DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmbw
title: Seasonal dynamics of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in wetlands of the North Thompson River, British Columbia

description: Freshwater fish such as juvenile salmon often rely on dynamic and diverse
 habitats. The importance of freshwater wetlands to juvenile coho salmon in
 large river networks is not well known. We studied three wetland sites
 along the North Thompson River, British Columbia, Canada, from May 2021 –
 May 2023 to understand how seasonal variation in wetland connectivity and
 water quality influence juvenile coho salmon habitat use. We used monthly
 mark-recapture sampling to estimate juvenile coho salmon abundance.
 Seasonal dynamics of juvenile coho salmon in wetlands were intertwined
 with connectivity and abiotic conditions. Age-0 juvenile coho salmon
 recruited to wetlands during spring high flows and used wetland habitats
 year-round. Periods of high density and low oxygen were associated with
 lower growth and abundance. In addition, our study provides information on
 the timing of juvenile coho salmon use of wetland habitats which can be
 used to inform habitat managers of times of year that pose the greatest
 risk and benefits to these fish.
description: # Seasonal dynamics of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in
 wetlands of the North Thompson River, British Columbia
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmbw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmbw) ## Description of the data and file structure Details of the data collected are provided in the manuscript. ### Files and variables #### File: growth\_with\_abiotics.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * site: Name of wetland * year: Year sampling took place  * density:  Density estimate of juvenile coho from the mark-recapture model (fish / m^2) * start_date: Start date of growth period (one sampling period to the next) * end_date: End date of growth period (one sampling period to the next) * atu: Accumulated thermal units (ATU) by summing the daily average temperatures within a growth period. * mean_min_do: Average daily minimum dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg⋅L-1) was calculated by averaging the lowest dissolved oxygen values of each day during growth periods. * cohort_n: Number of fish used in the pooled sample growth calculation * cohort_msgr: Mass standardized growth rate for the pooled sample group (% growth in mass⋅day-1) * cohort_sd_msgr: Standard deviation of mass standardized growth rate for the pooled sample group (% growth in mass⋅day-1) * mean_PIT_msgr: Mean mass standardized growth rate for PIT tagged fish (% growth in mass⋅day-1) * sd_mean_PIT_msgr: Standad deviation of mean mass standardized growth rate for PIT tagged fish (% growth in mass⋅day-1) * n_pit: Number of PIT tagged fish used in the calculation of mean mass standardized growth rate for PIT tagged fish #### File: mark\_recapture\_data.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * site: Name of wetland * year: Year sampling took place * month: Month sampling took place * catch_type: Mark Recapture event or Index sampling event.  * u1: Total catch on capture event 1 for month *i* * R: Marks applied on capture event 1 for month *i* * r: Marks detected on capture event 2 for month *i* * u2: Unmarked fish detected on capture event 2 for month *i* * mr_area: Area of wetland at time of sampling (m^2) * date: Date of sampling event #### File: mean\_fork\_length.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * site: Name of wetland * year: Year sampling took place * jday: Julian date * assigned_age: Assigned age from scale analysis  * mean_fl: Mean fork length (mm) * sd_fl: Standard deviation of mean fork length (mm) NA - Not applicable