Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
Abstract Background Although steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a culturally and recreational important species throughout North America, less is known about its ocean than its freshwater ecology. To provide insights into migratory routes and habitats occupied by steelhead in the North Pacific Ocean...
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BMC
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Animal Biotelemetry |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-025-00403-7 |
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| author | Michael B. Courtney Benjamin P. Gray Craig J. Schwanke Joseph R. Spencer Andrew C. Seitz |
| author_facet | Michael B. Courtney Benjamin P. Gray Craig J. Schwanke Joseph R. Spencer Andrew C. Seitz |
| author_sort | Michael B. Courtney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Although steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a culturally and recreational important species throughout North America, less is known about its ocean than its freshwater ecology. To provide insights into migratory routes and habitats occupied by steelhead in the North Pacific Ocean, we attached pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) to female steelhead kelts from three watersheds on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island, in southern southeast Alaska. Results PSATs successfully recorded extensive westward post-spawning migrations of nine female kelts across the Gulf of Alaska to areas near the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. From the months of June to October, tagged steelhead occasionally dived to 10–20 m, but spent approximately 90% of their time in surface waters (< 4.5 m). During this same time period, 90% of all tag-recorded temperatures were between 8.7 and 12.8°C. Conclusion These results corroborate past research on other North American steelhead populations, demonstrating that steelhead kelts predominantly occupy surface waters with sea-surface temperatures of 5–15 °C while transiting to and occupying purported feeding grounds in the western Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. Taken together, these results suggest that steelhead kelts originating from rivers throughout this species’ North American range occupy similar habitats in the North Pacific Ocean. While we only studied the ocean ecology of a limited number of steelhead kelts from southern Southeast Alaska, our results are pertinent for other populations throughout the northern west coast of North America, and provide better understanding of this species’ ocean ecology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-38d0bc164d104f88ae0e9b89de14cb51 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-3385 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Biotelemetry |
| spelling | doaj-art-38d0bc164d104f88ae0e9b89de14cb512025-08-20T02:15:06ZengBMCAnimal Biotelemetry2050-33852025-02-011311810.1186/s40317-025-00403-7Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, AlaskaMichael B. Courtney0Benjamin P. Gray1Craig J. Schwanke2Joseph R. Spencer3Andrew C. Seitz4College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska FairbanksAlaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial FisheriesAlaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport FishAlaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport FishCollege of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska FairbanksAbstract Background Although steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a culturally and recreational important species throughout North America, less is known about its ocean than its freshwater ecology. To provide insights into migratory routes and habitats occupied by steelhead in the North Pacific Ocean, we attached pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) to female steelhead kelts from three watersheds on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island, in southern southeast Alaska. Results PSATs successfully recorded extensive westward post-spawning migrations of nine female kelts across the Gulf of Alaska to areas near the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. From the months of June to October, tagged steelhead occasionally dived to 10–20 m, but spent approximately 90% of their time in surface waters (< 4.5 m). During this same time period, 90% of all tag-recorded temperatures were between 8.7 and 12.8°C. Conclusion These results corroborate past research on other North American steelhead populations, demonstrating that steelhead kelts predominantly occupy surface waters with sea-surface temperatures of 5–15 °C while transiting to and occupying purported feeding grounds in the western Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. Taken together, these results suggest that steelhead kelts originating from rivers throughout this species’ North American range occupy similar habitats in the North Pacific Ocean. While we only studied the ocean ecology of a limited number of steelhead kelts from southern Southeast Alaska, our results are pertinent for other populations throughout the northern west coast of North America, and provide better understanding of this species’ ocean ecology.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-025-00403-7Oncorhynchus mykissTelemetryMigrationBehaviorNorth Pacific Ocean |
| spellingShingle | Michael B. Courtney Benjamin P. Gray Craig J. Schwanke Joseph R. Spencer Andrew C. Seitz Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska Animal Biotelemetry Oncorhynchus mykiss Telemetry Migration Behavior North Pacific Ocean |
| title | Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska |
| title_full | Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska |
| title_fullStr | Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska |
| title_short | Insights into the ocean migration, behavior, and ecology of steelhead kelts from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska |
| title_sort | insights into the ocean migration behavior and ecology of steelhead kelts from prince of wales island alaska |
| topic | Oncorhynchus mykiss Telemetry Migration Behavior North Pacific Ocean |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-025-00403-7 |
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