These Pink Salmon are a part of an independent research project I am doing through the Auke Creek weir and funded by BLaST. People use this species in Southeast Alaska mostly for food. Commercial fisheries utilize the mouths of certain rivers and spawning waters to target the fish in large quantities with large boats. Recently, pink salmon have also been used as an indicator species for stream conditions and habitat as they are usually more affected by changing conditions. We can assume and hypothesize a lot about other pink salmon populations in other watersheds and even other species of salmon in similar or the same watershed based on observations we make with pink salmon in Auke Creek. I started working at the Auke Creek weir this summer and developed an even closer relationship to salmon. For those who don't know, a weir is a man-made barrier that blocks a creek and in the case of Auke Creek, funnels fish into holding tanks so that we can count and sample every single fish coming in and out of the creek. My project focuses on Pink Salmon spawning success and using that information to indicate certain stream health aspects. We tag every female Pink Salmon that comes through the weir, and release it into the stream so that it can carry out the rest of its life. That is what is sticking out of each salmon in the picture just beneath their dorsal fin. Then each day I walk Auke and Lake creek to look for dead female pink salmon that have been tagged, and when I find one, I weigh the remaining eggs in her belly if there are any, and record that data. If more pink salmon are dying without egg release, it could indicate that stream conditions are changing for the worse. Overall, the experience has given me a more appreciative outlook on the natural world, but specifically streams and watershed systems. Doing research like this really puts me at one with my surroundings and I have enjoyed the connection I have been making.

I found this American Dipper on the side of the stream in Auke Creek. I noticed it originally because of its bulbous shape and cute features, but as I watched it, I realized it was bobbing up and down and thought it was a little strange and probably unique, so I decided to take some pictures and videos and do some research. There are only 5 species of dipper in the world, and this is one of them. The American Dipper is also North America's only aquatic songbird. They get their name from doing exactly what I saw, bobbing and dipping as they perch on a rock or other object near a stream, though it is not known what the reason for this is. Dippers feed underwater in cold streams by diving or wading (ADF&G Species profile). It eats aquatic insects and their larvae, and juvenile fish. They can actually be seen smacking fish and other prey on rocks to knock them out making them easier to ingest (American Dipper, National Park Service). They are well adapted to cold water conditions as they have down feathers, and a preening gland with oil to make their feathers waterproof (ADF&G Species profile). There is not a whole lot that people used the dipper for besides recreation. But there is a nesting ground for the dipper in Kugrak Springs and are one of the few bird species that overwinters in Alaska! I am not usually a big bird watcher but this was a super cool encounter and I hope to see one again.

“American Dipper.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/gaar/learn/nature/american-dipper.htm#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20few%20species%20that%20may%20overwinter,most%20of%20the%20rivers%20are%20frozen.%20Species%20Profile.

Armstrong, Robert, and Rita O'Clair. “Alaska Department of Fish and Game.” American Dipper, 2008, https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/american_dipper.pdf.

I recently went stream sampling with someone from Trout Unlimited to try and discover evidence of anadromy in far stretches of tributaries to Fish Creek on North Douglas. We hike and bush wacked a few miles upstream to the study site. There, we set traps and walked with hand nets to find juvenile Coho Salmons for evidence of anadromy. Although we did not find Coho, we found plenty of cutthroat trout. The only type of cutthroat trout we find in Southeast AK is the Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii), so that is how I knew what type of cutthroat it was. However, distinguishing them from a juvenile Coho Salmon is much more difficult. Identifiers of cutthroat trout include a small orange dot under their lower jaw that eventually turns into the distinctive red lines (hence cutthroat), a larger mouth than juvenile Coho, more spots on their fins, more circular parr marks and Coho have a dark fin ray on their anal and dorsal fins. This information comes from ADF&G's juvenile salmonid ID guide (Weiss 2003), but also from Trout Unlimited researcher Mark Hieronymus who was out there with me. Coastal Cutthroat trout care used by people for several reasons. They are a really fun fish to try and catch in almost every stream in Southeast Alaska. Recreation is a big part of Alaskan culture and past time, being more connected to those around you and to the land. When fishing isn't accessible or populations of other fish are down like this years Coho run, cutthroat provide accessible and fun fishing for all skill levels (Schwanke 2018).

Schwanke, Craig. "Cutthroat Trout in Southeast Alaska Lakes." The Great State of Alaska website. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Sept. 2018. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=881#:~:text=The%20cutthroat%20trout%20subspecies%20found%20in%20Southeast%20Alaska,Alaska%2C%20especially%20in%20drainages%20with%20a%20lake%20system.

Weiss, Ed. "Juvenile Salmonid and Small Fish Identification Aid." Version 1.1. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Habitat and Restoration Division. 27 March 2003. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/habitat/adfg_hr_id_cards_v1.1.pdf