Redwood Creek Chinook salmon life cycle model code and data

Understanding the spatial and temporal habitat use of a population is a necessary step for restoration decision making. For Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), variation in their migration and habitat use complicate predicting how restoring habitats will impact total recruitment. To evaluate how juvenile life history variation affects a population’s response to potential restoration, we developed a stage-structured model for a Chinook salmon population in a northern California river with a seasonally closed estuary. We modeled the timing of juvenile migration and estuarine use as a function of freshwater conditions and fish abundance We used the model to evaluate the sensitivity of the population to different estuary and freshwater restoration scenarios that would affect population parameters at different life stages. The population’s run size increased most in response to freshwater restoration that enhanced spawning productivity (egg and fry survival), followed by spawner capa...