Diel feeding chronology, gastric evacuation, and daily food consumption of juvenile chinook salmon in Oregon coastal waters

Abstract

The diel feeding periodicity of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha was determined from stomachs collected in coastal waters off Oregon in 2000 and 2003. Juvenile Chinook salmon exhibited a diurnal feeding pattern with morning and evening feeding periods. There were differences in the duration and magnitude of the dawn and dusk peaks between the 2 years. Gastric evacuation rates of euphausiid meals were estimated from laboratory experiments at 9.3, 10.7, and 13.9°C. Based on an exponential model, the instantaneous evacuation rates at these three temperatures were 0.0407, 0.0589, and 0.0807 per hour, respectively. The daily ration of juvenile Chinook salmon in Oregon coastal waters in 2000 and 2003 was estimated using three models. Using laboratory‐derived evacuation rates, the Elliott and Persson and Eggers models produced daily ration estimates of 2.04% and 2.57% of body weight (BW), respectively, in 2000 and 2.93% and 2.46%BW in 2003. The MAXIMS model, which does not rely on laboratory‐derived evacuation rates, produced higher estimates of daily ration (3.84% and 4.28%BW). Our diel feeding chronology, gastric evacuation rate, and daily ration estimates for juvenile Chinook salmon were comparable to those of other juvenile salmonids.