicha (Jordan & Gilbert, 1883) Oncorhynchus cooperi (Suckley, 1861) Salmo cooperi (Suckley, 1861) |
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Sub-species level (?) | Not entered |
Native origin (?) | Ocean: Pacific Comments: Arctic and Pacific drainages from Point Hope, Alaska, to Ventura River, California. |
Life form / Life stage (?) |
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Sociability / Life stage (?) |
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Reproductive frequency (?) | Semelparous Comments: Salmon are semalparous, and shortly after spawning they die. |
Reproductive type (?) | Sexual References: Healey, M. C. 1991. Life history of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Pacific salmon life histories, pp. 311-394. Comments: The Chinook Salmon have seasonal runs in which all adults return to their natal streams and spawn at approximately the same time of year. Sexual maturity can be anywhere from 2-7 years, so within any given run, size will vary considerably. |
Developmental trait (?) | Spawning References: Healey, M. C. 1991. Life history of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Pacific salmon life histories, pp. 311-394. Comments: After migrating back to the exact place of birth, with very little straying, the adults span in the course gravel of the river. The female first digs a redd in the gravel with an undulating motion of her tail, while the male stands guard. The female then deposits her eggs (3000-14000) in the nest, sometimes in 4-5 different packets within a single redd. The male then deposits his sperm, and both parents guard the redd until they die, sometime within the next 25 days. Spawning is timed so that the fry will emerge in the spring, the time where the stream has the highest productivity. |
Characteristic feeding method / Life stage (?) |
References (not structured): Healey, M. C. 1991. Life history of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Pacific salmon life histories, pp. 311-394. Comments: While in freshwater, Chinook Salmon fry and smolts feed on plankton and then terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods and crustaceans. After migrating to the ocean, the maturing adults feed on large zooplakton, herring, pilchard, sandlance and other fishes, squid, and crustaceans. |
Mobility / Life stage (?) |
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Salinity tolerance range (?) | Exact range: 0 - 30 Comments: Higher salinity than 35 ppt is harmful. |
Habitat modifying ability potential (?) | Keystone species References: Soto, E., Camus, A., Yun, S., Kurobe, T., Leary, J. H., Rosser, T. G., ... Ng, T. F. F. 2020. First isolation of a novel aquatic flavivirus from chinook salmon (oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and its in vivo replication in a piscine animal model. Journal of Virology, 94(15), 10-1128. Comments: Chinook salmon is an important keystone species of the Pacific Northwest. |
Toxicity / Life stage (?) | Not relevant |
Bioaccumulation association (?) | Anthropogenic chemical compounds References: Meador, J. P., Ylitalo, G. M., Sommers, F. C., Boyd, D. T. 2010. Bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls in juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) outmigrating through a contaminated urban estuary: dynamics and application. Ecotoxicology, 19, pp. 141-152. |
Known human health impact? | Known Comments: There are no negative impacts on human health or recreation associated with this species. |
Known economic impact? | Known References: Criddle, K. R., Shimizu, I. 2014. The economic importance of wild Pacific salmon. Salmon: biology, ecological impacts and economic importance Nova Science Publishers, pp. 269-306. Comments: The Chinook Salmon is very important to commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen. It has always been central to the Native American lifestyle on the Pacific coast, and now much of the economy of the Pacific Northwest is based on it. |
Known measurable environmental impact? | Known References: Fuller, P., G. Jacobs, M. Cannister, J. Larson, Fusaro, A. 2024 Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792): U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, and NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System, Ann Arbor, MI, https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/GreatLakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=920, Revision Date: 12/20/2019, Peer Review Date: 6/26/2014, Access Date: 7/19/2024 Comments: In the Great Lakes, chinook salmon competes with native lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush).The introduction of Pacific salmonines is deemed responsible for the introduction of Renibacterium salmoninarum, which causes bacterial kidney disease in lake trout, brook trout (S. fontinalis), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), and bloater (C. hoyi). Chinook salmon is a predatory fish and may impact populations of smaller fishes. |
Included in the Target Species list? | No References: HELCOM, 2009. Alien Species and Ballast Water [PDF]. Available at: (https://archive.iwlearn.net/helcom.fi/stc/files/shipping/Table_2_Alienspecies_%20lists_2009.pdf) |
Association with vessel vectors (?) | Unknown Comments: Not available. |
Last update by | Sandra Gečaitė, 2024-07-19 |