The role of context-specific predation in understanding patterns exhibited by anadromous salmon

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Abstract
Predation is frequently studied in aquatic systems that contain salmon. Because these systems are difficult to manipulate and replicate, rigorous across-system comparisons are essential. Herein I review the literature on factors that may influence predation across systems. Specifically, I evaluated how often predation on salmonids was important across prey taxa, life stage, habitat, predator taxa, methodology, and spatial scale. Further, I examined what factors were influential in systems where predation was important. In nine journals from 1959-1996, 45 field studies explicitly tested the importance of direct effects of predation on anadromous salmonid prey. Authors of 36 (80%) studies concluded that predation was important. More studies in which predation was deemed important focused on smolts subjected to fish predation in the transitional river and estuary habitats. Furthermore, field surveys at larger spatial scales were most often used. Finally, most studies reported little information on confounding factors that complicate predation. If we are to learn from these complex systems, we need to collect, analyze, and report similar types of information that are collected across systems and years using rigorous and systematic methods.

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