Data and code from: Migration and repeat spawning dynamics of acoustically tagged Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) kelt through the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Data files
Sep 02, 2026 version files 5.46 MB
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AllDets07-26.rds
5.40 MB
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Hp-Kelt-Values-10-2025.csv
31.03 KB
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Kelt_Telemetry_Script_08-2026.R
16.35 KB
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README.md
4.02 KB
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TagData07-14.rds
7.73 KB
Abstract
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) display diverse life history strategies, with some spawning more than once. Repeat spawners are often overlooked in population assessments. We analyzed acoustic telemetry data from 530 post-spawned salmon (kelts) tagged in three Canadian rivers (Miramichi, Restigouche, Cascapedia) over 11 years (2008–2019) to examine (1) the frequency of repeat spawning across populations and time, (2) the relative importance of consecutive versus alternate reconditioning strategies, and (3) spatial and temporal migration dynamics through the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GoSL). Overall, 15.5% of tagged kelts were detected returning to rivers to spawn in consecutive (8.4%) or alternate years (6.8%). Alternate spawners from all three rivers entered the Labrador Sea through the Straight of Belle Isle synchronously, suggesting an environmental influence. Our findings reveal population-specific variation and condition-dependent plasticity in reconditioning behaviour, highlighting the importance of accounting for repeat spawners in assessments and management of Atlantic salmon populations to promote their resilience.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.70rxwdcc0
Description of the data and file structure
This data was collected to describe reconditioning migrations and repeat spawning dynamics of post-spawned Atlantic Salmon from the Miramichi, Restigouche, and Cascapedia Rvers that all flow into the Gulf of St Lawrence.
Files and variables
File: Hp-Kelt-Values-10-2025.csv
Description: Classified reconditioning behaviours based on plotted annual detection histories
File: TagData10-25.rds
Description: All data collected from kelts at the time of tagging including biometrics, time and location of capture and tag information
File: AllDets07-26.rds
Description: All detections of tagged fish
- RelYear: Year that kelt was tagged and released
- River: River from which the kelt was tagged
- Transmitter: Acoustic Transmitter ID
- STOCK: Stock from which kelt originated
- FkLength: Fork Length of kelt in metres
- Weight: Weight in kg
- Age: River Age-Sea Age, number of spawning events denoted by 'sp'
- Sex: visually estimated sex
- RelDate: Date of release after tagging (same day as tagging)
- Date: Date of detection
- Receiver: Receiver ID that detection came from
- Det_Year: Year of detection
- OTN_ARRAY: owner of receiver
- Region: Classified segment of migration
- Station_Name: Name of receiver station
- Lat: Latitude of receiver where fish was detected, rounded to 0.01 degrees for protection of a Neat Threatened species, Salmo salar (IUCN Red List)
- Long: Longitude of receiver where fish was detected, rounded to 0.01 degrees for protection of a Neat Threatened species, Salmo salar (IUCN Red List)
- Dist: Approximate distance of receiver from outer bay of each fish's river of origin
- MD: Date of detection in month-day format
- JD: Julian Day of detection
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value: Annual behavioural classification (see values below)
'C'= Consecutive spawners that left the river and returned in the same year
'S'= Destined Alternate spawners that were last detected at the Strait of Belle Isle (SoBI)
'A'= Alternate spawners that returned to the river after leaving the previous year
File: TagData07-14.rds
- RelYear: Year that kelt was tagged and released
- River: River from which the kelt was tagged
- Transmitter: Acoustic Transmitter ID
- STOCK: Stock from which kelt originated
- FkLength: Fork Length of kelt in metres
- Weight: Weight in kg
- Age: River Age-Sea Age, number of spawning events denoted by 'sp'
- Sex: visually estimated sex
- RelLat: Latitude fish was released after tagging, rounded to nearest 0.01 degrees
- RelLong: Longitude fish was released after tagging, rounded to nearest 0.01 degrees
- RelDate: Date of release after tagging (same day as tagging)
- TAG_MODEL: Acoustic Tag Model
- EST_TAG_LIFE: Estimated battery life of tag in days
- Pingrate: Range of time between pings in seconds
- sp.count: number of spawning marks on scales at time of tagging
- Sage: Sea age in years
- Smage: Smolt age in years
File: Kelt_Telemetry_Script_08-2026.R
Description: R script used to describe the movement of acoustically tagged kelts from the Miramichi, Restigouche and Cascapedia rivers between freshwater spawning grounds and marine feeding grounds.
Code/software
Data was analyzed using R v4.1.0, R Core Team, 2021
The following packages were used:
viridis_0.6.5
gridExtra_2.3
scales_1.3.0
lubridate_1.9.3
stringr_1.5.1
tidyr_1.3.1
tibble_3.2.1
tidyverse_2.0.0
readxl_1.4.3
data.table_1.16.0
readr_2.1.5
ggplot2_3.5.1
dplyr_1.1.4
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- NA
Data was derived from the following sources:
- Atlantic Salmon Federation and Ocean Tracking Network Acoustic Telemetry Infrastructure