Oncorhynchus - WikiHQ

Oncorhynchus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributaries of the North Pacific basin. The genus contains sixteen extant species, namely six species of Pacific salmon and ten species of Pacific trout, all of which are migratory (either anadromous or potamodromous) mid-level predatory fish that display natal homing and semelparity.

The name of the genus is derived from Ancient Greek ὄγκος (ónkos), meaning "bend", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos), meaning "snout", in reference to the hooked secondary sexual characteristic — known as the kype — that the males develop on the lower jaw tip during mating season.

Range

Salmon and trout within Oncorhynchus are native to the tributaries of the North Pacific Ocean, with their native ranges extend from the Bering Sea coasts southwards to as far as Taiwan in the west and Mexico in the east, although most of them are distributed in high-latitude cold waters from the Russian Far East to the Pacific Northwest. In North America, some subspecies of cutthroat trout (O. clarkii) have become landlocked populations native to endorheic waters in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin, while others have crossed the Continental Divide to inhabit the Rio Grande and western tributaries of the Mississippi River, both of which drain into the Gulf of Mexico instead of the Pacific Ocean. Several species of Oncorhynchus, such as the rainbow trout (O. mykiss) and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), have been widely introduced into non-native waters around the globe, establishing self-sustaining wild populations.

The six Pacific salmons of Oncorhynchus are anadromous (migratory) and semelparous (die after spawning). Migration can be affected by parasites. Infected individuals can become weak and probably have shortened lifespans. Infection with parasites creates an effect known as culling whereby fish that are infected are less likely to complete the migration. Anadromous forms of Oncorhynchus mykiss known as steelhead are iteroparous. The coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) is considered semi-anadromous, as it spends some time in the ocean, usually much closer to its native stream than its fully anadromous relatives.

Evolution

thumb|The extinct [[Oncorhynchus rastrosus was one of the largest salmonids.]]

Several Late Miocene (about 7 million years ago (Mya)) trout-like fossils in Idaho, in the Clarkia Lake beds, appear to be of Oncorhynchus. The presence of these species so far inland established Oncorhynchus was not only present in the Pacific drainages before the beginning of the Pliocene (5–6 Mya), but also that rainbow and cutthroat trout, and Pacific salmon lineages had diverged before the beginning of the Pliocene. Consequently, the split between Oncorhynchus and Salmo (Atlantic salmon) must have occurred well before the Pliocene. Suggested dates have gone back as far as the Early Miocene (about 20 Mya). The prehistoric species O. australis (originally described in Salmo) inhabited the Lake Chapala basin of southwestern Mexico during the Pleistocene, making it the southernmost known salmonid to have inhabited North America. Montgomery (2000) discusses the pattern of the fossil record as compared to tectonic shifts in the plates of the Pacific Northwest of America. The (potential) divergence in Oncorhynchus lineages appear to follow the uprising of the Pacific Rim. The climatic and habitat changes that would follow such a geologic event are discussed, in the context of potential stressors leading to adaptation and speciation.

One interesting case involving speciation with salmon is that of the kokanee salmon (landlocked sockeye salmon). Kokanee sockeye evolve differently from anadromous sockeye—they reach the level of "biological species". Biological species—as opposed to morphological species—are defined by the capacity to maintain themselves in sympatry as independent genetic entities. This definition can be vexing because it apparently applies only to sympatry, and this limitation makes the definition difficult to apply. Examples in Washington State, Canada, and elsewhere have two populations living in the same lake, but spawning in different substrates at different times, and eating different food sources. There is no pressure to compete or interbreed (two responses when resources are short). These types of kokanee salmon show the principal attributes of a biological species: they are reproductively isolated and show strong resources partitioning.

Decline of Oncorhynchus populations

A general decline in overall Pacific salmon populations began in the mid-19th century. As the result of western expansion and development in the U.S., experts estimate salmon populations in the Columbia River basin had been reduced to less than 20% of their pre-1850 levels by 1933. In 2008, Lackey estimated that Pacific salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest were less than 10% of their pre-1850 numbers. Many of the remaining salmon runs are dominated by hatchery-raised salmon, not wild salmon.]]

thumb|200px|"Salmon body size declines over the past 30 years have negative consequences for a fecundity, b nutrient transport, c commercial fishery value, and d rural food security". The mean body length of Oncorhynchus species decreased by 2–8% between 1990 and 2010. fishing practices, and increased competition in the ocean. Due to the size selective nature of fishing favoring larger fish, a reduction in average size of the adult salmon has been observed over time. The smaller salmon make a greater proportion of the remaining individuals continuing the population, and problems arise when these hatchery-reared fish are introduced into the wild populations. Unlike wild salmon, larger salmon are selected for in hatcheries and are typically much larger than wild salmon. The result is that hatchery-produced salmon tend to out-compete wild salmon for space, food, and other resources. Some salmon species in hatcheries exhibit [[predation|predatory behavior toward wild salmon because they grow to be much larger. Regardless of whether predation is observed, natural social interactions are disturbed by the release of large numbers of hatchery-reared salmon where wild populations are low because salmon in hatcheries naturally have a higher propensity towards aggressive behavior.

Overall, natural salmon populations are put at risk when hatchery-reared salmon populations are introduced due to competition for resources, predation by larger individuals, and negative social interactions that upset the natural order observed in wild salmon populations. As a result, wild salmon populations are steadily dropping as the pressure to continue breeding salmon in hatcheries increases. Conservation efforts that work to place limitations on hatcheries to increase the wild salmon populations are hindered by financial pressures because hatcheries effectively support many states economically by accounting for over 70% of the salmon harvested for recreational and commercial purposes.

Influence of overfishing

Pacific salmon are harvested throughout the world as a source of food in countries ranging from the United States to South Korea. Over the past century, Pacific salmon have been extensively fished through both recreational, artisan and commercial fishing. In fact, since the 1970s there has been a nearly threefold increase in catch of Pacific salmon. In part, this decline in body weight has been related to the size selective effect of fishing gear used in the harvesting of salmon populations. The life history of salmon favors delayed reproduction because fecundity increased with body size. This means that multiple species of salmon would be looked at when it comes to conservation as well as multiple areas that each species live in. COSEWIC, a Canadian organization for the conservation of species, has named the Interior Fraser River Coho, the Cultus Lake Sockeye, and the Sakinaw Lake Sockeye to all be endangered. In British Columbia sockeye salmon in four different watersheds were certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC, as sustainable fisheries in July 2010 and the certification is good for a period of five years. In 2011 MSC also certified the Pink Salmon Fishery and as of 2012 The Chum Salmon Fisheries started their review under the MSC to become certified as a sustainable fishery.

American efforts

The US government has been working to develop a nationwide policy for the salmon populations. The Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act was re-submitted to congress and if passed will create geographic strongholds for salmon populations. Other policies include the Wild Salmon Policy which was enacted in 2005; its number one focus is the conservation of salmon off of the coasts. Even localized policies have begun, with one in Oregon which focuses on the southernmost watershed and was approved January 2013. In the Alaskan efforts, there is evidence of eight known regional groups of survival. It is also seen that the emigration of smolts (young salmon) from freshwater to other areas such as marine areas have shown significant consequences on the survival of different salmon groups. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game first received MSC, Marine Stewardship Council, Certification in sustainable seafood back in 2000.

Russian efforts

Poaching is a threat to Oncorhynchus salmon and steelhead populations in Russia. It is estimated that illegal catching of salmon is 1.5 times more than the reported catch. The Wild Salmon Center is working with Russian authorities to try to help improve traceability systems so that markets can distinguish between legal sustainable salmon and the illegal salmon. The Wild Salmon Center has secured some of its protected locations for the salmon populations. In efforts with the WWF, the Wild Salmon Center was also able to have a Sockeye Salmon fishery certified as completely sustainable in 2012. The Iturup Island Pink and Chum Salmon Fishery was first certified in 2009 and was the first Russian salmon fishery to receive certification in sustainability by MSC. and Chinook in New Zealand (known there as quinnat, king or spring salmon). Aquaculture of Chinook and Coho salmon and Rainbow Trout are major industries in Chile and Australia. Chinook from Chile were released into Argentinean rivers and there were stockings of Coho and Sockeye Salmon and Rainbow Trout in Patagonia.

Species

Some of the species in this genus are highly variable and a number of now-obsolete taxa have been described. In 1989, morphological and genetic studies by Gerald Smith and Ralph Stearley indicated that trouts of the Pacific basin were genetically closer to Pacific salmon (Onchorhynchus species) than to the Salmos – brown trout (Salmo trutta) or Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) of the Atlantic basin. Thus, in 1989, taxonomic authorities moved the Rainbow, Cutthroat and other Pacific basin trouts into the genus Oncorhynchus.

Extant species

Currently, 16 species and numerous subspecies in this genus are recognized: Behnke (2002) and Fujioka et al., (2025).

{| class="wikitable"

! Image !! Scientific name!! Common name(s) !! Subspecies !! Distribution

|240x240px || Oncorhynchus apache (R. R. Miller, 1972) ||Apache trout, Arizona trout

| || the upper Salt River watershed (Black and White rivers) and the upper Little Colorado River watershed

| || Oncorhynchus biwaensis (Fujioka et al., 2025) ||Biwa trout, Biwamasu, Biwa salmon

| || Lake Biwa

| || Oncorhynchus chrysogaster (Needham & Gard, 1964) ||Mexican golden trout || || the headwaters of the Fuerte River, Sinaloa River, and Culiacán River drainages in the Sierra Madre Occidental

|Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson, 1836)

|Coastal cutthroat trout

|The Pacific Northwest coast from Alaska through British Columbia into northern California, in the Cascade Range

|frameless|239x239px

| Oncorhynchus henshawi (Gill & Jordan, 1878)

O. h. henshawi (Richardson, 1836) – (Western Basin) Lahontan cutthroat trout
O. c. seleniris (John O. Snyder, 1933) – Paiute cutthroat trout
O. henshawi ssp., Quinn River cutthroat trout (Northwestern Basin) and others

|| The Great Basin and eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains

|frameless|239x239px

|Oncorhynchus virginalis (Girard, 1857) no common name

O. m. var. iwame Seiro Kimura & M. Nakamura, 1961 – Iwame trout, markless trout (intrapopoulation variant)

|| Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and Primorsky Krai south through Korea, Taiwan, and Japan

|frameless|239x239px

frameless|240x240px

| Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) ||rainbow trout, steelhead, ocean trout, redband trout

O. m. mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) – Kamchatkan rainbow trout
O. m. aguabonita (D. S. Jordan, 1892) – golden trout
O. m. irideus f. beardsleei – Beardslee trout, (sometimes O. m. beardsleei)
O. m. newberrii (Richardson, 1836) – Great Basin redband trout
O. m. irideus (Walbaum, 1792) – coastal rainbow trout
O. m. gairdneri (Richardson, 1836) – Columbia River redband trout
O. m. stonei – McCloud River redband trout
O. m. nelsoni (Evermann, 1908) – Baja California rainbow trout
O. m. ssp. – Mexican native trout
O. m. gilberti – Kern River rainbow trout
O. m. whitei (Evermann, 1906) – Little Kern golden trout

|| the Pacific basin, from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, east along the Aleutian Islands, throughout southwestern Alaska, the Pacific Coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska, and south along the west coast of the U.S. to northern Mexico

|frameless|242x242px

frameless|242x242px

| Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792) ||sockeye salmon, red salmon, blueback salmon, kokanee

| || the Columbia River in the eastern Pacific (although individuals have been spotted as far south as the 10 Mile River on the Mendocino Coast of California) and in northern Hokkaidō Island in Japan in the western Pacific

|242x242px 241x241px || Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792) ||Chinook salmon, blackmouth, black salmon, chub salmon, Columbia River salmon, hookbill salmon, king salmon, Quinnat salmon, spring salmon, Tyee salmon, winter salmon

| || the Ventura River in California in the south to Kotzebue Sound in Alaska in the north

Fossil species

thumb|Fossil jaw of the extinct [[Oncorhynchus lacustris]]

Based partly on Stearley & Smith:

†Oncorhynchus australis (Cavender & Miller, 1982) (=Salmo australis) - Pleistocene of Jalisco, Mexico (Chapala Formation).
†Oncorhynchus belli Stearley & Smith, 2018 (Truckee trout) - late Miocene of Nevada (Truckee Formation). Potentially related to the cutthroat trout.
†Oncorhynchus ketopsis Eiting & Smith, 2007 - Miocene of Oregon (Chalk Hills Formation). Likely belonging to the Pacific salmon group.
†Oncorhynchus lacustris (Cope, 1870) - late Miocene to late Pliocene of Idaho. Likely belonging to the redband trout group.
†Oncorhynchus rastellus Stearley & Smith, 2018 (small spiketooth salmon) - Miocene of Idaho (Chalk Hills Formation). Belongs to the Pacific salmon group.
†Oncorhynchus rastrosus (Cavender & Miller, 1972) (spike-toothed salmon) - middle Miocene to early Pliocene of western North America and Japan. Likely belonging to the Pacific salmon group.
†Oncorhynchus salax Smith, 1975 - Miocene/Pliocene of Idaho (Glenns Ferry Formation). Likely belonging to the redband trout group.

Notes

References

(2002): Trout and Salmon of North America. Free Press, 2002.
(2002): Osteichthyes. In: A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletin of American Paleontology 364: 560. HTML fulltext
(1993): Phylogeny of the Pacific trout and salmon (Oncorhynchus) and the genera of family Salmonidae. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 122(1): 1–33. HTML fulltext
(2005) The distribution of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the Canadian western Arctic. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/321160.pdf

External links

British Columbia Salmon Farmer's Association
Global Aquaculture Alliance
US mulls Pacific salmon fishing ban
Watershed Watch Salmon Society A British Columbia advocacy group for wild salmon
Wild Salmon in Trouble: The Link Between Farmed Salmon, Sea Lice and Wild Salmon - Watershed Watch Salmon Society. Animated short video based on peer-reviewed scientific research, with subject background article Watching out for Wild Salmon.
Aquacultural Revolution: The scientific case for changing salmon farming - Watershed Watch Salmon Society. Short video documentary. Prominent scientists and First Nation representatives speak their minds about the salmon farming industry and the effects of sea lice infestations on wild salmon populations.