Movements of Pacific Salmon in Lake Ontario in Spring and Summer: Evidence for Wide Dispersal

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Abstract
To determine spring and summer movements of Pacific salmon in Lake Ontario, 16 echo (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and 7 Chinook (Q, tshawytscha) salmon were radiotagged and tracked in 1984. Salmon dispersed widely along shore and throughout Lake Ontario, moving as far as 33 km/d and 500 km in 4 months. Salmon generally did not occupy near shore regions after temperatures exceeded 9–10 C, except where winds produced upwellings of cold water near shore in summer. There were no significant differences in distances moved, movement rates or average temperatures occupied by echo (4.0 ± 2.2 km/d, 0.62 ± 0.48 km/h, 9.3 ± 2.1 C) and Chinook (3.2 ± 2.7 km/d, 0.48 ± 0.04 km/h, 11.1 ± 1.9 C). Coho moved nearer to shore and occupied surface waters (r = 0.86) more often than chinook (r = 0.47). Temperatures when salmon were last found were significantly higher for chinook (12.3 ± 2.4 C) than for echo (9.7 ± 2.0 C). However, averaged over species, differences between average (10.1 ± 2.1 C) and last observed (10.7 ± 2.5 C) temperatures were not significant. Movement and temperature data indicate that Pacific salmon in Lake Ontario use wide geographic and temperature ranges in spring and summer.

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