the salmon life cycle is a very complicated life cycle. the adults return back to where they were born, and the scientists still dont know how they do it.

Salmon eggs(ova)

the salmon ova hatch in about 3 months. salmon eggs are are laid in gravel nests called redds made by the female(see adult spawner).the eggs are a orangish pink color and about the size of a pencil eraser.if you look at it, you can see the salmon eyes and oragens developing in the ova.

Threats:

disturbance of gravel

invasive species

predetation

high water tempurtures

freezing

suffocation(if the egg is buried)

pollution

flooding

disease

Humans(dams,waste.etc.)

salmon alevin

when the baby salmon (alevin) hatches,it has a yolk sac that it feeds off of for about a month. it will hide in gravel until its yolk sac is used up. the alevin cannot swim well because of the yolk sac.

diet:

nutrients from yolk sac

threats:

predators

pollutiuon

floods

humans(dams,waste,etc.)

fry

once the yolk sac is used up, the alevin (now called fry) begins to join or start a school.they now feed in rivers and stay in fresh water for 3 years or more (some salmon stay in fresh water their whole lives!) they also grow parr marks on their backs.

diet:

zooplankton

(once colder) aquatic insects

threats:

pollution

predators

invasive species

humans(dams,waste,etc.)

parr

basicaly a bigger version of a fry, the parr is six inches long. they feed 1-3 years before their ready to go out to the ocean.

Diet:

(once colder) aquatic insects

zooplankton

threats:

pollution

habitat problems

invasive secies

humans (dams,waste,etc.)

Smolt

at this juvenile stage, the smolt lose their parr marks. they turn silvery in color. their bodies get adjusted to saltwater. they will then venture out to sea, where many challenges await.

diet:

insects(including larva),

aquatic invertebrates,

smaller smolt,

crusteaceans

small fish

Threats:

pollution

disease

invasive species

humans (dams, wase,etc.)

ocean conditions

storm water

runoff

pumps

climate

Adult

they spend 1 to 4  years eating and living in the sea. once a adult, each specie of salmon develope a different marking. After swimming 2000 miles through the pacific ocean, they return to their birth place to spawn.

Diet:

zoo plankton

smaller fish

krill

invertebrates

Threats:

disase

pollution

invasive species

humans (dams,waste,fishing,etc.)

ocean conditions

storm water

climate change

Adult spawner

once upon reaching the river where they were born, they readapt to fresh water. They cease to feed,  and live on fat in their bodies. The female then creates a Redd, or a nest, by sweeping her tail back and forth. She lays the eggs in the redd, and the male protects them until the female and the male die within a couple of weeks, leaving the embryos to fend for themselves.

diet:

nothing (they dont eat)

threats :

same