habitatrequirementsforcoastalcohosalmonpopulations（6页）.docVIP

Habitat Requirements for Coastal Coho Salmon Populations General Life History Coho salmon are found in coastal streams throughout British Columbia. Mature adults return to their river of origin to spawn during the fall or early winter. Coho tend to stray from their home streams and spawn in other locations at a greater rate than other salmon species. This strategy helps protect against the loss of an entire stock due to some environmental catastrophe in the home stream and also extends the normal range of a stock into new and potentially more productive areas. Coho spawning habitat is very diverse ranging from large river systems to small headwater streams and in some cases even includes drainage ditches. The majority of coho mature in their third year of life. The exceptions to this pattern include males (referred to as jacks) that return to spawn in their second year of life after only a few months at sea and four year old coho that have spent an additional year rearing in either fresh or salt water. When fish reach the spawning grounds, the female selects a nest site and begins digging a pit referred to as a redd, where eggs will be deposited. The digging process removes sand, silt and fine gravel from the nest site creating a favourable environment for incubation of the eggs. Once the nest is complete, the female deposits the eggs which are fertilized by one or more males and then moves to the area immediately upstream of the nest and begins digging another pit. The material removed by this digging action covers the fertilized eggs to protect them from predation and from being washed away by the scouring action of the river or stream. This process may be repeated several times resulting in multiple nests containing eggs from one female. The length of time required for the eggs to incubate depends to a large extent on water temperature. In general, the lower the water temperature, the longer the incubation period required. Upon hatching, the