Guarding her brood

After spawning the female Pacific salmon will stand by and guard her clutch of eggs developing in the redd that is buried in the gravel below her position until she dies. Guard duties include attacking females attempting to spawn nearby. This is a particular adaptation of semelparity. Females of the other salmonid species, which are all iteroparus, leave the spawning grounds to begin recovery in order to breed again.

A female Pink Salmon defends her redd
A female Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) defends her redd from an encroaching Sockeye Salmon (O. nerka).
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology CRD Chordata Class Actinopterygii Copper River Delta Ecology Humpback Salmon Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Pink Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior fresh water freshwater guarding eggs in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism redd defense semelparity semelparous spawning behavior stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
A female Pink Salmon defends her redd
A female Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) defends her redd from an encroaching Sockeye Salmon (O. nerka).
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology CRD Chordata Class Actinopterygii Copper River Delta Ecology Humpback Salmon Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Pink Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior fresh water freshwater guarding eggs in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism redd defense semelparity semelparous spawning behavior stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Rival Coho Salmon females
Using a gape threat posture, a female Coho Salmon a.k.a. Silver Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) challenges another for the rights to spawning territory in an Alaska, USA stream during the autumn.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Autumn Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Coho Salmon Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus kisutch Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Silver Salmon South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate aggression anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female aggresision female behavior female threat posture fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism probing semelparity semelparous spawning behavior stream threat posture under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Pink Salmon female on female aggression
Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) female being attacked by another while attempting to dig a redd. Aspect ratio = 4:5.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Humpback Salmon Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Pink Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate aggression anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior femalefemale interaction underwater fighting fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism semelparity semelparous spawning behavior stream threat posture under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Sockeye Salmon female on female aggression
A female Sockeye Salmon a.k.a. Red Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) attacking a female who is excaving a redd too close to hers in an Alaska, USA stream during the summer.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate aggression anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior femalefemale interaction underwater fighting fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism salmonography.com semelparity semelparous spawning spawning behavior stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Sockeye Salmon female on female aggression
A female Sockeye Salmon a.k.a. Red Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) attacking a female who is excaving a redd that is too close to hers in an Alaska, USA stream during the summer.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate aggression anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior femalefemale interaction fighting fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism semelparity semelparous spawning spawning behavior stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Female competition
A female Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) attacks another female. Underwater view in an Alaskan stream during the summer.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate aggression anadromous anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy female behavior female threat posture femalefemale interaction femalefemale interaction underwater fighting fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism semelparity semelparous stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon