Elwha Watershed Information Resource

After the dams on the Elwha River are removed, salmon and other fish will start re-establishing themselves in the river that has been blocked off for more than ninety years. The fish will be from one of two sources:

• Hatchery fish released as part of the watershed restoration, and
• Wild fish who have relocated from nearby areas.

Establishing genetic data on wild and hatchery fish in the Elwha River before the dams are removed is critical to understanding how fish will recolonize the river after the dams are removed. Using genetic data, researchers will be able to identify if re-established fish populations are from planned introductions of hatchery fish or are the result of fish straying from other areas. The ability to tell these two sources of fish apart using genetic information will allow researchers to assess the effectiveness of the planned hatchery fish releases. However, researchers must have genetic information about the fish before and after the dam removal to make this assessment. The first phase of the pre removal genetic data collection is already underway as part of the Genetic Studies in the Elwha River project.

Genetic Studies in the Elwha River System

Salmon smolts in the ocean. National Park Service

The genetic studies project goal is to evaluate the genetic characteristics of Pacific salmon and steelhead in the Elwha River prior to dam removal. Researchers are collecting DNA from the fish in order to identify baseline data for fifteen genetic markers that will be used to monitor genetic richness and distinctiveness during recovery and/or recolonization of stocks in the river during and after dam removal. This project is being carried out by NOAA Fisheries (Gary Winans), the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (Mike McHenry), the United States Geological Survey, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Pacific Biological Station.

What has been done so far on this project?

• NOAA Fisheries has established a genetics laboratory at the Mukilteo Field Station (Mukilteo, WA). The station is equipped with two genetic analyzers and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) capability, which will be used exclusively for dam recolonization research.

• Researchers have collaborated with Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Pacific Biological Station (Canada, Nanaimo, BC) to develop specific gene marker systems for chum and steelhead/rainbow trout.

• Researchers have also coordinated non-lethal fin tissue collections with staff of Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and United States Geological Survey.

• DNA data have been collected for 50-100 Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytsch), coho salmon (O. kisutch), steelhead (O. mykiss), and chum salmon (O. keta).

• DNA data from chum salmon are being incorporated into mixed stock fishery programs for U.S./Canada fisheries management under the Pacific Salmon Commission.

What is next for this project?

• Additional collections of DNA samples are being planned to expand the temporal and spatial aspects of each species survey. Researchers are particularly interested in adding collections from neighboring watersheds.

• Some existing samples still need to be processed, including DNA collections of upper river rainbow trout, tissues from sockeye/kokanee (O. nerka), and juveniles from wild-spawning steelhead. The steelhead data will be used in a short-term broodstock program in the Lower Elwha Klallam hatchery. Characters that may be under selection (morphology and MHC loci) are being analyzed in the steelhead/rainbow trout collections.

Additional Information

Kuligowski, D. R., and G. A. Winans. 2002. "Inorganic pyrophosphatase: A new polymorphic allozyme locus in Pacific salmon." Biochemical Genetics. Volume 40. Pages 379 to 385.

Osterber, C. O., and G. H. Thorgaard. 1999. "Geographic distribution of chromosome and microsatellite DNA polymorphisms in Oncorhynchus mykiss native to western Washington." Copeia. Volume 2. Pages 287 to 298.

Van Doornik, D. M., G. B. Milner, and G. A. Winans. 1995. "An improved method of data collection for transferrin polymorphism in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)." Biochemical Genetics. Volume 33, Number 7-9. Pages 257 to 260.

Van Doornik, D. M., G. B. Milner, and G. A. Winans. 1996. "Transferrin polymorphism in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, and its application to genetic stock identification." Fishery Bulletin. Volume 94. Pages 566 to 575.

Van Doornik, D. M., and G. A. Winans. 1998. "Inheritance of allozymes in coho salmon." Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Volume 127. Pages 833 to 837.

Van Doornik, D. M., G. A. Winans, and D. J. Teel. 1999. "Allozyme studies of Pacific salmonids with nonlethal sampling of fin tissue." North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Volume 19. Pages 678 to 686.

Waples, R. S., R. G. Gustafson, L. A. Weitkamp, J. M. Myers, O. W. Johnson, P. J. Busby, J. J. Hard, G. J. Bryant, F. W. Waknitz, K. Neely, D. J. Teel, W. S. Grant, G. A. Winans, S. Phelps, A. R. Marshall, and B. M. Baker. 2001. "Characterizing Diversity in Salmon From the Pacific Northwest." Journal of Fish Biology. Volume 59, Supplement A. Pages 1 to 41.

Waples, R. S., G. A. Winans, F. Utter, and C. V. Mahnken. 1990. "Genetic approaches to the management of Pacific salmon." Fisheries. Volume 15. Pages 19 to 25.

Winans, G. A., D. Viele, A. Grover, M. Palmer-Zwahlen, D. J. Teel, and D. M. Van Doornik. 2001. "An Update of Genetic Stock Identification of Chinook Salmon in the Pacific Northwest: Test Fisheries in California." Reviews in Fisheries Science. Volume 9, Number 4. Pages 213 to 237.