Identification of infectious agents in early marine Chinook and Coho salmon associated with cohort survival
Arthur L. Bass,
Andrew W. Bateman,
Brendan M. Connors,
Benjamin A. Staton,
Eric B. Rondeau,
Gideon J. Mordecai,
Amy K. Teffer,
Karia H. Kaukinen,
Shaorong Li,
Amy M. Tabata,
David A. Patterson,
Scott G. Hinch,
Kristina M. Miller
Affiliations
Arthur L. Bass
Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Andrew W. Bateman
Pacific Salmon Foundation, Vancouver, BC V6J 4S6, Canada
Brendan M. Connors
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC V8L 5T5, Canada
Benjamin A. Staton
Fisheries Science Department, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Portland, OR 97232, USA
Eric B. Rondeau
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Gideon J. Mordecai
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V9T 6N7, Canada
Amy K. Teffer
Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Karia H. Kaukinen
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Shaorong Li
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Amy M. Tabata
Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
David A. Patterson
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Science Branch, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Scott G. Hinch
Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Kristina M. Miller
Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Recent decades have seen an increased appreciation for the role infectious diseases can play in mass mortality events across a diversity of marine taxa. At the same time many Pacific salmon populations have declined in abundance as a result of reduced marine survival. However, few studies have explicitly considered the potential role pathogens could play in these declines. Using a multi-year dataset spanning 59 pathogen taxa in Chinook and Coho salmon sampled along the British Columbia coast, we carried out an exploratory analysis to quantify evidence for associations between pathogen prevalence and cohort survival and between pathogen load and body condition. While a variety of pathogens had moderate to strong negative correlations with body condition or survival for one host species in one season, we found that Tenacibaculum maritimum and Piscine orthoreovirus had consistently negative associations with body condition in both host species and seasons and were negatively associated with survival for Chinook salmon collected in the fall and winter. Our analyses, which offer the most comprehensive examination of associations between pathogen prevalence and Pacific salmon survival to date, suggest that pathogens in Pacific salmon warrant further attention, especially those whose distribution and abundance may be influenced by anthropogenic stressors.
