This text examines the ecology of the Pacific salmon

The Behavior and Ecology of Pacific Salmon and Trout explains the patterns of mate choice, the competition for nest sites, and the fate of the salmon after their death. It describes the lives of offspring during the months they spend incubating in gravel, growing in fresh water, and migrating out to sea to mature. This thorough, up-to-date survey should be on the shelf of everyone with a professional or personal interest in Pacific salmon and trout. Written in a technically accurate but engaging style, it will appeal to a wide range of readers, including students, anglers, biologists, conservationists, legislators, and armchair naturalists.

The symposium "Pacific Salmon and Their Ecosystems: Status and Future Options',' and this book resulted from initial efforts in 1992 by Robert J. Naiman and Deanna J. Stouder to examine the problem of declining Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). Our primary goal was to determine informational gaps. As we explored different scientific sources, state, provincial, and federal agencies, as well as non-profit and fishing organizations, we found that the information existed but was not being communicated across institutional and organizational boundaries. At this juncture, we decided to create a steering committee and plan a symposium to bring together researchers, managers, and resource users. The steering committee consisted of members from state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry (see Acknowledgments for names and affiliations). In February 1993, we met at the University of Washington in Seattle to begin planning the symposium. The steering committee spent the next four months developing the conceptual framework for the symposium and the subsequent book. Our objectives were to accomplish the following: (1) assess changes in anadromous Pacific Northwest salmonid populations, (2) examine factors responsible for those changes, and (3) identify options available to society to restore Pacific salmon in the Northwest. The symposium on Pacific Salmon was held in Seattle, Washington, January 10-12, 1994. Four hundred and thirty-five people listened to oral presentations and examined more than forty posters over two and a half days. We made a deliberate attempt to draw in speakers and attendees from outside the Pacific Northwest.

Explores the complex web of interactions between the salmon of the Pacific Northwest and the surrounding ecosystem, including its relationship with streambeds, treetops, sea urchins, bears, orcas, rain forests, kelp forests and so much more, in a book with 70 full-color photos.

Canada's Wild Salmon Policy (WSP) was released in June 2005 with a goal to restore and maintain healthy and diverse salmon populations and their habitats. Strategy 3, Action Step 3.1 aims to include ecosystem values in decision-making by proposing "ecosystem indicators" to monitor the status of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. The scientific basis for proposing ecosystem indicators within the WSP recognizes that Pacific salmon play an important role in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, including streams, lakes, riparian forest and wildlife food webs. Managers influence these ecosystems by considering changes in fisheries regulations (i.e., harvest levels) and artifical enhancement (e.g., hatcheries). This work serves three functions: (1) provide a first attempt at developing ecosystem indicators for Strategy 3 of the Wild Salmon Policy; (2) recommend further development and refinement of ecosystem indicators; and (3) suggest next steps.

Pacific salmon are an important biological and economic resource of countries of the North Pacific rim. They are also a unique group of fish possessing unusually complex life histories. There are seven species of Pacific salmon, five occurring on both the North American and Asian continents (sockeye, pink, chum, chinook, and coho) and two (masu and amago) only in Asia. The life cycle of the Pacific salmon begins in the autumn when the adult female deposits eggs that are fertilized in gravel beds in rivers or lakes. The young emerge from the gravel the following spring and will either migrate immediately to salt water or spend one or more years in a river or lake before migrating. Migrations in the ocean are extensive during the feeding and growing phase, covering thousands of kilometres. After one or more years the maturing adults find their way back to their home river, returning to their ancestral breeding grounds to spawn. They die after spawning and the eggs in the gravel signify a new cycle. Upon this theme Pacific salmon have developed many variations, both between as well as within species. Pacific Salmon Life Histories provides detailed descriptions of the different life phases through which each of the seven species passes. Each chapter is written by a scientist who has spent years studying and observing a particular species of salmon. Some of the topics covered are geographic distribution, transplants, freshwater life, ocean life, development, growth, feeding, diet, migration, and spawning behaviour. The text is richly supplemented by numerous maps, illustrations, colour plates, and tables and there is a detailed general index, as well as a useful geographical index.