sarah mccarthy, julann spromberg, john … poster 2007.pdfsarah mccarthy, julann spromberg, john...

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Acknowledgments NOAA Fisheries/NWFSC: Seattle Public Utlities: US Fish & Wildlife Service: Bernie Anulacion Lyndal Johnson Jose Agudelo Taryn Sass Paul Arnold Jennifer Quan David Baldwin Cathy Laetz A. Anand Prokop Sheryl Shapiro Tamara Black Cindy Schexnider Todd Bennett Kathi Lefevbre Shanti Colwell Shannon Smith Lou Ellen Jones Emily Teachout Jon Buzitis Tiffany Linbo Julie Hall Joe Starstead Judy Lantor Dave Zajac Cliff Church Sarah Morley Mike Cooksey Ellen Stewart Mary Mahaffy Sally Butts Jamie Colman O. Paul Olson Melissa Martin Clarke Thurmon Brian Missildine Heather Day Karen Peck-Miller Scott Olmstead Jean White Ginger Phalen Barb French Sean Sol Scott Reese Ryean-Marie Woods Taylor Pittman Andy Hall Frank Sommers Michael Hinson Kevin McCracken Karrie Hanson Carla Stehr Louise Kulzer Beth Schmoyer Laurie Hopkins Gladys Yanagida Whitney Blanchard Dan Orr Thanks also to: Funding support: Stillaguamish Tribe City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities Washington Trout NOAA Coastal Storms Program WA Department of Fish and Wildlife NOAA Coastal Services Center Univ. of Washington (E. Gallagher, D. Rose) USFWS Environmental Contaminants Program Environment Canada (M. Sekela, S. Brown) NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative Friends of the Hylebos Wetlands (C. Carrel) City of Federal Way (P. Bucich) City of Bellevue (K. Paulsen) Taylor Associates, Inc US Geological Survey (J. Ebbert, Sandra Embrey) King County (D. Wilson, L. Reinelt, F. Grothkopp, D. Funke, D. Smith) King Conservation District Many watershed restoration projects focus on streams running through urban areas that have barriers to fish passage or unsuitable physical habitat for spawning salmonids. Beginning in the late 1990’s, agencies in the greater Seattle area began conducting salmonid spawner surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of local stream restoration efforts. These surveys detected a surprisingly high rate of mortality among migratory coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) females that were in good physical condition but had not yet spawned. In addition, adult coho from several urban streams showed a similar progression of symptoms (disorientation, lethargy, loss of equilibrium, gaping, fin splaying) that rapidly led to death of the affected animals. In recent years, pre-spawn mortality (PSM) has been observed in many lowland urban streams, with overall rates ranging from ~25-90% of the fall runs. Although the precise cause of PSM in urban streams is unknown, conventional water quality parameters (i.e., temperature and dissolved oxygen) and disease do not appear to be causal. Rather, the weight of evidence suggests that adult coho, which enter small urban streams following fall storm events, are acutely sensitive to non-point source stormwater runoff containing pollutants that typically originate from urban and residential land use activities. These findings have important evolutionary implications for salmonid restoration and conservation efforts in urban and urbanizing watersheds. IMPACTS OF STORMWATER RUNOFF ON COHO SALMON IN RESTORED URBAN STREAMS Sarah McCarthy, Julann Spromberg, John Incardona, Blake Feist, Jenifer McIntyre, Jana Labenia, Mark Myers, Linda Rhodes, Gina Ylitalo, Tracy Collier, and Nathaniel Scholz NOAA Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Fish Health Program, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E, Seattle, WA 98112 Laura Reed and Katherine Lynch Seattle Public Utilities, 700 5 th Ave. Suite 4900, Seattle, WA 98124-4018 Jay Davis US Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Dr. SE Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503 These research findings should be considered preliminary as they have not been scientifically peer-reviewed. Coho salmon pre-spawn mortality in Longfellow Creek, WA. This female had ~100% egg retention. Our ongoing objective is to discover the cause(s) and geographical extent of acute coho salmon die-offs in Puget Sound streams. Stream Surveys and Forensic Analyses Daily stream surveys were conducted during fall 2002-05 to determine presence or absence of symptomatic fish (gaping, loss of equilibrium, fins splayed, spasming) and pre-spawn mortalities. For each affected fish, we recorded the location, species, gender, fork length, weight (with and without gonads), presence or absence of adipose fin, spawning condition, and percent egg retention in females. We collected tissue (brain, blood, gills, bile from live symptomatic fish, liver, pyloric caeca, intestine, heart, kidney) from symptomatic males and females and freshly dead females. Samples were screened for evidence of disease, vitamin deficiency, pesticide exposure, and hydrocarbon exposure. Pre-spawn mortality rates in Seattle-area urban streams ranged from ~25-90% of female coho returning to spawn between 2002-05, while <1% of females in a forested reference stream died prior to spawning. Symptoms included disorientation, gaping, lethargy, splayed fins, and loss of equilibrium. Water quality parameters (i.e. temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc.) were within a reasonable range for salmonid survival. Although prevalences of certain pathogens and tissue lesions were higher at urban sites, these conditions were not consistently found, and the low severity of these lesions or infections suggests that they are unlikely to be causally related to PSM. Basic coho models incorporating PSM demonstrate the potential for rapid loss of localized populations in urban streams from non-point and stormwater sources. Other evolutionary implications of PSM include selection for coho that return to spawn later in the season, and therefore the potential for interspecific competition between coho and other species that also spawn later (i.e. chum). Based on our spatial analyses of land cover in the associated catchments of six different streams, we have concluded that there is a strong correlation (R 2 ~ 0.93) between the total area of non-local roads and coho PSM rates. Embryos exposed to unfiltered stream water had higher rates of developmental defects and mortality than embryos exposed to filtered stream water. Subsequent yearly surveys in Longfellow Creek (02-05) revealed a significant relationship between the timing and intensity of precipitation events and PSM (R 2 = 0.94). At this time, we do not know the precise cause(s) of coho pre-spawn mortality. Potential Causes for Pre-Spawn Mortality High temperature/Low dissolved oxygen Hydrocarbon exposure Pathology and pathogens Vitamin deficiency Stress and poor condition Pesticide exposure Other/combination of factors? To investigate the effects of urban stormwater runoff on coho embryos, we constructed a constant-flow bypass system allowing the incubation of embryos in untreated stream water and water filtered using sand, activated charcoal, and UV light. Embryos exposed to untreated stream water had consistently higher rates of developmental defects and mortality when compared to embryos raised in filtered water (Fig 8). Population models were modified to incorporate effects of embryonic mortality. Coho populations were estimated to go extinct within an average of 32 years when both adult and embryonic mortality ranged between 0 - 65%. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE METHODS METHODS CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS PRECIPITATION / CLIMATE PRECIPITATION / CLIMATE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT A high percentage of embryos with vascular defects in the brain were observed in the unfiltered water at the point where mortality ensued. Surviving alevins at later stages were significantly smaller or developmentally delayed. Figure 8. Whitlock-Vibert boxes containing about 150 embryos each were subsampled weekly from each shed. Data represents the percentage of viable embryos from each time-point (N at top of each bar). No differences were observed during early developmental stages, but mortality dramatically increased in the unfiltered water during the eyed stages after 35 days post-fertilization (35 dpf). There were no differences in temperature or dissolved oxygen between filtered and unfiltered water. Figure 10. Pre- and post-spawn mortality among adult female coho salmon returning to spawn in Longfellow Creek, Seattle, Fall 2002. Peaks in flow that did not correspond with storm events were related to tidal influence. Pathology/ Pathogens We assessed for prevalences of tissue lesions of both noninfectious and infectious etiology by histopathology, and for pathogen infection prevalences with species- specific PCR. Certain lesions and pathogens were detected (Tables 3 and 4); however, the impacts of these lesions and pathogens on the metabolic or physiological condition of spawning fish are currently unknown. Vitamin Deficiency We examined thiamine levels in the eggs, liver, and muscle of female coho salmon, but found no significant difference between symptomatic fish in Longfellow Ck and non-symptomatic fish in Fortson Ck or Issaquah hatchery. We tested acetylcholinesterase activity in coho brain and muscle and found no significant reduction in AChE activity between reference and urban streams, indicating low exposure to AChE-inhibiting pesticides. Pesticide Exposure Preliminary bile analyses for phenanthrene equivalents and benzo(a)pyrene equivalents indicate higher hydrocarbon exposure in Longfellow Creek than in Elliott Bay; and higher exposure in Elliott Bay than in Fortson Creek (Table 2). Hydrocarbon exposure Temperature/ Dissolved O2 We compared fish condition (Fulton’s Condition Factor) among sample streams and hatcheries (Fig 4). No consistent differences were seen among sites and years or between pre- and post-spawn mortalities. Poor “Condition” Stream temperatures in Longfellow Creek during fall 2003 averaged 9°C (range: 3- 17°C) and dissolved oxygen averaged 8.1 mg/L (range: 5.4- 12.7 mg/L). These values fell within the ranges of tolerable temperature and dissolved oxygen levels for salmonids. Population Modeling Models of established coho populations were constructed to simulate constant and fluctuating levels of PSM that may reflect changes in land use, runoff management or rain events. Supplementation models estimated how many hatchery juveniles may be needed after completing habitat restoration projects to counter ongoing levels of pre-spawn mortality and maintain a designated number of returning adults. All models were constructed with literature data from Puget Sound populations of coho salmon. Models were based upon a 3 year life history graph (Fig 1), with reproduction occurring at age 3. Models were run for 200 years to assess changes in adult abundance and time to extinction. Initial conditions simulated a stream supporting a population of 300 adults with a stable age distribution. Control conditions exhibited an intrinsic population growth rate of 1.03 (Fig 2). The primary PSM scenarios included: a constant level of PSM each year; variable PSM annually selected from a range with a uniform distribution; and gradually increasing levels of prespawn mortality over time. Supplementation models assessed the number of hatchery smolts needed to compensate for constant PSM losses and maintain 300 adults. 1 2 3 reproduction survival survival PSM 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 0 50 100 150 200 year Figure 2. Examples of model runs with variable vital rates under control conditions. Figure 1. Life history graph and age structured transition matrix for coho salmon. Pink represents reproductive contribution and green represents survival rates. Table 5. Percent of runs extinct, and mean and minimum time to extinction under constant PSM, annually varying PSM and gradually increasing PSM. Figure 9. Spawner abundance and extinction time for models incorporating both PSM and embryo mortality. Each impact varied annually between 0 and 65%. Constant levels of PSM above 60% caused a very rapid population decline (Fig 5, Table 5), when vital rates varied within their normal distributions. Gradually increasing the levels of PSM allowed the populations to persist longer than in the constant impact scenarios. The rapid increase to 80% prespawn mortality resulted in extinction at 27 years and the slow increase to 35% prespawn mortality model was extinct in 64 years (Table 5). Varying PSM within a range between 0 and 20% resulted in 75% of the 500 runs conducted ending in local extinction, on average at 154 years (Table 5). Allowing PSM to range from 0 to 90% resulted in 100% local extinction at an average time of 32 years (Table 5). The restoration models provided an estimate of the number of year old juveniles that would need to be released to provide 300 spawners, after the effects of PSM had been incorporated. An area estimated to have 30% PSM would need approximately 30% of the smolt needed to establish the population planted each year to maintain the target spawning population abundance (Fig 6). FORENSIC RESULTS FORENSIC RESULTS Pre-spawn (top) vs. post-spawn mortality female coho Figure 6. Number of hatchery smolts needed to compensate for 30% PSM and maintain 300 spawners. 0 5 10 4 1 10 5 1.5 10 5 2 10 5 2.5 10 5 3 10 5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 5 10 15 20 Hatchery Smolt Adults Returning Spawners year hatchery smolt Adults returning Spawner abundance 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 50 100 150 200 year 0-65% PSM and 0-65%Embryo Mortality 100% Extinction average time 32 years Spawner abundance Dead and symptomatic females (pre-spawn) Dead females (spawned out) n = 64 n = 8 Oct Nov Dec 0 5 10 0 5 10 0 5 10 0 Daily rainfall in the Longfellow watershed (inches) 0.5 1.0 1.5 Flow in Longfellow Creek (cfs) * * * = no sampling (high flows) Figure 4. Fulton’s condition factor (K=(weight/length3)*10)) for female pre- and post- spawn mortalities in Longfellow Ck (LF), Des Moines Ck (DM), Fortson Ck (FT), and University of Washington (UW) and Stillaguamish (ST) hatcheries. Ovaries were removed from all fish prior to weighing. Error bars represent standard error. 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 UW 2002 FT 2002 ST 2002 LF 2003 LF 2004 DM 2004 LF 2005 Site Fulton's Condition Factor (K) Pre-spawn mortality Post-spawn mortality Hatchery Condition Factor 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 50 100 150 200 year 0-65% PSM 100% Extinction average time 59 years Figure 5. Examples of model runs with variable vital rates over 200 years under variable PSM conditions. Spawner abundance 0.9% 54.7% 85.7% 71.2% 23.8% 63.3% STUDY SITES STUDY SITES Table 3. Prevalence of infection with indicated pathogen by sampling site and year. Number of fish examined is in parentheses. N.D. indicates assay was not performed. C. shasta P. minibicornis L. salmonae T. bryosalmonae N. salmincola R. salmoninarum posterior kidney gill gill kidney kidney kidney Wallace River Hatchery, 2003 0.0 (20) 95.0 (20) 100 (20) 5.0 (20) 40.0 (20) 0.0 (20) 30.0 (20) Issaquah Hatchery, 2003 4.2 (24) 87.5 (24) 79.2 (24) 4.2 (24) 0.0 (24) 0.0 (24) 33.3 (24) Duwamish River, 2003 18.5 (27) 100 (27) 7.4 (27) 14.8 (27) 7.4 (27) 48.1 (27) 22.2 (27) Longfellow Creek, 2003 0.0 (14) 100 (14) 50.0 (14) 85.7 (14) 14.3 (14) 35.7 (14) 35.7 (14) Longfellow Creek, 2004 N.D. 0.0 (7) 0.0 (8) 0.0 (8) 0.0 (7) N.D. 85.7 (7) Des Moines Creek, 2004 N.D. 0.0 (14) 0.0 (22) 4.5 (22) 0.0 (14) N.D. (14) 100 (14) Table 4. Preliminary histopathology results for lesions/pathogens potentially associated with coho pre-spawn mortality, 2003-04. Longfellow Creek Des Moines Creek Elliott Bay Issaquah Hatchery Wallace R. Hatchery GILL n=21 n=22 n=27 n=24 n=19 Loma salmonis (microsporidan) 24% 9% 7% 13% 5% HEART n=21 n=22 n=26 n=24 n=20 Loma salmonis 19% 5% 0% 13% 10% ANY ORGAN n=21 n=22 n=27 n=24 n=20 Loma salmonis 29% (but 46% in 2003, 0% in 2004) 9% 9% 17% 10% TRUNK KIDNEY n=21 n=21 n=27 n=23 n=20 Nanophyetus salmincola (digenetic trematode, metacercaria) 10% 19% 19% 0% 0% Tubular protein casts, nephrosis 5% 52% 0% 4% 0% LIVER n=20 n=22 n=27 n=21 n=18 Hydropic degen. hepatocellular coagulative necrosis 25%** 36%* ** 0% 19% 17% Hepatocellular megalocytosis, nuclear *=indicates significantly higher prevalence than at the combined sites of Elliott Bay, Wallace River, and Issaquah Creek hatcheries, by the Fisher's Exact Test **=indicates significantly higher prevalence at the combined sites of Longfellow Creek and Des Moines Creek than at the combined sites of Elliott Bay, Wallace River, and Issaquah Creek hatcheries, by the Fisher's Exact Test Other stressors/ combination of factors Equivalents of fluorescent aromatic compounds Equivalents of fluorescent aromatic compound (ng/g bile, wet weight) (ng/mg protein) Collection number of PHN BaP PHN BaP year Collection site bile samples (n) Protein1 equivalents2 equivalents3 equivalents2 equivalents3 2002 Fortson Creek 11 29 ± 7.0 390,000 ± 100,000 380 ± 130 1,700 ± 410 12 ± 2.7 Longfellow Creek 6 81 ± 8.9 1,800,000 ± 310,000 23,000 ± 3,900 24,000 ± 5,200 310 ± 68 p value4 0.0009 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 2003 Elliott Bay (a) 12 9.5 ± 0.78 100,000 ± 42,000 2,700 ± 1,000 12,000 ± 5,200 320 ± 130 Wallace River hatchery (b) 13 36 ± 6.1 120,000 ± 20,000 1,800 ± 270 4,500 ± 970 70 ± 16 Longfellow Creek (c) 5 21 ± 3.9 960,000 ± 200,000 20,000 ± 4,600 50,000 ± 13,000 1,000 ± 240 p value4 < 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0021 0.0005 Tukey-Kramer HSD results a,b; a,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c 2004 Des Moines Creek 8 63 ± 9.8 390,000 ± 100,000 6,300 ± 1,500 6.200 ± 1,500 100 ± 25 Longfellow Creek 2 48 ± 18 420,000 ± 130,000 7,900 ± 2,500 9,400 ± 2,300 200 ± 150 p value4 0.4210 0.6222 0.5175 0.3823 0.3154 1Reported as mg protein/mL bile 2Concentrations in part per billion (ng/g) based on total area compared to the fluorescence of phenanthrene standard at 260/380 nm wavelengths 3Concentrations in part per billion (ng/g) based on total area compared to the fluorescence of benzo[a]pyrene standard at 380/430 nm wavelengths 4Significant differences (ANOVA, p < 0.05) in concentrations of PAC metabolites and protein values based on site are shown in bold. Table 2. Concentrations of metabolites of polycyclic aromatic compounds measured in bile of returning coho salmon. 2003 N=18 2005 N=75 2002 N=57 2004 N=9 R 2 = 0.94 0 5 10 15 20 65 70 75 80 85 90 % PSM Total rainfall (inches) Figure 11. Percent pre-spawn mortality versus cumulative rainfall at Longfellow Creek (2002-05). Precipitation was measured one week before the first coho entered the stream to the last day a coho salmon was observed in the stream. Precipitation vs. PSM ABUNDANCE MODELS ABUNDANCE MODELS LAND USE ANALYSES LAND USE ANALYSES Land Use Analyses Is there something about the associated watersheds that is correlated with coho PSM events? We defined the area of influence for each index reach as the total area draining into that index reach, which we defined as the catchment. We overlaid the corresponding catchment boundary of the 6 sites with each of the geospatial “habitat” datalayers (Table 1) using ESRI ArcGIS software. We characterized each habitat class/sub-class in the catchment as the fraction of total area of the catchment for each variable. We then ran linear regressions between each of the geospatial datalayer classes/sub-classes in order to quantify the influence of that variable on PSM rates. Roads and Streets Land Use and Land Cover Potential Predictor Variable Adj. R2 P value UW Rapid Land Cover Classification (1998 LANDSAT) Forested 0.755 0.015 Mixed Deciduous 0.859 0.005 "Total Forested" 0.766 0.014 % Non-Local 0.903 0.002 % Minor 0.889 0.003 % Surface 0.769 0.014 % Freeway 0.616 0.040 % Non FC0 0.929 0.001 % FC14 0.929 0.001 % Road Surface 0.646 0.034 PSRC FC16 0.925 0.001 PSRC FC14 0.665 0.030 PSRC Total VMT 0.586 0.047 WSDOT FC14 0.861 0.005 WSDOT FC16 0.820 0.008 WSDOT Total VMT 0.673 0.028 WSDOT Non-FC0 0.625 0.038 Washington State Department of Transportation Mean Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled UW Prism Classification (2002 LANDSAT) King County Street Network Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) PSRC Modeled Average Week Day Traffic Predictive Model of Pre-spawn Mortality Table 6. Preliminary GIS analyses using land use/land cover data indicate a strong relationship between impervious surfaces and pre-spawn mortality. Figure 7. Predictions of female coho salmon pre-spawn mortality based on relationships between study streams and land use. Areas with higher densities of non-local roads were predicted to have higher rates of pre-spawn mortality. Figure 3. Overview of land use model, which overlays GIS Population datalayers with PSM data to predict which land uses will be most highly correlated with PSM. After a dry period in the early fall of 2002, adult coho began returning with the first major rains in early November. All of the females returning to the stream in the first few days died before spawning. Successful spawners were only observed after several significant rain events. The overall rate of female PSM for 2002 was ~90%, and appeared to be linked to the periodicity of rainfall (Fig 10). We also measured rainfall at Longfellow Creek between 2002-05, which revealed strong correlations between PSM rates and cumulative rainfall (Fig 11). PSM was higher in the years with less rainfall and lower in the wetter years. PSM in Longfellow Creek, 2002 There were many habitat variables that had high R 2 values from the regression analyses. Therefore, we only screened those variables that had an associated p-value of 0.05 or less. There were 17 variables that met our criteria for significance (Table 6) from an initial pool of 46. Most of these variables were different measures of road type and area. We concluded that the total area of non- local (arterials, highways, interstates, etc.) as measured by the PSRC data source was the best choice for building a predictive spatially explicit model. To build the predictive model, we applied the equation form the linear regression for the PSRC non-local roads variable to each polygon in an existing sub-watershed hydrologic unit map. This gave us a predictive map (Figure 7) of pre-spawn Pre-spawn Mortality Data Analyze GIS (Habitat) Datalayers Overlay GIS Datalayers with Population Data Statistical Analysis Predictive Model of Pre-spawn Mortality Table 1. Summary of types of geospatial datalayers that were used in the spatial analysis. Model Overview Land Use and Land Cover University of Washington Rapid Land Cover Classification (from 1998 LANDSAT imagery) University of Washington Prism Classification (from 2002 LANDSAT imagery) King County Impervious/Impacted Surfaces King County Parcels - Property Type Roads Surface Area (estimated) King County Street Network Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Traffic Intensity PSRC Modeled Average Week Day Traffic Washington State Dept of Transportation Mean Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled mortality rates for the central eastern Puget Sound drainage area. Not surprisingly, the highest pre- spawn mortality rates are clustered around the major metropolitan areas of eastern Puget Sound. In addition, there are large areas in the basin that are expected to experience 35 – 100% pre-spawn mortality rates. Gradual Increase 46 64 (6.5) 100 35% over 35 y 24 27 (1.2) 100 80% over 20 y 12 14 (1.4) 100 70-90 15 28 (5.2) 100 0-90 30 44 (5.8) 100 20-50 78 154(26.8) 79 0-20 Uniform distribution 9 9 (0.5) 100 95 10 12 (0.3) 100 90 12 13 (1.2) 100 85 12 15 (0.6) 100 80 14 16 (1.3) 100 75 15 18 (1.3) 100 70 17 20 (1.6) 100 65 18 23 (1.8) 100 60 20 25 (2.3) 100 55 23 29 (2.7) 100 50 26 33 (3.2) 100 45 29 38 (3.9) 100 40 31 44 (5.4) 100 35 40 53 (6.7) 100 30 40 66 (10.0) 100 25 47 84 (14.7) 100 20 73 116 (21.6) 99.8 15 99 155 (23.7) 79 10 130 176 (20.5) 7 5 NA NA 0 0 Constant Minimum Time to Extinction Time to Extinction (Std Dev) % of Runs Extinct within 200 y % PSM

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Page 1: Sarah McCarthy, Julann Spromberg, John … Poster 2007.pdfSarah McCarthy, Julann Spromberg, John Incardona, Blake Feist, Jenifer McIntyre, Jana Labenia, Mark Myers, Linda Rhodes, Gina

AcknowledgmentsNOAA Fisheries/NWFSC: Seattle Public Utlities: US Fish & Wildlife Service:Bernie Anulacion Lyndal Johnson Jose Agudelo Taryn Sass Paul Arnold Jennifer QuanDavid Baldwin Cathy Laetz A. Anand Prokop Sheryl Shapiro Tamara Black Cindy SchexniderTodd Bennett Kathi Lefevbre Shanti Colwell Shannon Smith Lou Ellen Jones Emily TeachoutJon Buzitis Tiffany Linbo Julie Hall Joe Starstead Judy Lantor Dave ZajacCliff Church Sarah Morley Mike Cooksey Ellen Stewart Mary Mahaffy Sally ButtsJamie Colman O. Paul Olson Melissa Martin Clarke Thurmon Brian MissildineHeather Day Karen Peck-Miller Scott Olmstead Jean White Ginger PhalenBarb French Sean Sol Scott Reese Ryean-Marie Woods Taylor PittmanAndy Hall Frank Sommers Michael Hinson Kevin McCrackenKarrie Hanson Carla Stehr Louise Kulzer Beth SchmoyerLaurie Hopkins Gladys Yanagida Whitney Blanchard Dan Orr Thanks also to: Funding support:

Stillaguamish Tribe City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities Washington Trout NOAA Coastal Storms Program WA Department of Fish and Wildlife NOAA Coastal Services Center Univ. of Washington (E. Gallagher, D. Rose) USFWS Environmental Contaminants ProgramEnvironment Canada (M. Sekela, S. Brown) NOAA Oceans and Human Health InitiativeFriends of the Hylebos Wetlands (C. Carrel)City of Federal Way (P. Bucich) City of Bellevue (K. Paulsen)Taylor Associates, IncUS Geological Survey (J. Ebbert, Sandra Embrey)King County (D. Wilson, L. Reinelt, F. Grothkopp, D. Funke, D. Smith)King Conservation District

Many watershed restoration projects focus on streams running through urban areasthat have barr iers to fish passage or unsuitable physical habitat for spawningsalmonids. Beginning in the late 1990’s, agencies in the greater Seatt le areabegan conducting salmonid spawner surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of localstream restorat ion efforts. These surveys detected a surprisingly high rate ofmortality among migratory coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) females that werein good physical condition but had not yet spawned. In addition, adult coho fromseveral urban streams showed a similar progression of symptoms (disorientation,lethargy, loss of equilibrium, gaping, fin splaying) that rapidly led to death of theaffected animals. In recent years, pre-spawn mortality (PSM) has been observed inmany lowland urban streams, with overall rates ranging from ~25-90% of the fallru ns. Although the pre cise caus e of PSM in urban streams is unknown,conventional water quality parameters (i.e., temperature and dissolved oxygen) anddisease do not appear to be causal. Rather, the weight of evidence suggests thatadult coho, which enter small urban streams following fall storm events, are acutelysensitive to non-point source stormwater runoff containing pollutants that typicallyor iginate from urban and residential land use activi ties. These findings haveimportant evolutionary impl ications for salmonid restoration and conservat ionefforts in urban and urbanizing watersheds.

IMPACTS OF STORMWATER RUNOFF ON COHO SALMON IN RESTORED URBAN STREAMSSarah McCarthy, Julann Spromberg, John Incardona, Blake Feist, Jenifer McIntyre, Jana Labenia, Mark Myers, Linda Rhodes, Gina Ylitalo, Tracy Collier, and Nathaniel Scholz

NOAA Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Fish Health Program, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E, Seattle, WA 98112Laura Reed and Katherine Lynch

Seattle Public Utilities, 700 5th Ave. Suite 4900, Seattle, WA 98124-4018Jay Davis

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Dr. SE Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503

These research findings should be considered preliminary as they have not been scientifically peer-reviewed.

Coho salmon pre-spawn mortalityin Longfellow Creek, WA. This

female had ~100% egg retention.

Our ongoing objective is to discover the cause(s) and geographicalextent of acute coho salmon die-offs in Puget Sound streams.

Stream Surveys and Forensic AnalysesDaily stream surveys were conducted during fall 2002-05 to determine presence or absence ofsymptomatic fish (gaping, loss of equilibrium, fins splayed, spasming) and pre-spawn mortalities.For each affected fish, we recorded the location, species, gender, fork length, weight (with andwithout gonads), presence or absence of adipose fin, spawning condition, and percent eggretention in females. We collected tissue (brain, blood, gills, bile from live symptomatic fish, liver,pyloric caeca, intestine, heart, kidney) from symptomatic males and females and freshly deadfemales. Samples were screened for evidence of disease, vitamin deficiency, pesticide exposure,and hydrocarbon exposure.

Pre-spawn mortality rates in Seattle-area urban streams ranged from ~25-90% of femalecoho returning to spawn between 2002-05, while <1% of females in a forested referencestream died prior to spawning.

Symptoms included disorientation, gaping, lethargy, splayed fins, and loss of equilibrium.

Water quality parameters (i.e. temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc.) were within areasonable range for salmonid survival.

Although prevalences of certain pathogens and tissue lesions were higher at urban sites,these conditions were not consistently found, and the low severity of these lesions orinfections suggests that they are unlikely to be causally related to PSM.

Basic coho models incorporating PSM demonstrate the potential for rapid loss of localizedpopulations in urban streams from non-point and stormwater sources.

Other evolutionary implications of PSM include selection for coho that return to spawnlater in the season, and therefore the potential for interspecific competition between cohoand other species that also spawn later (i.e. chum).

Based on our spatial analyses of land cover in the associated catchments of six differentstreams, we have concluded that there is a strong correlation (R2 ~ 0.93) between thetotal area of non-local roads and coho PSM rates.

Embryos exposed to unfiltered stream water had higher rates of developmental defectsand mortality than embryos exposed to filtered stream water.

Subsequent yearly surveys in Longfellow Creek (02-05) revealed a significant relationshipbetween the timing and intensity of precipitation events and PSM (R2 = 0.94).

At this time, we do not know the precise cause(s) of coho pre-spawn mortality.

Potential Causes for Pre-Spawn Mortality

High temperature/Low dissolved oxygen

Hydrocarbon exposure

Pathology and pathogens

Vitamin deficiency

Stress and poor condition

Pesticide exposure

Other/combination of factors?

To investigate the effects of urban stormwater runoff on coho embryos, weconstructed a constant-flow bypass system allowing the incubation of embryosin untreated stream water and water filtered using sand, activated charcoal,and UV light. Embryos exposed to untreated stream water had consistentlyhigher rates of developmental defects and mortality when compared toembryos raised in filtered water (Fig 8).

Population models were modified to incorporate effects of embryonic mortality.Coho populations were estimated to go extinct within an average of 32 yearswhen both adult and embryonic mortality ranged between 0 - 65%.

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVEOBJECTIVE

METHODSMETHODS

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS

PRECIPITATION / CLIMATEPRECIPITATION / CLIMATE

EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENTEMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT

A high percentage of embryos with vasculardefects in the brain were observed in theunfiltered water at the point where mortalityensued. Surviving alevins at later stages weresignificantly smaller or developmentally delayed.

Figure 8. Whitlock-Vibert boxes containing about 150 embryos eachwere subsampled weekly from each shed. Data represents thepercentage of viable embryos from each time-point (N at top of eachbar). No differences were observed during early developmentalstages, but mortality dramatically increased in the unfiltered waterduring the eyed stages after 35 days post-fertilization (35 dpf). Therewere no differences in temperature or dissolved oxygen betweenfiltered and unfiltered water.

Figure 10. Pre- and post-spawnmortality among adult female cohosalmon returning to spawn inLongfellow Creek, Seattle, Fall 2002.Peaks in flow that did not correspondwith storm events were related to tidalinfluence.

Pathology/Pathogens

We assessed for prevalencesof tissue lesions of both

noninfectious and infectiousetiology by histopathology, and

for pathogen infectionprevalences with species-

specific PCR. Certain lesionsand pathogens were detected(Tables 3 and 4); however, theimpacts of these lesions and

pathogens on the metabolic orphysiological condition of

spawning fish are currentlyunknown.

Vitamin DeficiencyWe examined thiamine levels in the eggs, liver, and muscle of female coho

salmon, but found no significant difference between symptomatic fish inLongfellow Ck and non-symptomatic fish in Fortson Ck or Issaquah hatchery.

We tested acetylcholinesterase activity in coho brain and muscle and found nosignificant reduction in AChE activity between reference and urban streams,indicating low exposure to AChE-inhibiting pesticides.

Pesticide Exposure

Preliminary bile analyses for phenanthrene equivalents and benzo(a)pyreneequivalents indicate higher hydrocarbon exposure in Longfellow Creek than in ElliottBay; and higher exposure in Elliott Bay than in Fortson Creek (Table 2).

Hydrocarbon exposure

Temperature/Dissolved O2

We compared fish condition (Fulton’s Condition Factor) among sample streamsand hatcheries (Fig 4). No consistent differences were seen among sites and

years or between pre- and post-spawn mortalities.

Poor “Condition”

Stream temperatures inLongfellow Creek during fall

2003 averaged 9°C (range: 3-17°C) and dissolved oxygen

averaged 8.1 mg/L (range: 5.4-12.7 mg/L). These values fellwithin the ranges of tolerabletemperature and dissolved

oxygen levels for salmonids.

Population ModelingModels of established coho populations were constructed to simulate constant and fluctuatinglevels of PSM that may reflect changes in land use, runoff management or rain events.Supplementation models estimated how many hatchery juveniles may be needed after completinghabitat restoration projects to counter ongoing levels of pre-spawn mortality and maintain adesignated number of returning adults. All models were constructed with literature data from PugetSound populations of coho salmon.

Models were based upon a 3 year life history graph (Fig 1), with reproduction occurring at age 3.Models were run for 200 years to assess changes in adult abundance and time to extinction. Initialconditions simulated a stream supporting a population of 300 adults with a stable age distribution.Control conditions exhibited an intrinsic population growth rate of 1.03 (Fig 2). The primary PSMscenarios included: a constant level of PSM each year; variable PSM annually selected from arange with a uniform distribution; and gradually increasing levels of prespawn mortality over time.Supplementation models assessed the number of hatchery smolts needed to compensate forconstant PSM losses and maintain 300 adults.

1 2 3

reproduction

survivalsurvival

PSM

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

0 50 100 150 200

year

Figure 2. Examples of model runs withvariable vital rates under control conditions.

Figure 1. Life history graph and age structuredtransition matrix for coho salmon. Pink representsreproductive contribution and green representssurvival rates.

Table 5. Percent of runs extinct, and mean and minimumtime to extinction under constant PSM, annually varyingPSM and gradually increasing PSM.

Figure 9. Spawner abundance and extinctiontime for models incorporating both PSM andembryo mortality. Each impact varied annuallybetween 0 and 65%.

Constant levels of PSM above 60% caused a very rapid population decline (Fig 5, Table 5), whenvital rates varied within their normal distributions. Gradually increasing the levels of PSM allowedthe populations to persist longer than in the constant impact scenarios. The rapid increase to 80%prespawn mortality resulted in extinction at 27 years and the slow increase to 35% prespawnmortality model was extinct in 64 years (Table 5). Varying PSM within a range between 0 and 20%resulted in 75% of the 500 runs conducted ending in local extinction, on average at 154 years(Table 5). Allowing PSM to range from 0 to 90% resulted in 100% local extinction at an averagetime of 32 years (Table 5).

The restoration models provided an estimate of the number of year old juveniles that would need tobe released to provide 300 spawners, after the effects of PSM had been incorporated. An areaestimated to have 30% PSM would need approximately 30% of the smolt needed to establish thepopulation planted each year to maintain the target spawning population abundance (Fig 6).

FORENSIC RESULTSFORENSIC RESULTS

Pre-spawn (top) vs. post-spawn mortality female coho

Figure 6. Number of hatchery smolts needed tocompensate for 30% PSM and maintain 300 spawners.

0

5 104

1 105

1.5 105

2 105

2.5 105

3 105

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 5 10 15 20

Hatchery SmoltAdults ReturningSpawners

year

hat

cher

y sm

olt A

du

lts return

ing

Sp

awn

er a

bu

nd

ance

0

100

200

300

400

500

0 50 100 150 200

year

0-65% PSM and 0-65% Embryo Mortality

100% Extinction average time 32 years

Sp

awn

er a

bu

nd

ance

Dead and symptomatic females (pre-spawn)

Dead females (spawned out)

n = 64

n = 8

Oct Nov Dec

0

5

100

5

10

0

5

10

0

Daily rainfall in the Longfellow watershed (inches)

0.5

1.0

1.5

Flow in Longfellow Creek (cfs)

*

*

* = no sampling (high flows)

Figure 4. Fulton’s condition factor (K=(weight/length3)*10)) for female pre- and post-spawn mortalities in Longfellow Ck (LF), Des Moines Ck (DM), Fortson Ck (FT), andUniversity of Washington (UW) and Stillaguamish (ST) hatcheries. Ovaries wereremoved from all fish prior to weighing. Error bars represent standard error.

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

UW 2002 FT 2002 ST 2002 LF 2003 LF 2004 DM 2004 LF 2005

Site

Fu

lto

n's

Co

nd

itio

n F

act

or

(K)

Pre-spawn mortalityPost-spawn mortalityHatchery

Condition Factor

0

100

200

300

400

500

0 50 100 150 200year

0-65% PSM

100% Extinction average time 59 years

Figure 5. Examples of model runs with variable vitalrates over 200 years under variable PSM conditions.

Sp

awn

er a

bu

nd

ance

0.9%

54.7% 85.7%

71.2%

23.8%

63.3%

STUDY SITESSTUDY SITES

Table 3. Prevalence of infection with indicated pathogen by sampling site and year. Numberof fish examined is in parentheses. N.D. indicates assay was not performed.

C.shasta

P.minibicornis

L.salmonae

T.bryosalmonae

N.salmincola

R.salmoninarum

posteriorGI

kidney gill gill kidney kidney kidney

WallaceRiverHatchery,2003

0.0(20)

95.0(20)

100(20)

5.0(20)

40.0(20)

0.0(20)

30.0(20)

IssaquahHatchery,2003

4.2(24)

87.5(24)

79.2(24)

4.2(24)

0.0(24)

0.0(24)

33.3(24)

DuwamishRiver,2003

18.5(27)

100(27)

7.4(27)

14.8(27)

7.4(27)

48.1(27)

22.2(27)

LongfellowCreek,2003

0.0(14)

100(14)

50.0(14)

85.7(14)

14.3(14)

35.7(14)

35.7(14)

LongfellowCreek,2004

N.D. 0.0(7)

0.0(8)

0.0(8)

0.0(7)

N.D. 85.7(7)

DesMoinesCreek,2004

N.D. 0.0(14)

0.0(22)

4.5(22)

0.0(14)

N.D.(14)

100(14)

Table 4. Preliminary histopathology results for lesions/pathogens potentially associated withcoho pre-spawn mortality, 2003-04.

Longfellow Creek

Des Moines Creek Elliott Bay

Issaquah Hatchery

Wallace R. Hatchery

GILL n=21 n=22 n=27 n=24 n=19

Loma salmonis (microsporidan) 24% 9% 7% 13% 5%

HEART n=21 n=22 n=26 n=24 n=20

Loma salmonis 19% 5% 0% 13% 10%

ANY ORGAN n=21 n=22 n=27 n=24 n=20

Loma salmonis 29% (but 46% in 2003, 0% in

2004)9% 9% 17% 10%

TRUNK KIDNEY n=21 n=21 n=27 n=23 n=20

Nanophyetus salmincola (digenetic trematode, metacercaria)

10% 19% 19% 0% 0%

Tubular protein casts, nephrosis 5% 52% 0% 4% 0%LIVER n=20 n=22 n=27 n=21 n=18Hydropic degen. hepatocellular coagulative necrosis

25%** 36%* ** 0% 19% 17%

Hepatocellular megalocytosis, nuclear pleomorphism

15%* ** 9%** 0% 0% 6%

*=indicates significantly higher prevalence than at the combined sites of Elliott Bay, Wallace River, and Issaquah Creek hatcheries, by the Fisher's Exact Test**=indicates significantly higher prevalence at the combined sites of Longfellow Creek and Des Moines Creek than at the combined sites of Elliott Bay, Wallace River, and Issaquah Creek hatcheries, by the Fisher's Exact Test

Other stressors/combination of factors

Table 1. Concentrations of metabolites of polycyclic aromatic compounds measured in bile of returning coho salmon collected in streams of Western Washington.

Equivalents of fluorescent aromatic compounds Equivalents of fluorescent aromatic compounds(ng/g bile, wet weight) (ng/mg protein)

Collection number of PHN BaP PHN BaPyear Collection site bile samples (n) Protein1 equivalents2 equivalents3 equivalents2 equivalents3

2002 Fortson Creek 11 29 ± 7.0 390,000 ± 100,000 380 ± 130 1,700 ± 410 12 ± 2.7Longfellow Creek 6 81 ± 8.9 1,800,000 ± 310,000 23,000 ± 3,900 24,000 ± 5,200 310 ± 68

p value4 0.0009 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001

2003 Elliott Bay (a) 12 9.5 ± 0.78 100,000 ± 42,000 2,700 ± 1,000 12,000 ± 5,200 320 ± 130Wallace River hatchery (b) 13 36 ± 6.1 120,000 ± 20,000 1,800 ± 270 4,500 ± 970 70 ± 16Longfellow Creek (c) 5 21 ± 3.9 960,000 ± 200,000 20,000 ± 4,600 50,000 ± 13,000 1,000 ± 240

p value4 < 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0021 0.0005Tukey-Kramer HSD results a,b; a,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c a,c; b,c

2004 Des Moines Creek 8 63 ± 9.8 390,000 ± 100,000 6,300 ± 1,500 6.200 ± 1,500 100 ± 25Longfellow Creek 2 48 ± 18 420,000 ± 130,000 7,900 ± 2,500 9,400 ± 2,300 200 ± 150

p value4 0.4210 0.6222 0.5175 0.3823 0.3154

1Reported as mg protein/mL bile2Concentrations in part per billion (ng/g) based on total area compared to the fluorescence of phenanthrene standard at 260/380 nm wavelengths3Concentrations in part per billion (ng/g) based on total area compared to the fluorescence of benzo[a]pyrene standard at 380/430 nm wavelengths4Significant differences (ANOVA, p < 0.05) in concentrations of PAC metabolites and protein values based on site are shown in bold.

Table 2. Concentrations of metabolites of polycyclic aromatic compounds measured in bileof returning coho salmon.

2003 N=18

2005N=75 2002

N=57

2004N=9

R2 = 0.94

0

5

10

15

20

65 70 75 80 85 90

% PSM

To

tal ra

infa

ll (

inch

es)Figure 11. Percent pre-spawn mortality

versus cumulative rainfall at Longfellow Creek(2002-05). Precipitation was measured one

week before the first coho entered the streamto the last day a coho salmon was observed in

the stream.

Precipitation vs. PSM

ABUNDANCE MODELSABUNDANCE MODELS LAND USE ANALYSESLAND USE ANALYSES

Land Use AnalysesIs there something about the associated watersheds that is correlated with coho PSM events? Wedefined the area of influence for each index reach as the total area draining into that index reach,which we defined as the catchment. We overlaid the corresponding catchment boundary of the 6sites with each of the geospatial “habitat” datalayers (Table 1) using ESRI ArcGIS software. Wecharacterized each habitat class/sub-class in the catchment as the fraction of total area of thecatchment for each variable. We then ran linear regressions between each of the geospatialdatalayer classes/sub-classes in order to quantify the influence of that variable on PSM rates.

Ro

ads

and

Str

eets

Lan

d U

sean

d L

and

Co

ver

Potential Predictor Variable Adj. R2 P value

UW Rapid Land Cover Classification (1998 LANDSAT) Forested 0.755 0.015

Mixed Deciduous 0.859 0.005

"Total Forested" 0.766 0.014

% Non-Local 0.903 0.002

% Minor 0.889 0.003

% Surface 0.769 0.014

% Freeway 0.616 0.040

% Non FC0 0.929 0.001

% FC14 0.929 0.001

% Road Surface 0.646 0.034

PSRC FC16 0.925 0.001

PSRC FC14 0.665 0.030

PSRC Total VMT 0.586 0.047

WSDOT FC14 0.861 0.005

WSDOT FC16 0.820 0.008

WSDOT Total VMT 0.673 0.028

WSDOT Non-FC0 0.625 0.038

Washington StateDepartment of Transportation

Mean Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled

UW Prism Classification(2002 LANDSAT)

KingCountyStreet

Network

Puget SoundRegional Council

(PSRC)

PSRC ModeledAverage Week

Day Traffic

Predictive Model ofPre-spawn Mortality

Table 6. Preliminary GIS analyses usingland use/land cover data indicate a

strong relationship between impervioussurfaces and pre-spawn mortality.

Figure 7. Predictions of femalecoho salmon pre-spawnmortality based on relationshipsbetween study streams and landuse. Areas with higher densitiesof non-local roads werepredicted to have higher rates ofpre-spawn mortality.

Figure 3. Overview of land use model, which overlays GISPopulation datalayers with PSM data to predict which landuses will be most highly correlated with PSM.

After a dry period in the early fall of 2002, adult coho began returning with the first major rainsin early November. All of the females returning to the stream in the first few days died beforespawning. Successful spawners were only observed after several significant rain events.The overall rate of female PSM for 2002 was ~90%, and appeared to be linked to theperiodicity of rainfall (Fig 10).

We also measured rainfall at Longfellow Creek between 2002-05, which revealed strongcorrelations between PSM rates and cumulative rainfall (Fig 11). PSM was higher in theyears with less rainfall and lower in the wetter years.

PSM in Longfellow Creek, 2002

There were many habitat variables that had high R2 values from the regression analyses. Therefore,we only screened those variables that had an associated p-value of 0.05 or less. There were 17variables that met our criteria for significance (Table 6) from an initial pool of 46. Most of thesevariables were different measures of road type and area. We concluded that the total area of non-local (arterials, highways, interstates, etc.) as measured by the PSRC data source was the bestchoice for building a predictive spatially explicit model. To build the predictive model, we applied theequation form the linear regression for the PSRC non-local roads variable to each polygon in anexisting sub-watershed hydrologic unit map. This gave us a predictive map (Figure 7) of pre-spawn

Pre-spawnMortality Data Analyze GIS

(Habitat) Datalayers

Overlay GIS Datalayerswith Population Data

Statistical Analysis

Predictive Model ofPre-spawn Mortality

Table 1. Summary of types of geospatialdatalayers that were used in the spatial analysis.

Model Overview

• Land Use and Land Cover– University of Washington Rapid Land Cover Classification (from

1998 LANDSAT imagery)– University of Washington Prism Classification (from 2002

LANDSAT imagery)– King County Impervious/Impacted Surfaces– King County Parcels - Property Type

• Roads– Surface Area (estimated)

• King County Street Network• Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC)

– Traffic Intensity• PSRC Modeled Average Week Day Traffic• Washington State Dept of Transportation Mean Daily Vehicle

Miles Traveled

mortality rates for the centraleastern Puget Sound drainage area.Not surprisingly, the highest pre-spawn mortality rates are clusteredaround the major metropolitanareas of eastern Puget Sound. Inaddition, there are large areas inthe basin that are expected toexperience 35 – 100% pre-spawnmortality rates.

Gradual Increase

4664 (6.5)10035% over 35 y

2427 (1.2)10080% over 20 y

1214 (1.4)10070-90

1528 (5.2)1000-90

3044 (5.8)10020-50

78154(26.8)790-20

Uniform distribution

99 (0.5)10095

1012 (0.3)10090

1213 (1.2)10085

1215 (0.6)10080

1416 (1.3)10075

1518 (1.3)10070

1720 (1.6)10065

1823 (1.8)10060

2025 (2.3)10055

2329 (2.7)10050

2633 (3.2)10045

2938 (3.9)10040

3144 (5.4)10035

4053 (6.7)10030

4066 (10.0)10025

4784 (14.7)10020

73116 (21.6)99.815

99155 (23.7)7910

130176 (20.5)75

NANA00

Constant

MinimumTime to

Extinction

Time toExtinction(Std Dev)

% of RunsExtinct within

200 y% PSM