Sloppy spawning

Not all eggs that are spawned will survive. Some may die very soon after spawning due to what I call sloppy spawning. Sloppy spawned eggs are those that do not end up buried in the redd by the completion of spawning and are thus vulnerable to consumption by egg scavengers. See also the gallery titled salmon eggs as food.

Spawning act egg loss
Gametes drift downstream as these Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) spawn during December in an Alaskan stream. The eggs are potential food for scavengers.
Actinopterygii Animal Autumn Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Coho Salmon Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus kisutch Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Sea Sea internal correction lens Seacam underwater housing Silver Salmon Subclass Neopterygii Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate WPY2022 biological biosphere chordate in situ living naturalworld nature organism sloppy spawning underwater underwaterphoto wild www.salmonography.com
Dolly Varden feeding on a salmon egg
A southern form Dolly Varden Charr (Salvelinus malma lordi) about to consume a loose Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) egg resulting from a sloppy spawning.
Actinopterygii Alaska Alaska wild salmon Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Dolly Varden Dolly Varden Char Dolly Varden Charr Dolly Varden Charr southern form Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Salvelinus malma Salvelinus malma lordi Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon South Central Alaska Subclass Neopterygii summer Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate diadromous egg scavenging fresh water freshwater in situ iteroparity iteroparous living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism scavenger scavenging sloppy spawning stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild char wild charr wild salmon wild trout
Dolly Varden scavneging loose eggs
Southern form Dolly Varden Charr (Salvelinus malma lordi) scavenging loose Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) eggs on the stream bed resulting from a sloppy spawning.
Actinopterygii Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Dolly Varden Dolly Varden Char Dolly Varden Charr Dolly Varden Charr southern form Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Salvelinus malma Salvelinus malma lordi Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon Subclass Neopterygii summer Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate egg scavenging in situ living naturalworld nature organism scavenger scavenging sloppy spawning underwater underwaterphoto wild
Dolly Varden discovering loose eggs
A southern form Dolly Varden Charr (Salvelinus malma lordi) discovers loose Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) eggs on the stream bed resulting from a sloppy spawning.
Actinopterygii Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Dolly Varden Dolly Varden Char Dolly Varden Charr Dolly Varden Charr southern form Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Salvelinus malma Salvelinus malma lordi Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon Subclass Neopterygii summer Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate egg scavenging in situ living naturalworld nature organism scavenger scavenging sloppy spawning underwater underwaterphoto wild
Egg scatter
Spawning draws to a close revealing Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) eggs scattered outside the redd pocket.
Actinopterygii Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Dolly Varden Dolly Varden Char Dolly Varden Charr Dolly Varden Charr southern form Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Reproductive behavior Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Salvelinus malma Salvelinus malma lordi Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate courtship in situ living naturalworld nature organism sloppy spawning spawning spawning act spawning behavior underwater underwaterphoto wild www.salmonography.com
Lost eggs
Eggs lost during the redd covering process lie adjacent to a mostly-covered Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) redd waiting to be scavenged by an egg consumer.
Actinopterygii Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate in situ living naturalworld nature organism underwater underwaterphoto wild
Likely egg mortality
Female Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) pausing over her redd following spawning and redd burial. Those eggs left on the surface will likely be eaten by eggs scvangers. Two lost eggs can be seen near her caudal fin and quite a few around the woody debris at the left of the frame.
Actinopterygii 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 Subclass Neopterygii Summer Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate courtship covering redd in situ living naturalworld nature organism spawning behavior underwater underwaterphoto wild
Coho Salmon spawning act
Coho Salmon a.k.a. Silver Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the act of spawning in an Alaska stream during the autumn. One of the males has suspended several eggs into the water column by his movemnt towards a competing male. These eggs are more likely to get scavenged compared to those falling into the redd.
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 anadromous anadromous fish anadromy biological biosphere chordate courtship diadromous diadromy fresh water freshwater in situ living lotic migratory naturalworld nature organism salmonography.com semelparity semelparous spawning spawning act spawning behavior stream under fresh water underwater underwaterphoto wild wild salmon
Egg loss
A female Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) turns around while covering her redd revealing a few eggs scattered outside the redd pocket. These eggs are likely to be scattered even further from later covering action increasing their likelyhood of being scavenged.
Actinopterygii Animal Biology Chordata Class Actinopterygii Ecology Infraclass Teleostei Neopterygii Oncorhynchus nerka Pacific salmon Phylum Chordata Red Salmon Salmonidae Salmoniformes Salmoninae Seacam underwater housing Sockeye Salmon Subclass Neopterygii Teleost Teleostei Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate in situ living naturalworld nature organism underwater underwaterphoto wild
Lost eggs
Eggs can be seen drifting downstream from these spawning Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka; salmonidae) mixed with milt. These eggs will likely be scavenged as well as those lying on the stream bed in the right side of the frame.
Actinopterygii Alaska 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 Teleost Teleostei United States Vertebrate biological biosphere chordate courtship in situ living male behavior naturalworld nature organism polygamy spawning spawning behavior summer underwater underwaterphoto wild