Tracking the Heat: Investigating Atlantic Salmon Parr Behavior During Thermal Stress Events

ASF scientist Heather Perry has started a part-time master’s position with the INTEL Lab at the University of New Brunswick. In her project, Heather studies the behaviour of Atlantic salmon parr during heat events using radio telemetry tags equipped with a temperature sensor. These tags have recently become compact enough for small fish like juvenile Atlantic salmon to carry them. The tags not only allow the researcher to follow the movement of the fish, but receiver systems also record the temperature the fish is experiencing in a 19-second interval if the fish is within range.

Some of the study’s primary goals are to determine how far and how fast parr will travel from their home territory to thermal refugia and what the onset temperatures within the river are when the parr start their migration. The new tags will also allow Heather to describe individuals’ movements in and out of cold-water plumes throughout and after heat stress events to explain the recovery process and how it is affected by the frequency and magnitude of heat stress events.

For this project, 50 parr were collected in the Little Southwest Miramichi River earlier in the year, and Heather together with her team has been following them throughout the summer. The study will significantly impact our understanding of Atlantic salmon behaviour. With her work, Heather continues a great legacy of Atlantic salmon research conducted along the Little Southwest Miramichi River based out of the Catamaran Brook Research Station.