Welcome to your Spring Class!

Although we won’t be directly experiencing the

wonders of the outdoors together, we still have lots
of fun and informative activities planned for the
following weeks that should inspire and motivate
you to become engaged with the natural world!
Materials for today!
Take 1-2 minutes to go gather these supplies, if you have
them
● Pencil
● Paper or a notebook
Meet the Team!
Introductions
● Name
● What is your favorite activity to do outdoors?
● Anything else you want us to know?
Land Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge and
honor the indigenous communities
found throughout Oregon, specifically
the Kalapuya Tribe which is now a part
of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand
Ronde.

Eugene is built upon the traditional

homelands of the Kalapuya and we http://www.native-languages.org/oregon.htm

recognize their role as past, present,

and future caretakers of the land.
Zoom Netiquette
Some guidelines for our online learning environment:

● Please mute your microphone unless you are talking.

● Let everyone speak by avoiding speaking over them.
● If you need to get up (bathroom, drink of water, etc.) no need to ask!
● Respect others: Show patience and kindness for each other. We value
differences and communicate disagreements with respect.
● Keep chats appropriate and relevant to the content. Reminder that all
messages in the public chat and private chats are uploaded to the host at the
end of class.
Salmon Lifecycle
 Salmon Species in the Pacific Northwest
● Coho, Chinook,
and Chum are
common in
Oregon

https://www.ruchschool.org/salmon-watch.html
Salmon Lifecycle
There are seven main stages:
1. Eggs
2. Alevin (al-e-vin)
3. Fry
4. Parr
5. Smolt
6. Adult
7. Spawning https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/salmon-running-the-gauntlet-salmon-lifecycle/
6559/
 Egg
● Females use their tails to
bury eggs under gavel (this
is called a redd).
● Females can lay as many
as 2500-700 eggs in
several different redds.

https://www.seattleaquarium.org/blog/salmon-eggs-numbers
Alevin
● Embryos hatch into
larval fish called alevins
(al-e-vins).
● Defenseless alevins live
under the gravel.
● They receive all their
nutrients from yolk sacs
attached to their bodies.
 Fry
● After the yolk sac is
absorbed, the salmon
emerge from the gravel as
fry, and can feed on their
own.
● Some species (pink and
chum) start swimming
downstream towards the
ocean. Others wait months https://salmonfactswork.weebly.com/fry.html

or years before migrating.

 Parr
● This stage is characterized by
the distinct vertical bars that
develop on the salmon.
● This stage can last months or
years depending on the
species.

Why might the salmon have these

https://istemunits.weebly.com/life-science.ht
ml

markings?
 Camouflage!
Parr marks help protect young fish from predators.
 Smolt
● Seaward-migrating salmon
lose their stripes and are left
with shiny silver scales.
● This new look will
camouflage them in the
ocean instead of the rivers
they were born in.

https://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/areas-activity/fisheries-ecosyste
ms/salmon-life-cycle

How might salmon adapt to live in

saltwater environments?
Estuaries are areas where rivers flow
into the sea. They are transition
zones from freshwater to saltwater.

Estuaries become important habitats

for young salmon who undergo
physiological changes, or changes in
their bodily functions that allow
them to live in saltwater. https://oregonconservationstrategy.org/conservation-opportunity-area/siuslaw-river-estuary/
 Adult/Spawning
● After salmon leave the ocean,
they travel upstream to their
spawning grounds.
● During this time, they do not
eat and receive all energy from
stored fats.
● Each salmon species develops a
distinct look at this time.

What differences do you notice between the https://www.kyuk.org/term/environment?page=24

ocean salmon and spawning salmon?

 What’s happening next week?
—We’ll be learning more about...
— Remember to bring a writing utensil and
something you can keep to write in for the
following weeks.
 Sources
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/salmon-running-the-gauntlet-salmon-lifecycle/6559/