title: Strontium isotopes delineate fine-scale natal origins and migration histories of Pacific salmon.
abstract: Highly migratory organisms present major challenges to conservation efforts. This is especially true for exploited anadromous fish species, which exhibit long-range dispersals from natal sites, complex population structures, and extensive mixing of distinct populations during exploitation. By tracing the migratory histories of individual Chinook salmon caught in fisheries using strontium isotopes, we determined the relative production of natal habitats at fine spatial scales and different life histories. Although strontium isotopes have been widely used in provenance research, we present a new robust framework to simultaneously assess natal sources and migrations of individuals within fishery harvests through time. Our results pave the way for investigating how fine-scale habitat production and life histories of salmon respond to perturbations-providing crucial insights for conservation.
authors.affiliation: School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA. ; Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
authors.forename: Sean R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.affiliation: Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA. ; Affiliate faculty, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 505 S Chandalar Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
authors.forename: Diego P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
authors.forename: Thure E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Cerling
authors.affiliation: School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA. ; Kyeta Consulting, 3261 Nowell Ave., Juneau, AK 99801, USA.
authors.forename: Megan V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: McPhee
authors.affiliation: School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA. ; Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wooller
keywords: Pacific salmon; biodiversity; commercial fisheries; conservation; migration; natal origins; strontium isotopes