Ken Currens, Hatchery Genetics Manager for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, gives a talk on the evolution of steelhead.

1. The View from 60,000 Feet Evolution and Diversity of Steelhead Ken Currens Pacific Coast Steelhead Management Meeting 2010

2. Things weren’t always as they are now The present is often more interesting if we know something about the past West Africa, 1930

3. Eocene North America 55-30 Million Years Ago Began with rapid warming Polar climates similar to Pacific Northwest today Tropical forests in Pacific Northwest Large lakes and inland seas; none of existing mountain ranges

5. Coregoninae

6. SalmoninaeStart of long-term cooling trend Eosalmo driftwoodensis

7. Continued cooling allowed dispersal southward Late Miocene (10-5 Ma) The Sabertooth Salmon Oncorhynchyus (Smilodonichthys) rastrosus

8. Continued cooling allowed dispersal southward Plio-Pleistocene (5-0.1 Ma)

9. Fossil O. australis In Lake Chapala, Mexico

10. Distribution of western trouts in North America about 1900 (from Behnke 1992)

11. Diversity of extant western trouts Westslope cutthroat Yellowstone cutthroat Greenback cutthroat Bonneville cutthroat Coastal cutthroat Colorado River cutthroat Rainbow trout O. mykiss Mexican golden trout & undescribed trout Rio Grande cutthroat Whitehorse & Alvord cutthroats Gila trout Paiute cutthroat California,& Kern golden trouts Lahontan cutthroat Humboldt cutthroat Apache trout

12. Extant distribution does not simply reflect colonization to the south Extant distribution does not simply reflect southward colonization Formation of mountain ranges Shaping old rivers & creating new ones Columbia basalts & Snake River flows Faulting in Basin & Range Volcanic lava floods Glaciation

13. Extant distribution does not simply reflect colonization to the south Extant distribution does not simply reflect southward colonization No O. mykissin the Columbia River as recently as 70,000-50,000 years ago Formation of mountain ranges Shaping old rivers & creating new ones Columbia basalts & Snake River flows Faulting in Basin & Range Volcanic lava floods Glaciation

14. Species & Subpeciesof North American trout Extant distribution does not simply reflect colonization to the south Pleistocene 2.6 Extant distribution does not simply reflect southward colonization Pliocene 5.3 Oncorhynchus Salmo Miocene 23 Oligocene Hucho Brachymystax Salvelinus 34 Oncorhynchus Salmo Eocene

15. Two Morphologically Different Forms of Steelhead Trout Inland or fine-scale form with redband trout-like characteristics Coastal form Landlocked “redband” trout with cutthroat-like characteristics (Oncorhynchus sp.)

16. Extant distribution does not simply reflect colonization to the south Coastal & Inland forms thought to reflect dispersal after isolation & differentiation in glacial refuges

17. Derived Traits Most primitive forms of O. mykissoccur near Gulf of California Coastal rainbow trout & steelhead Mexican golden trout & undescribed trout Goose Lake, Warner,& Chewaucanredbands Columbia River redbands White River redband McCloud redband Catlow Valley redband Fort Rock redband Upper Klamath redband California & Kern golden trouts Primitive Traits

18. Earliest O. mykissevolved around the Gulf of California & dispersed north Reached Columbia River 32-50K years ago ? Columbia Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin Gulf of California

19. Tahoe Glaciation 32K years ago Glacial Lake Missoula Upper Fraser Puget Sound 10-15 K years ago ? Columbia Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin Gulf of California

20. 5 B Columbia River L G B B B F E G F B E B B F G B J E E B F G L B B J F B F G J D B B E A F A D D B O B B A D A A B B A B L A A A J A A A B A A A A B O A H 0 A A A J A A A A B A B C B F C C E C G O O C C C C C C Intermediates? Harney (H), Catlow (I) Fort Rock (K) C C B C L I O B B H H G H H I Sacramento: Goose Lake (L), Warner Lakes (O) Chewaucan (J) N K Q N M N N N -5 Q Canonical Variate II K G M N N N N N N N M Klamath: Upper Klamath headwater (M), Upper Klamath Lake (N) Coastal Klamath mountains (Q) M M M M M M M M M -10 M M -15 5 -30 -20 -25 -15 -10 -5 0 Canonical Variate I

21. Are Extant Distributions Always About Geology? Life-history (e.g, ability to migrate, environmental tolerance) makes a difference What about biotic interactions?

22. Williamson River Klamath River Basin Sycan River Trout Creek Upper Klamath Lake Sprague River Klamath redband (O. mykissnewberrii) Iron Gate Dam Jenny Creek Falls Coast steelhead (O. mykissirideus) Lower Klamath River

24. Why Don’t the Ancestral Redband Still Occur Throughout Upper Klamath Lake Basin? Williamson River Sycan River Trout Creek Upper Klamath Lake Sprague River Iron Gate Dam Jenny Creek Falls Lower Klamath River

25. 100% Susceptible Co-evolution with Diseases & Parasites Williamson River Sycan River Ceratomyxashasta Trout Creek Upper Klamath Lake Sprague River 100% Susceptible Intermediate resistance Iron Gate Dam Jenny Creek Falls 100% Resistant Lower Klamath River 100% Resistant

26. Reconnection of Upper Klamath Basin to the Pacific allowed invasion C. shastaand C. shasta resistant O. mykissdisplacing earlier form Williamson River Sycan River Trout Creek Upper Klamath Lake Sprague River Iron Gate Dam Jenny Creek Falls Lower Klamath River

27. Steelhead life-history contributed to greater O. mykissdiversity than often recognized Glacial Lake Missoula Upper Fraser Puget Sound ? Columbia Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin

28. Basins now isolated from large river systems played key roles in the evolution of steelhead Glacial Lake Missoula Upper Fraser Puget Sound ? Columbia Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin

29. Large river systems were more important than glaciation in diversity of O. mykiss Glacial Lake Missoula Upper Fraser Puget Sound ? Glacial refuges & dispersal 37% Columbia 67% Persistence in large river systems Ability to Explain Differences Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin

30. Co-evolution with diseases & parasites may help explain some unexpected distributions of trout Glacial Lake Missoula Upper Fraser Puget Sound ? Columbia Oregon Desert Basins Klamath Sacramento San Joaquin

31. Things weren’t always as they are now The present is often more interesting if we know something about the past Fishing for Ancestral Steelhead in the Oregon Desert Basins, 1985