An Evaluation of Fish Passage Through Small Urban Streams in Central Washington
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Room 137B
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Coho salmon, Urban streams, Reintroduction
Abstract
A study was conducted to assess fish passage through culverts and buried sections of two urban streams in Ellensburg, Washington. Both streams, Mercer Creek and Wilson Creek, had historically supported anadromous populations of steelhead and coho salmon, but both are now locally extirpated. In July 2012, 6024 PIT tagged juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were released at four different sites in the two streams. Release sites were located upstream and downstream of the majority of covered sections in each stream. Several sites were sampled throughout the city in 2012-13 using a backpack electrofisher and a mobile PIT tag antenna to determine if upstream or downstream movement that had occurred. Results showed that both upstream and downstream movement occurred, with some fish being detected at dams on the mainstem Columbia River. While some of the released fish successfully out-migrated past several culverts, sampling efforts revealed that some sections within the city were impassable and may pose problems for reintroduction efforts. More research is needed to determine the condition of the impassable stream channels that are buried beneath the city.
Recommended Citation
Martin, Kelsey; Green, Ethan; and Herdmann, Jennifer, "An Evaluation of Fish Passage Through Small Urban Streams in Central Washington" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 122.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/oralpresentations/122
Additional Mentoring Department
Biological Sciences
An Evaluation of Fish Passage Through Small Urban Streams in Central Washington
SURC Room 137B
A study was conducted to assess fish passage through culverts and buried sections of two urban streams in Ellensburg, Washington. Both streams, Mercer Creek and Wilson Creek, had historically supported anadromous populations of steelhead and coho salmon, but both are now locally extirpated. In July 2012, 6024 PIT tagged juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were released at four different sites in the two streams. Release sites were located upstream and downstream of the majority of covered sections in each stream. Several sites were sampled throughout the city in 2012-13 using a backpack electrofisher and a mobile PIT tag antenna to determine if upstream or downstream movement that had occurred. Results showed that both upstream and downstream movement occurred, with some fish being detected at dams on the mainstem Columbia River. While some of the released fish successfully out-migrated past several culverts, sampling efforts revealed that some sections within the city were impassable and may pose problems for reintroduction efforts. More research is needed to determine the condition of the impassable stream channels that are buried beneath the city.
Faculty Mentor(s)
James, Paul