Alaska Project
Juvenile salmon growth and heat stress
May 2023 - September 2025
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- Science Support Program
The goal of this project is to understand how juvenile salmon growth in freshwater habitats is influenced by water temperatures and thermal stress. The sample collection for this project is on Chinook and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and O. kisutch, respectively) in and around the Deshka River, a culturally, ecologically, and economically important salmon fishery in south-central Alaska. This research will be the thesis project for a Masters student in Fisheries at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. We will estimate recent growth from juvenile salmon otoliths and feeding success from stomach fullness for analysis with existing water temperature and thermal stress data. Results are expected to be broadly applicable to the Deshka River and also to salmon management throughout the state. Project results will inform key land and fisheries management decisions.
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Hermus, J.H., J.D. Muehlbauer, D.J. Rinella, V.R. von Biela, J.A. Falke. 2023. The effects of water temperature and heat stress on juvenile Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch growth in the Deshka River watershed. Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium, Palmer, Alaska, 13-14 November 2023. | November 2023 |
| Hermus, J.H., J.D. Muehlbauer, D.J. Rinella, V.R. von Biela and J.A. Falke. 2024. The effects of water temperature and heat stress on juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) growth in the Deshka River watershed. Alaska Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Seward, Alaska, 25-29 March 2024. | March 2024 |