Because of the pervasive and substantial decline of Atlantic salmon populations in Maine over the past 150 years, and because they are close to extinction, a comprehensive statewide action should be taken now to ensure their survival. The populations of Atlantic salmon have declined drastically, from an estimated half million adult salmon returning to U.S. rivers each year in the early 1800s to perhaps as few as 1,000 in 2001. The report recommends implementing a formalized decision-making approach to establish priorities, evaluate options and coordinate plans for conserving and restoring the salmon.
The Atlantic salmon is one of the most prized and exploited species worldwide, being at the centre of a massive sports fishing industry and increasingly as the major farmed species in many countries worldwide. Atlantic Salmon Ecology is a landmark publication, both scientifically important and visually attractive. Comprehensively covering all major aspects of the relationship of the Atlantic salmon with its environment, chapters include details of migration and dispersal, reproduction, habitat requirements, feeding, growth rates, competition, predation, parasitsm, population dynamics, effects of landscape use, hydro power development, climate change, and exploitation. The book closes with a summary and look at possible future research directions. Backed by the Norwegian Research Council and with editors and contributors widely known and respected, Atlantic Salmon Ecology is an essential purchase for all those working with this species, including fisheries scientists and managers, fish biologists, ecologists, physiologists, environmental biologists and aquatic scientists, fish and wildlife department personnel and regulatory bodies. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught should have copies of this important publication. Comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of Atlantic Salmon Atlantic Salmon is one of the world's most commercially important species Backed by the Norwegian Research Council Experienced editor and internationally respected contributors
Destruction of habitat is the major cause for loss of biodiversity including variation in life history and habitat ecology. Each species and population adapts to its environment, adaptations visible in morphology, ecology, behaviour, physiology and genetics. Here, the authors present the population ecology of Atlantic salmon and brown trout and how it is influenced by the environment in terms of growth, migration, spawning and recruitment. Salmonids appeared as freshwater fish some 50 million years ago. Atlantic salmon and brown trout evolved in the Atlantic basin, Atlantic salmon in North America and Europe, brown trout in Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. The species live in small streams as well as large rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal seas and oceans, with brown trout better adapted to small streams and less well adapted to feeding in the ocean than Atlantic salmon. Smolt and adult sizes and longevity are constrained by habitat conditions of populations spawning in small streams. Feeding, wintering and spawning opportunities influence migratory versus resident lifestyles, while the growth rate influences egg size and number, age at maturity, reproductive success and longevity. Further, early experiences influence later performance. For instance, juvenile behaviour influences adult homing, competition for spawning habitat, partner finding and predator avoidance. The abundance of wild Atlantic salmon populations has declined in recent years; climate change and escaped farmed salmon are major threats. The climate influences through changes in temperature and flow, while escaped farmed salmon do so through ecological competition, interbreeding and the spreading of contagious diseases. The authors pinpoint essential problems and offer suggestions as to how they can be reduced. In this context, population enhancement, habitat restoration and management are also discussed. The text closes with a presentation of what the authors view as major scientific challenges in ecological research on these species.
Topics: 1) Physical and biological factors affecting ocean production of Pacific salmon; 2) Detection of trends, patterns, and changes in historical salmon and environmental data; 3) Forecasts and models of Pacific salmon dynamics; 4) New research methods and techniques in ocean salmon research.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are responsible for protecting species that are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and for protecting habitats that are critical for their survival. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for registering or reregistering pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and must ensure that pesticide use does not cause any unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, which is interpreted to include listed species and their critical habitats. The agencies have developed their own approaches to evaluating environmental risk, and their approaches differ because their legal mandates, responsibilities, institutional cultures, and expertise differ. Over the years, the agencies have tried to resolve their differences but have been unsuccessful in reaching a consensus regarding their assessment approaches. As a result, FWS, NMFS, EPA, and the US Department of Agriculture asked the National Research Council (NRC) to examine scientific and technical issues related to determining risks posed to listed species by pesticides. Specifically, the NRC was asked to evaluate methods for identifying the best scientific data available; to evaluate approaches for developing modeling assumptions; to identify authoritative geospatial information that might be used in risk assessments; to review approaches for characterizing sublethal, indirect, and cumulative effects; to assess the scientific information available for estimating effects of mixtures and inert ingredients; and to consider the use of uncertainty factors to account for gaps in data. Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides, which was prepared by the NRC Committee on Ecological Risk Assessment under FIFRA and ESA, is the response to that request.
This work gives a critical overview on the evolution and population biology of salmon and their relatives. It should appeal to investigators in each of the scientific disciplines it integrates - evolutionary biology, ecology, salmonid biology, management and conservation. Variation in salmonids can be used to illustrate virtually all evolution.
Among the fishes, a remarkably wide range of biological adaptations to diverse habitats has evolved. As well as living in the conventional habitats of lakes, ponds, rivers, rock pools and the open sea, fish have solved the problems of life in deserts, in the deep sea, in the cold antarctic, and in warm waters of high alkalinity or of low oxygen. Along with these adaptations, we find the most impressive specializations of morphology, physiology and behaviour. For example we can marvel at the high-speed swimming of the marlins, sailfish and warm-blooded tunas, air-breathing in catfish and lungfish, parental care in the mouth-brooding cichlids, and viviparity in many sharks and toothcarps. Moreover, fish are of considerable importance to the survival of the human species in the form of nutritious, delicious and diverse food. Rational exploitation and management of our global stocks of fishes must rely upon a detailed and precise insight of their biology. The Chapman & Hall Fish and Fisheries Series aims to present timely volumes reviewing important aspects of fish biology. Most volumes will be of interest to research workers in biology, zoology, ecology and physiology but an additional aim is for the books to be accessible to a wide spectrum of non-specialist readers ranging from undergraduates and postgraduates to those with an interest in industrial and commercial aspects of fish and fisheries.
