Kokanee Salmon

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Kokanee Salmon

• from Egg to Adult

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• When salmon are three to four years old they are
  ready to spawn.
• What does the word spawn mean?
• to swim upstream
• to lay eggs
• to jump high

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• Salmon return to the place where they hatched.
• The trip is difficult because the salmon must
  swim against the current and they often have to
  jump over falls and log jams.
• How do salmon find where they hatched?
• They use their sense of smell.
• They are really smart.
• They have a leader fish.

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• When the salmon are ready to spawn their
  bodies turn bright red and their heads stay
  green.
• The males grow a hooked snout, a humped back, and
  sharp teeth.
• What are the teeth used for?
• Eating
• Smiling
• Defense against other male salmon

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• The female salmon builds a special spot for her
  eggs.
• She uses her strong tail to dig down into the
  gravel.
• She will lay her eggs in several spots in the
  same area and then cover them up again with
  gravel.
• The salmons spot to lay eggs is called a
• nest
• redd
• bed

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• A male salmon has an important job as well.
• A female chooses the male fish and he battles
  with the other male fish to be the father.
• The eggs must be fertilized by the male salmon
  after they have been laid by the female.
• What does the male use to fertilize the eggs?
• oxygen
• scales
• milt

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• The eggs hatch in late March or early April.
• The hatchlings are called an alevin.
• What do the alevins need to stay alive?
• plankton
• worms
• their yolk sac

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• Out of 100 eggs, only five to ten will survive
  to the next stage in the life cycle.
• After one to two months the yolk sac has been
  used up.
• What is this stage called?
• fry
• adult
• cub

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• The fry come out at night and start their
  migration to Okanagan Lake.
• The fry have to keep close to the stream bank to
  avoid predators.
• The predators are
• dolphins, whales, and crab
• ducks, big fish, and birds
• snakes, snails, and spiders

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• These fish mature over the next two (2) to five
  (5) years.
• When they have reached adult size, they prepare
  to spawn.
• What do we call the change from an egg, to an
  alevin, to a fry, to an adult, to a spawning
  adult?
• salmon run
• plankton
• life cycle

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The word spawn means

• To lay eggs.
• The female may lay up to 1600 eggs. Many of
  these eggs will be eaten by predators.

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Salmon find where they hatched because

• they have a very good sense of smell to lead
  them back.

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Male Salmon use their teeth

• to defend themselves against other males.

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The place where the female lays her eggs is
called

• a redd.
• To dig a redd, a female turns on her side and
  flips her tail back and forth to move the gravel.

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The male kokanee fertilizes the eggs with

• milt.
• Eggs and milt come into contact in the water
  as they drop to the bottom of the redd.

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The alevins need

• their yolk sac to stay alive.
• The yolk sac is a food source the alevin uses to
  grow into a fry.

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This stage is called

• the fry stage.
• Between late March and early May, the fry swim
  out of the gravel and straight downstream to the
  lake.

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The frys predators are

• ducks, big fish, and birds.
• Fry try to stay away from predators by hiding
  around logs, bolders, and plants

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The change from an egg to an adult is called

• a life cycle.
• A life cycle tells how living things grow, then
  die, and new livings things replace them.

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