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Pacific salmon extinctions: quantifying lost and remaining diversity.

Richard G Gustafson1, Robin S Waples, James M Myers

  • 1National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA 98112-2097, USA. rick.gustafson@noaa.gov

Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
|July 26, 2007
PubMed
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Pacific salmon populations have declined significantly, with 29% lost since Euro-American contact, especially in interior regions. Conserving remaining populations and their diversity is critical for the future of these evolutionarily significant units.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Conservation Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Widespread population extirpations threaten the extinction of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and species.
  • Pacific salmon populations exhibit significant ecological, genetic, and life-history diversity, crucial for ecosystem health.
  • Understanding historical population dynamics is vital for effective conservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically enumerate extinct Pacific salmon populations in the western contiguous United States.
  • To characterize the lost ecological, life-history, and genetic diversity among six Pacific salmon species.
  • To assess the current status of Pacific salmon populations and identify conservation priorities.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic enumeration of historical Pacific salmon populations across six species.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Characterization of ecological, life-history, and genetic diversity loss.
  • Statistical comparison of extinction proportions between coastal and interior regions and among species/maturation types.

    • Main Results:

    • An estimated 29% of nearly 1400 historical Pacific salmon populations have been lost since Euro-American contact.
    • Interior regions experienced significantly higher extinction rates (55%) compared to coastal regions (14%).
    • Sockeye and stream-maturing Chinook salmon populations showed disproportionately high losses; aggregate biodiversity loss estimated at 33% (ecological), 15% (life-history), and 27% (genetic).

    Conclusions:

    • Population extirpations represent a significant loss of between 16% and 30% of historical ESUs.
    • Over one-third of remaining Pacific salmon populations are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, indicating a critical conservation juncture.
    • Future diversity persistence hinges on Pacific salmon's adaptability to anthropogenically altered habitats.