Researchers in the College of Science, including faculty member Chris Suffridge and graduate student Kelly Shannon, have contributed to a multi-institution research paper revealing a hidden threat to West Coast salmon.
The research, led by NOAA Fisheries and shared on their website, brought together 37 co-authors across federal and state agencies — including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife — universities and fisheries programs, reflecting an impressive level of collaboration to address an emerging ecological crisis. The team included oceanographers, fish nutritionists, hatchery staff and field biologists from around the U.S.
The findings show that when salmon feed heavily on northern anchovy, now increasingly dominant in the California current ecosystem, they risk developing severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiencies that can lead to high mortality rates in their offspring.
“This study represents the power of transdisciplinary and interagency collaborations to investigate complex emerging ecological problems,” Suffridge said.
Among those involved was Aimee Reed, who directs the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Health Services, a diagnostic laboratory servicing Oregon’s 34 public fish hatcheries as well as private aquaculture operations. The laboratory is part of the Department of Microbiology and located on the 5th floor of Nash Hall.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study connects recent shifts in the ocean food web to widespread thiamine deficiency in salmon populations. The researchers concluded that the deficiency likely killed as many as half of newly hatched fry of endangered winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River in 2020 and 2021.
These thiamine-deficiency effects compound existing stress on salmon, including habitat loss and reduced water flow, pushing several runs towards commercial closures that have persisted for three years. The study underlines the urgency of integrated strategies addressing foraging fish dynamics, thiamine monitoring and hatchery supplementation to bolster salmon recovery.
“By bringing together scientists from universities, government and state agencies, this study has moved scientists closer to illuminating the root causes of thiamin deficiency in engaged populations of California salmon,” Shannon said.
