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Passive Monitoring of Migrating Adult Steelhead with PIT Tags
Abstract
In 1985, two independent passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag monitoring systems were installed at the exit area of the weir leading into a fish trap on the north-shore fish ladder at Bonneville Dam, Columbia River. One hundred PIT-tagged adult steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss were released in groups of 10 into an enclosed area of the ladder downstream from the detectors. The tagged fish were detected after they volitionally swam through the weir and slid through the detection system at velocities of 0.6 m/s or greater. Overall PIT tag reading efficiency was 98% and no tag-reading errors were recorded. Individual tag code, date, and time of the passage of each tagged fish were automatically recorded into a computer file and simultaneously printed onto a paper copy. These results suggest that PIT tag monitors of this design could be deployed at select adult passage facilities presently operating in the Columbia River Basin to interrogate returning PIT-tagged adult salmonids.
... Many studies that involve detecting fish in confined spaces use passive integrated transponder (PIT tag) technology to detect fish at fixed points within juvenile bypass systems [15][16][17][18] or in fishways [19][20][21][22][23]. Studies have been conducted using a PIT tag with another telemetric technology, such as radio telemetry [13], by dual-tagging fish [15,16,19] or only using a PIT tag [17,18,[20][21][22][23][24]. ...
... Many studies that involve detecting fish in confined spaces use passive integrated transponder (PIT tag) technology to detect fish at fixed points within juvenile bypass systems [15][16][17][18] or in fishways [19][20][21][22][23]. Studies have been conducted using a PIT tag with another telemetric technology, such as radio telemetry [13], by dual-tagging fish [15,16,19] or only using a PIT tag [17,18,[20][21][22][23][24]. Although it has an advantage in terms of longevity of the tag relative to other technologies, PIT tags have short detection ranges that typically are less than 1 m in the tags' long axis, perpendicular to the antenna [24]. ...
The ability to track fish in the vicinity of dams and detect the presence of fish in fishways (also referred to as fish ladders) is critical to understanding the migration biology of upstream migrating fish and their passage success. Acoustic telemetry provides a valuable method within the telemetry toolbox, but has rarely been used in noisy, constrained, swift-flowing, and air-entrained environments such as fishways because of the perceived limitations of acoustic telemetry in such environments relative to other techniques such as radio telemetry. However, there have been no published studies that represent systematic evaluations of both detection efficiency based on number of transmitted signals and detection probabilities based on number of fish detected in fishways for acoustic telemetry. As such, the efficacy of acoustic telemetry in a fishway was evaluated using both controlled field experiments and movements of live fish at the Wanapum Dam fishway on the Columbia River in Washington State. In this study, the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) was selected because of its high carrier frequency (416.7 kHz) and short signal duration yielding good system resilience in shallow, noisy, and constrained environments.
Detection efficiencies from the controlled field experiments were over 80 % (mean ± standard error (SE) = 85 ± 2 %) for most locations within the fishway at Wanapum Dam. Detection efficiency was nearly 100 % (mean ± SE = 97 ± 1 %) in the fishway entrance when the transmitters (also referred to as tags) were within 10 m of the hydrophones. The detection probabilities for the live fish experiment were 100 % at all deployment locations.
This study suggests that a 416.7-kHz acoustic telemetry system with binary phase shift-keyed encoding is capable of reliably detecting fish within a large fishway, thus providing a reliable tool to enable researchers to understand and study fish behavior and their fate near and in fishways.
... Such increased migration mortality in advanced hybrid classes expressing anadromy may signify a decrease of O. nerka productivity in the system. To examine the link between intermediate hybrid behavior and survival moving forward, a combination of identification and tracking methodologies may be appropriate, using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to mark juvenile movement, and subsequent comparison of recovered tags and genetic hybridization classes to evaluate survival and age at maturity 59 . ...
Stocking programs have been widely implemented to re-establish extirpated fish species to their historical ranges; when employed in species with complex life histories, such management activities should include careful consideration of resulting hybridization dynamics with resident stocks and corresponding outcomes on recovery initiatives. Genetic monitoring can be instrumental for quantifying the extent of introgression over time, however conventional markers typically have limited power for the identification of advanced hybrid classes, especially at the intra-specific level. Here, we demonstrate a workflow for developing, evaluating and deploying a Genotyping-in-Thousands by Sequencing (GT-seq) SNP panel with the power to detect advanced hybrid classes to assess the extent and trajectory of intra-specific hybridization, using the sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) stocking program in Skaha Lake, British Columbia as a case study. Previous analyses detected significant levels of hybridization between the anadromous (sockeye) and freshwater resident (kokanee) forms of O. nerka, but were restricted to assigning individuals to pure-stock or “hybrid”. Simulation analyses indicated our GT-seq panel had high accuracy, efficiency and power (> 94.5%) of assignment to pure-stock sockeye salmon/kokanee, F1, F2, and B2 backcross-sockeye/kokanee. Re-analysis of 2016/2017 spawners previously analyzed using TaqMan® assays and otolith microchemistry revealed shifts in assignment of some hybrids to adjacent pure-stock or B2 backcross classes, while new assignment of 2019 spawners revealed hybrids comprised 31% of the population, ~ 74% of which were B2 backcross or F2. Overall, the GT-seq panel development workflow presented here could be applied to virtually any system where genetic stock identification and intra-specific hybridization are important management parameters.
... Trap designs include features to help retain fish after entry such as finger weirs (North Fork Toutle River), false weirs (McCutcheon et al. 1994), or Fykestyle entrances (Tacoma Power 2016b; PacifiCorp 2018). The latter are vertical V-shaped entrances with the widest part of the opening located at the downstream end of the entrance, which allows fish to guide along the narrowing entrance as they move upstream. ...
High-head dams are migration barriers for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. in many river systems and recovery measures for impacted stocks are limited. Trap-and-haul has been widely used in attempts to facilitate recovery but information from existing programs has not been synthesized to inform improvements to aid recovery of salmonids in systems with high-head dams. We reviewed 17 trap-and-haul programs regarding Pacific salmon to: (1) summarize information about facility design, operation and biological effects; (2) identify critical knowledge gaps; and (3) evaluate trap-and-haul as a current and future management tool. Existing programs are operated to address a range of management goals including restoring access to historical habitats, temporarily reducing exposure to dangerous in-river conditions, and reintroducing ecological processes upstream from dams. Information gathered from decades of operation on facility design criteria and fish handling protocols, and robust literature on fish collection and passage are available. While many aspects of trap-and-haul have been evaluated, effects on population productivity and sustainability remain poorly understood. Long-term and systematic studies of trap-and-haul outcomes are rare, and assessments can be confounded by concurrent management actions and broad ecological and climatic effects. Existing data suggest that performance and effectiveness vary among programs and over various time scales within programs. Although critical information gaps exist, trap-and-haul is an important management and conservation tool for providing Pacific salmonids access to historical habitats. Successful application of trap-and-haul programs requires long-term commitment and an adaptive management approach by dam owners and stakeholders, and careful planning of new programs.
... PIT tags and antenna interrogation arrays are increasingly used in riverine networks, as well as other systems, due to their continually declining cost, generally high tag retention rates, long duration relative to an animal's lifespan, and ability to effectively monitor movements of organisms that pass within an antenna's range (Kerth and Reckardt 2003, Gibbons and Andrews 2004, Mello and Rose 2005, Kerth et al. 2006, Mahapatra et al. 2008. Within the Columbia River Basin, the PIT Tag Information System (PTAGIS) operates and maintains a comprehensive system of interrogation arrays as well as a database of over 16 million tags placed in fish since 1987 (Prentice and Park 1984, McCutcheon et al. 1994, Axel et al. 2005. While PIT tag studies are pervasive in large riverine systems, PIT technology (and the need for analysis and synthesis tools associated with PIT data) has broad application to other ecological systems (Gibbons andAndrews 2004, Cooke et al. 2013). ...
Anthropogenic impacts on riverine systems have, in part, led to management concerns regarding the population status of species using these systems. In an effort to assess the efficacy of restoration actions, and in order to improve monitoring of species of concern, managers have turned to PIT (passive integrated transponder) tag studies with in‐stream detectors to monitor movements of tagged individuals throughout river networks. However, quantifying movements in a river network using PIT tag data with incomplete coverage and imperfect detections presents a challenge. We propose a flexible Bayesian analytic framework that models the imperfectly detected movements of tagged individuals in a nested PIT tag array river network. This model structure provides probabilistic estimates of up‐stream migration routes for each tagged individual based on a set of underlying nested state variables. These movement estimates can be converted into abundance estimates when an estimate of abundance is available for a location within the river network. We apply the model framework to data from steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Upper Columbia River basin and evaluate model performance (precision/variance of simulated population sizes) as a function of population tagging rates and PIT tag array detection probability densities within the river system using a simulation framework. This simulation framework provides both model validation (precision) and the ability to evaluate expected performance improvements (variance) due to changes in tagging rates or PIT receiver array configuration. We also investigate the impact of different network configurations on model estimates. Results from such investigations can help inform decisions regarding future monitoring and management.
... Adult steelhead from the Clearwater River were radio tagged at Lower Granite Dam, 51 rkm downstream from the mouth of the Clearwater River ( Figure 1). Adults were sorted by known destination at Lower Granite Dam using the separation by code system for preselected PIT tag codes (McCutcheon et al. 1994;Harmon 2003). Fish were radio tagged across two spawn years (SY) between July 2016 and June 2017 (hereafter referred to as SY2017) and July 2017 and June 2018 (hereafter referred to as SY2018). ...
Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss is a species of high economic value and supports popular sport fisheries across the Pacific Northwest. The Clearwater River, Idaho, provides a trophy steelhead fishery and is home to wild‐ and hatchery‐origin steelhead. Information is needed on the spatial and temporal overlap of wild and hatchery steelhead, as well as anglers, in the Clearwater River to effectively manage the fishery. We conducted a radiotelemetry study to describe the distribution of steelhead and their final fate in the Clearwater River, and creel surveys were used to describe the distribution of anglers. In total, 289 wild (Potlatch River and Lochsa River) and hatchery (Dworshak and South Fork Clearwater River) steelhead were radio tagged at Lower Granite Dam, 51 rkm downstream from the mouth of the Clearwater River. Steelhead were monitored upon entry into the Clearwater River using mobile tracking surveys (boat and vehicle) and stationary antennas. The majority of wild and hatchery steelhead arrived in the Clearwater River in the fall with the exception of Lochsa River steelhead which arrived in the fall and following spring. Average daily movement of steelhead was minimal (mean = 0.3‐4.7 km/d) and dependent on water temperature and flow. Fates of wild and hatchery steelhead varied with fish either returning to spawning grounds, harvest by anglers (hatchery fish only), or their fate was unknown. Wild and hatchery steelhead returned at high rates to their natal tributaries and release locations. No straying was observed for wild or hatchery steelhead; however, steelhead overshooting their natal tributaries and release locations was documented. Spatial and temporal overlap of wild and hatchery steelhead was minimal. Anglers overlapped with hatchery steelhead in the fall, winter, and spring. Overlap of anglers and wild steelhead was minimal and largely occurred in September in the lower Clearwater River. This suggests that the Clearwater River has a highly compartmentalized fishery and that current fishing regulations in the Clearwater River are providing for a diversity of angling opportunities while conserving wild steelhead and offering harvest of hatchery fish. Results from this study have important implications for the conservation and management of wild and hatchery steelhead. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Passive integrated transponder technology has provided a valuable method for tracking individual movements of freshwater fishes (Prentice et al. 1990;McCutcheon et al. 1994;Lucas and Baras 2000). Because PIT tags do not require batteries and are relatively small, they provide substantial benefits over larger, battery-powered transmitters (e.g., radio tags) for long-term movement studies and studies of movement in small fishes (Lucas and Baras 2000;Cucherousset et al. 2010). ...
We evaluated the efficacy of portable PIT detectors for tracking long-term fish movement in an open stream environment. In June and October of 2012, we PIT-tagged a total of 190 Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus (CRCT) in a 1.7-km segment of a small, montane stream. In the summers of 2012–2013 (15 total occasions), we relocated PIT-tagged trout using portable PIT detectors. The maximum detection distance of 23-mm PIT tags ranged from 6 to 56 cm and varied with detector, detection plane, and tag orientation. Of the CRCT tagged, 38% were never detected and 43% were detected on two or more occa- sions. Mean detection efficiencies of PIT-tagged trout were 34% and 45% in 2012 and 2013, respectively, and were generally lower than in evaluations of closed systems and less mobile fishes. We observed a smaller range of CRCT than has been observed by others using radiotelemetry, a difference that could be explained by the spatial and temporal limitations of portable PIT detection we encountered. We conclude that portable PIT detector surveys have value but also drawbacks for tracking the movement of relatively mobile fishes in montane streams.
... Passive integrated transponder technology has provided a valuable method for tracking individual movements of freshwater fishes (Prentice et al. 1990;McCutcheon et al. 1994;Lucas and Baras 2000). Because PIT tags do not require batteries and are relatively small, they provide substantial benefits over larger, battery-powered transmitters (e.g., radio tags) for long-term movement studies and studies of movement in small fishes (Lucas and Baras 2000;Cucherousset et al. 2010). ...
We evaluated the efficacy of portable PIT detectors for tracking long‐term fish movement in an open stream environment. In June and October of 2012, we PIT‐tagged a total of 190 Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus (CRCT) in a 1.7‐km segment of a small, montane stream. In the summers of 2012–2013 (15 total occasions), we relocated PIT‐tagged trout using portable PIT detectors. The maximum detection distance of 23‐mm PIT tags ranged from 6 to 56 cm and varied with detector, detection plane, and tag orientation. Of the CRCT tagged, 38% were never detected and 43% were detected on two or more occasions. Mean detection efficiencies of PIT‐tagged trout were 34% and 45% in 2012 and 2013, respectively, and were generally lower than in evaluations of closed systems and less mobile fishes. We observed a smaller range of CRCT than has been observed by others using radiotelemetry, a difference that could be explained by the spatial and temporal limitations of portable PIT detection we encountered. We conclude that portable PIT detector surveys have value but also drawbacks for tracking the movement of relatively mobile fishes in montane streams.
Received September 27, 2014; accepted January 21, 2015
... Ombredane et al. (1998) used PIT tags to monitor survival, growth and movement of juvenile brown trout in a small river in France. McCutcheon et al. (1994) used PIT tags to monitor upstream-migration movements of adult steelhead through the hydroelectric complex along the Columbia and Snake rivers. ...
Deerfield Reservoir, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is supplemented annually with approximately 12,000 rainbow trout Onchorynchus mykiss. Recently, juvenile rainbow trout of unknown origin were collected in the primary tributary to Deerfield Reservoir, indicating that natural reproduction is occurring. Our objectives were to 1) assess a method to distinguish between rainbow trout of wild and hatchery origin using analysis of scale growth patterns and 2) estimate the proportions of wild- and hatchery-origin fish that were sampled during the annual lake survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to develop a predictive model based on scale measurements for known wild and known hatchery fish. The model was highly significant (P=0.0001), rho squared was 0.166 (i.e., rho = 0.41). The model correctly classified 60.4% of the input data. Our predictive logistic regression equation was then used to calculate the probability that each of the 26 unknown (i.e., unclipped) fish in the standard lake survey were of hatchery or wild origin. The calculated probability values for our 26 unknown fish ranged from 0.05 (relatively certain to be a wild fish) to 0.93 (relatively certain to be a hatchery fish); 13 were classified as wild fish and 13 as hatchery fish.
... clarki clarki) were tracked as they moved upstream from the weir during their spawning migrations and passed stationary antennas operating twenty-four hours a day. Tracking adult spawners with PIT tags allowed repeated detections of tag code without tag removal or fish handling (McCutcheon et al. 1994). Stationary antenna locations were chosen to separate the lower, middle, and upper mainstem habitats, as well as tributary habitat in Freshwater Creek upstream of the weir (Figure 1). ...
... In the situation of rare and endangered species, such as coelacanths, the ability to recognize an individual within a population is an essential for estimating demographic parameters such as population size and mortality rates. Individual identification can be achieved by applying an artificial mark, such as inserting a coloured or numbered tag (Kohler & Turner 2001;Arzoumanian et al. 2005) either externally or internally, such as a passive integrated transponder (PIT) (McCutcheon et al. 1994: Gibbons & Andrews 2004, injecting dye subcutaneously (Kelly 1967), fin clipping (Johnsen & Ugedal 1988;Lukey et al. 2006), or using the individual's natural markings (Ullas Karanth & Nichols 1998;Dixon 2003;Arzoumanian et al. 2005;Foster et al. 2006;Frisch & Hobbs 2007;Speed et al. 2007;Kitchen-Wheeler 2010). ...
Despite coelacanths, Latimeria chalumnae, being listed as either endangered by CITES or critically endangered by the IUCN, their population size within South Africa is unknown and still needs to be estimated. Their conservation status unfortunately excludes the use of conventional tagging to mark individual animals for a possible mark–recapture experiment. This study shows that because coelacanths have a unique spot patterning it is possible to quickly and accurately identify specific individuals photographically using computer-aided identification software. Without any manual intervention by an operator, the software accurately identified between 56 and 92% of the individuals. Indentification success increased to 100% if the operator could also manually select from other potential matching photographs. It was also shown that fish exhibiting a yaw angle not exceeding 60° could be accurately identified in photographs, although the percentage of fish correctly identified without operator-intervention decreased rapidly with increasing yaw angle. Computer-aided identification should therefore facilitate future coelacanth research as it is both efficient and accurate while also reducing potential stress on the animals observed.
... In 2000 and 2001, we also selected for fish with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags that identified where fish were tagged as juveniles. We used an automated PIT tag detection system (McCutcheon et al. 1994) to identify PIT-tagged fish before they were diverted into the anesthetic tank. ...
During their upstream spawning migration in the Columbia River basin, some adult salmonids Oncorhynchus spp. ascend and then fall back over main-stem hydroelectric dams. Fallback can result in fish injury or death, migration delays, and biases in fishway counts, the primary index for escapement and the basis for production estimates and harvest quotas. We used radiotelemetry to calculate fallback percentages and rates, reascension percentages, biases in fishway escapement estimates due to fallback, and occurrence of behaviorally motivated fallback (correcting overshoot of natal sites) by spring–summer and fall Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha and steelhead O. mykiss. The study area included eight Columbia River and Snake River dams evaluated from 1996 to 2001. For all years combined, about 22% of spring–summer Chinook salmon, 15% of fall Chinook salmon, and 21% of steelhead fell back at least once at a dam. Fallback percentages for spring–summer Chinook salmon were generally highest at Bonneville and the Dalles dams and decreased at progressively upstream dams. Fallback rates for spring–summer Chinook salmon were positively correlated with river discharge. Fallback percentages for steelhead and fall Chinook salmon were less variable between years but were more variable between dams than those of spring–summer Chinook salmon. Reascension percentages at dams ranged widely between runs and sites and were negatively related to the number of fish that entered tributaries downstream from the fallback location. Fall Chinook salmon were the most likely to enter a downstream tributary after falling back, though this behavior was also observed in spring–summer Chinook salmon and steelhead. For all years and at all dams, fallback produced positive fishway count biases ranging from 1% to 16% for spring–summer Chinook salmon, 1% to 38% for fall Chinook salmon, and 1% to 12% for steelhead.
... In 2000 and 2001, we followed the same tagging protocols as in earlier years, but also selected fish with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags that identified where fish were tagged as juveniles. We used an automated PIT-tag detection system (McCutcheon et al. 1994) to identify PIT-tagged fish before they were diverted into the anesthetic tank. In 2000, 94% of the salmon tagged with transmitters were unselectively sampled and 6% had PIT tags, for a total sample similar to those in 1996-1998; in 2001, 70% had PIT tags, and 30% were unselectively tagged. ...
An understanding of the migration timing patterns of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead O. mykiss is important for managing complex mixed-stock fisheries and preserving genetic and life history diversity. We examined adult return timing for 3,317 radio-tagged fish from 38 stocks of Columbia River basin spring–summer Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha over 5 years. Stock composition varied widely within and between years depending on the strength of influential populations. Most individual stocks migrated at similar times each year relative to overall runs, supporting the hypotheses that run timing is predictable, is at least partially due to genetic adaptation, and can be used to differentiate between some conspecific populations. Arrival timing of both aggregated radio-tagged stocks and annual runs was strongly correlated with river discharge; stocks arrived earlier at Bonneville Dam and at upstream dams in years with low discharge. Migration timing analyses identified many between-stock and between-year differences in anadromous salmonid return behavior and should aid managers interested in protection and recovery of evolutionarily significant populations.
... -Adults were collected opportunistically at the Adult Fish Facility (AFF) at Bonneville Dam ( Figure 1). An automated PIT-tag detection system (McCutcheon et al. 1994) in the AFF identified PIT-tagged fish available for use in these studies. When identified, these fish were diverted for radio tagging (see Keefer et al. 2004a for fish collection and tagging details). ...
... Early work (e.g., Shetter and Hazzard 1939) suggested that such movements might be commonplace, but many studies in the 1950s and thereafter concluded that movements of stream fishes were relatively limited, occasionally to single habitats for much or all of the life cycle (Miller 1957;Funk 1957;Gerking 1959). More recent research, relying on radiotelemetry ( Clapp et al. 1990), twoway weirs (Gowan and Fausch 1996b), improved fish marking techniques (McCutcheon et al. 1994), otolith microchemistry ( Kennedy et al. 2002), genetic markers ( Neville et al. 2006), larger spatial and temporal scales (Baxter 2002), and more rigorous experimental designs ( Albanese et al. 2003), has reemphasized the ubiquity of movements in freshwater fish life histories, particularly in stream-dwelling salmonids. Nevertheless, interpreting the frequency and extent of these movements, as well as what proportion of a population undertakes them, remains controversial ( Gowan et al. 1994;Rodríguez 2002). ...
Movements by stream fishes have long been the subject of study and controversy. Although much discussion has focused on what proportion of fish adopt mobility within particular life stages, a larger issue involves the lifetime movements of individuals. I evaluated movements of different sizes and ages of Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) using a variety of sampling methods from 1996 to 2001 in a 40 km network of main-stem and tributary segments of the North Fork Little Snake River, Wyoming, USA. The probability of movement was related to the period of observation, initial location, and possibly individual growth rate, whereas distance moved was related to fish size and initial location. Furthermore, it appeared that movements by juveniles were mostly downstream, whereas those of older fish were largely upstream. Movement of cutthroat trout in this basin appeared to be driven by ontogenetic changes in habitat use and variation in habitat productivity. Given that this stream network exemplifies the complexity typical of many mountain watersheds, movement as a life history tactic in fishes may be more common than is sometimes recognized.
... In 2000-2002, tagging methods were modified to include use of an automated system (McCutcheon et al. 1994) that identified fish with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags as they passed through the adult fish facility trap. PIT tags indicated if and where fish were tagged as juveniles (referred to here as known-source fish because their natal sites were known), and use of PIT-tagged fish allowed us to make stock-specific harvest, escapement, and unaccounted for loss estimates. ...
Accurate estimates of escapement by adult anadromous salmonids are difficult, especially in large, multistock river systems. We used radiotelemetry and a fishery reward program to calculate escapement, harvest, and unaccounted for loss rates for 10 498 adult chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and 5324 steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during six return years in the Columbia River basin. Mean annual escapements to spawning sites, hatcheries, or the upper bounds of the monitored hydrosystem were 73.4% (springsummer chinook salmon), 61.3% (fall chinook salmon), and 62.6% (steelhead). Mean reported harvest rates were 8.7% (springsummer chinook), 22.0% (fall chinook), and 15.1% (steelhead) within the mainstem hydrosystem and 5.9%, 3.4%, and 5.7%, respectively, in lower hydrosystem tributaries. On average, 12%17% of each run had unknown fates in the mainstem hydrosystem. Escapement, harvest, and loss varied significantly between runs and years, within runs between known-origin subbasin stocks, and between interdam river reaches. Multiyear quantitative assessments like this can reduce uncertainty, clarify inter- and intra-annual variability, and help managers better evaluate fisheries, identify conservation priorities, and help protect evolutionarily significant populations.
... For example, the Columbia River Basin's fisheries agencies have used PIT tags since 1987 as a research and management tool to mark and track anadromous fish, such as Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout) O. mykiss smolts during downstream migration (CBFWA 1999). Passive integrated transponder tags have been used in upstreammigrating adult steelhead to monitor their movements through the hydroelectric complex along the Columbia and Snake rivers (McCutcheon et al. 1994). In 1999, more than 1 million unique coded PIT tags were implanted (Ryan et al. 2001). ...
Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagging is a commonly used procedure to identify fish. However, there is a lack of research on the short-term effects of such tagging. The purpose of our study was to measure the short-term effects of PIT tagging on the feeding behavior and swimming performance of juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Three experiments were conducted. The treatment groups in the first two experiments consisted of a control group and a PIT-tagged group. In the first experiment, we timed the latency to resume feeding before and after the experimental day in fish trained to feed with a light cue. In the second experiment, we recorded the amount of food ingested before and after the experimental day in fish that had been fed to satiation every day for a week prior to the experiment. We found no significant differences between control and PIT-tagged groups for either the latency to resume feeding (time from providing food to food intake) or the amount of food eaten. The third experiment consisted of a fixed-velocity swimming performance test in which fish that had been tagged 40 d before the test and whose wounds had healed were compared with fish that were tagged on the day of the experiment. We found no significant differences between the fish that had healed wounds and fish that had just been tagged.
... As part of a separate evaluation, there was some selection for fish that had received passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags as juveniles. An automated PIT-tag detection system (McCutcheon et al., 1994) was used to identify PIT-tagged fish before they were diverted into the anaesthetic tank from 2000 to 2002. The selection of PIT-tagged fish increased sample sizes for some stocks, but should not have affected interpretation of migration rates. ...
Upstream migration rates were assessed for 1801 radio-tagged adult spring–summer Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha through 12 unimpounded river reaches in the Columbia River basin from 1997 to 2002. Reaches were 36 to 241 km long (mean ¼ 130 km) and included sections of the large Columbia and Snake Rivers and smaller free-flowing tributaries. Median Chinook salmon migration rates ranged from <10 km day À1 in the Deschutes and Clearwater Rivers to >35 km day À1 in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Using multivariate analyses, migration date explained the most variance in Chinook salmon migration rates while river discharge, migration year and migration reach were secondary. Both within and between years, Chinook salmon migrated more rapidly as migration date increased and more slowly when discharge was high. Arrival at high elevation spawning grounds at appropriate times and increased metabolic activity and reproductive maturation may explain the greater power of migration date, relative to river discharge, in predicting migration rates of Columbia basin spring–summer Chinook salmon.
... Treatment condition sequence was randomly assigned within each block. We attempted to maintain each treatment condition until at least ten tagged fish of any species had passed through the transition pool, as indicated by an automated passive integrated transponder tag (PIT-tag) detection system (McCutcheon et al., 1994) or by examination of downloaded radio-telemetry data. However, due to receiver outages, some blocks had fewer than 10 fish. ...
Previous studies of Pacific salmonid passage over Snake River dams indicated slowed passage at transition pools, the transition area between the fishway entrance and the fish ladder. In 2001 and 2002, we conducted an experiment to determine if modified weirs affected adult salmon and steelhead passage times and route selection through the Lower Granite Dam transition pool. Fish attraction flows through the lower ladder weirs were experimentally increased using removable panels. During the experiment we monitored radio-tagged adult Chinook salmon and steelhead to determine passage routes and times through the transition pool. The weir treatment increased the number of spring–summer Chinook salmon passing straight through the transition pool compared to those exiting the transition pool to the collection channel or tailrace. Mean passage times through the transition pool differed among routes and were significantly lower during treatment periods for the exit-to-collection channel route in spring-summer Chinook salmon, but not for other routes. Passage times among routes differed in steelhead, but there was no evidence of treatment effects on route use or passage time. Fall Chinook exhibited similar trends in route use and passage time to spring–summer Chinook, but differences were not significant, perhaps because of relatively small sample size. Total dam passage times did not differ by treatment or route for any run. Fish depth during passage of the transition pool suggested that most fish passed through submerged orifices and supported the hypothesis that increased water velocity through these orifices caused the increase in straight-through passage in spring–summer Chinook. Collectively, the results suggested the weir modifications provided improvement to passage through the transition pool for spring–summer Chinook and no evidence of negative effects on other runs. The results from this study were used to develop new design criteria and modifications of the Lower Granite Dam fishway. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Ultrasonic implant tags, which use either remote beacons or handheld and boat-mounted detection units, are useful for local- (Zeller and Russ 1998;Zeller 2002) to regional-(1,000 s m; Zeller 1999) scale movements. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are useful for recording the transit of individuals past specifically placed sensory gateways (e.g., salmonids exiting or entering river systems, McCutcheon et al. 1994;Achord et al. 2003) and for smaller, within-site movements (below 10 s m; e.g., Burns et al. 1997;Roussel et al. 2000). It is at this spatial scale that most variability in abundances occurs for shallow marine fish species (Jones 1988;McCormick 1995), since this is the level at which organisms interact and at which most site-attached species make behavioral choices (e.g., Ö hman et al. 1998). ...
Individual identification of organisms is a crucial part of assessing the processes that influence small-scale distribution patterns and the maintenance of social organizations. This study evaluates the use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to quantify small-scale space use in a marine damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis (Pomacentridae). Implanting small PIT tags in the body cavity of fish down to 5.2g with a hypodermic needle had no adverse effect on mortality or growth over a 47-day tank study. A 63-day field study also showed that tags had no influence on body condition as measured by Fultons condition factor (K), gonadosomatic indices, or plasma cortisol levels (a physiological indicator of stress). The utility of PIT-tag technology is illustrated by preliminary information from a study on the diel periodicity of visitations to male nest sites by female P. amboinensis. Information suggests that there is a strong periodicity in visitations. Females first entered the nest site at 03:20h, with 88% of the total of 4h 45min that females spent within a single nest occurring prior to dawn. Despite this, 81% of the total visitations to the nest occurred after dawn, with most being very brief, averaging 17s. No one female monopolized access to the nest, with nine females accounting for 90% of the time that females spent within the nest site. This methodology will be particularly useful in the study of activity rhythms, patch dynamics, and social interactions in a wide range of marine organisms.
... As a further step, a fine scale investigation of fish species movement, abundance and assemblages in these locations is necessary. Telemetry studies (McCutcheon et al., 1994) may provide useful information on movement behaviour leading to the determination of species-specific (or life-stage specific) functional connectivity and allow investigation into the ability of species to adjust the scale of their movements to the spatial configuration of their habitat (Pittman et al., 2004). Furthermore, empirical studies of isolated habitats may help to shed light on the extent to which larval dispersal and movement of individuals throughout their lives limit the distribution of organisms, e.g., how well can any single combination of size and spacing of protected areas serve all the target species? ...
Many commercially important fish species use coastal marine environments such as mangroves, tidal flats and seagrass beds as nurseries or breeding grounds. The ecological importance of spatially connected habitats to conservation is well established for terrestrial environments. However, few studies have applied spatial metrics, including measures of structural connectivity to marine environments. We examined the relationship between catch-per-unit- effort for commercially caught species and the spatial patterning of mapped benthic habitat types along the coast of Queensland, Australia in their dominant fisheries (trawl, line, net or pot fisheries). We quantified the composition and spatial configuration of seascapes and calculated coastline length, number of estuaries, river length and geographical latitude using 12 metrics within ninety 30-nautical-mile grid cells, which supported inshore fish catch data from 21 species groups. Multiple regression analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling plots indicated that ecological linkages may exist between geo-morphic coastal features and nearshore fisheries production for a number of species groups. Connectivity indices for mangroves, salt marsh and channels explained the largest proportion (30-70%), suggesting the importance of connected tidal wetlands for fisheries. Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) catch-per-unit-effort was best explained by the number of wetland patches, mangrove connectivity and wetland connectivity (r(2) = 0.38, n = 28). Catch-per-unit- effort for the Gulf of Carpentaria was highly correlated with wetland connectivity, the number of estuaries and seagrass patch density (r = 037, n = 29). The findings could guide the spatial design of marine protected area networks to maintain ecosystem services and avoid potential disruption to connectivity caused by habitat removal or modification. Application of the same approach to analyses of finer spatial scales would enable catch information to be related to particular estuarine habitats and provide better understanding of the importance of habitat connectivity for fisheries. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Lower Granite Dam is the last dam that federally‐protected Snake River salmonids Oncorhynchus spp. must ascend during their spawning migration. The dam has an adult fish ladder equipped with a trapping system to facilitate fisheries research and hatchery broodstock collection. There are three possible passage routes through the adult ladder: trapped, shunted, and free passage. During the adult trapping season, all fish must swim through 0.305‐meter shunt pipes outfitted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag arrays to select fish for trapping. Selected fish use the “trapped” route and are kept in a holding area for ≤ 20 h before being sampled and returned to the ladder. Unselected fish use the “shunted” route and immediately resume upstream migration after swimming through the pipes. When the trap is not in operation, the shunted route is inaccessible and all fish use the “free passage” route to ascend the ladder without additional impediment. In 2016, a temporary change in ladder operations permitted free passage for a portion of the trapping season. Our study used this rare opportunity to evaluate how different passage routes affect in‐ladder transit time and upstream homing success for five salmonid stocks: Sockeye Salmon, steelhead, and spring‐, summer‐, and fall‐run Chinook Salmon. In 2016, only Sockeye Salmon and spring‐ and summer‐run Chinook Salmon were given access to free passage and we found evidence that free passage increased subsequent detection at natal sites upstream. An expanded analysis of shunted versus trapped fish during the years 2012–2016 found no difference in rates of detection to home tributaries by route of passage for any of the five fish stocks examined. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Tributary overshoot occurs when adult salmonids homing to natal sites continue upstream past the mouth of their natal stream. While overshooting is a common behavior by steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Columbia River basin, it has not been adequately quantified or explained. Using multistate release‐recapture models, we examined the prevalence of overshooting and fallback to natal tributaries by 37,806 PIT‐tagged steelhead from 14 tributaries of the Columbia River basin in the years 2005–2015. Eight populations had overshooting rates exceeding 50% in at least one year. Source of hatchery stock, rearing location, and release practices were found to have appreciable effects on overshoot rates. Overshooting was elevated in hatchery stocks reared upstream of release sites, but this effect may be lessened by utilizing endemic broodstocks and acclimating juveniles within the release basin. For one population of hatchery steelhead, acclimation within the release basin was found to decrease overshooting from 81% to 40%. Across both hatchery and wild populations, successful homing was found to decline 4‐percentage points for every 5‐percentage point increase in overshoot rate. Average annual fallback probabilities ranged from 0.18 for Walla Walla hatchery steelhead to 0.75 for Umatilla wild steelhead. Fish stocks with the greatest fallback probabilities also had the greatest interannual variability in fallback rates. For John Day wild and Tucannan hatchery steelhead, the interannual range in fallback probabilities exceeded 0.50. We found evidence that spill at dams during the month of March may enhance the fallback of overshooting steelhead, and contribute to increased homing to natal tributaries. Therefore, additional attention should be paid to facilitating downstream dam passage of adult salmon.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
We evaluated an alternative to using hypodermic needles to implant passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in the body cavities of juvenile salmonids. We used surgical techniques to place PIT tags into the body cavities of 3,037 age-0 Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and then held fish under hatchery conditions for 9 months. Tag retention was 99.8% (six fish lost tags), and survival was 94.3% (174 fish died) after controlling for initial mortality (0.7%). A single tagger was able to tag 80–100 fish per hour. Surgically implanting PIT tags into the body cavities of age-0 Atlantic salmon proved to be a viable alternative to using hypodermic needles.
We used passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) to mark individual voles (Microtus ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus) and to monitor their activity in runways. We marked 893 voles with both PIT tags and ear tags between July and November 1993, and recaptured 818 of these. Over 95% (778) of recaptured voles retained an active PIT tag until their last capture, an average of 7 weeks after initial capture. One-half as many PIT tags (40) as ear tags (88) was lost. We monitored the activity of individual voles by placing circular antennae linked to PIT-tag readers across runways. Typically, three or four voles used the same runway during a 24-h period. Voles were most active near sunset and sunrise. We conclude that an automated system based on PIT tags can provide reliable, detailed information on the spatial pattern and timing of activity for individual voles.
Techniques; Marking techniques
Limnodynastes peronii; Litoria aurea; Ecological techniques; Capture
recapture studies; Tagging; Technique evaluation for capture recapture
studies; Passive integrated transponder tags
Supertaxa:
.Amphibia
..Lissamphibia
...Anura
....Hylidae
....Myobatrachidae
Systematics:
Litoria aurea (Hylidae)
Systematics:
Limnodynastes peronii (Myobatrachidae)
This paper describes a system based on a commercial portable energizer–reader module and antennas and a hand-held programmable calculator for reading large (4 × 23 mm and 4 × 32 mm) passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Maximum tag-reading distances in water were 45 cm for ferrite-core stick antennas and 86 cm for a loop (gate) antenna; these distances varied with the size of the tags and their orientation to the antennas. The tags, tested on wild brown trout Salmo trutta and wild rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, were either inserted into the peritoneal cavity with a hypodermic needle or attached externally at the base of the dorsal fin with a fish hook and monofilament line. The fish were held in artificial channels 1 m wide and 50 m long and in two 3–4 m-wide stream sections, one 70 m long and the other 90 m long. During a 5-week period we were routinely able to detect marked fish by (1) walking along the channels and stream sections probing the water with an antenna, and (2) by positioning antennas on the substrate of the channels and recording tags from undisturbed fish as they swam by. We did not conduct a formal study of the long-term suitability of either type of tag placement or of the overall efficiency in detecting marked fish.
We assessed upstream migration rates of more than 12,000 radio-tagged adult Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead O. mykiss past a series of dams and reservoirs on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Most fish passed each dam in less than 2 d. Migration behavior in reservoirs and through multiple dam–reservoir reaches varied within and between years and between species. Within years, spring–summer Chinook salmon migrated more rapidly as water temperature and date of migration increased; between years, spring–summer Chinook salmon migrated fastest in low-discharge years. Steelhead migrations slowed dramatically when summer water temperatures peaked within each year, then increased as rivers cooled in fall. Mean summer temperatures explained more between-year variation in steelhead passage rates than did differences in discharge. Fall Chinook salmon migration rates also slowed during periods of warm water. Protracted passage times within the hydrosystem were most likely for fish from all runs that fell back over and reascended dams and for steelhead that sought thermal refugia by straying temporarily into coldwater tributaries.
We evaluated an alternative to using hypodermic needles to implant passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in the body cavities of juvenile salmonids. We used surgical techniques to place PIT tags into the body cavities of 3,037 age-0 Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and then held fish under hatchery conditions for 9 months. Tag retention was 99.8% (six fish lost tags), and survival was 94.3% (174 fish died) after controlling for initial mortality (0.7%). A single tagger was able to tag 80–100 fish per hour. Surgically implanting PIT tags into the body cavities of age-0 Atlantic salmon proved to be a viable alternative to using hypodermic needles.
Since their first use in the mid-1980s, passive integrated transponder devices (PIT tags) have allowed innovative investigations
into numerous biological traits of animals. The tiny, coded markers injected into individual animals allow assessment of growth
rates, movement patterns, and survivorship for many species in a manner more reliable than traditional approaches of externally
marking animals for identification. PIT tags have also been used to confirm the identity of zoo animals, pets, and protected
species that have been illegally removed from the wild. New approaches with PIT tags herald advances in physiology and conservation
biology, as well as greater understanding of social interactions among individuals in a population. Despite their current
limitations, including high purchase cost, low detection distance, and potential tag loss in some circumstances, PIT tags
offer many opportunities to unravel animal mysteries that heretofore could not be addressed effectively.
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