CONCLUSIONS

Spawning migration by the endangered Sakhalin taimen was characterized by coordinated movements within season and repeatable timings of arrival and departure from the spawning ground across seasons. Such behavioral consistency was more pronounced in females than males and was best explained by variations in water temperature and river flow that the females experienced in the estuarine habitat about a week before arriving at the spawning ground. Combined with our previous findings, we demonstrated that Sakhalin taimen possess strong fidelity to both time and location of reproductive activities that enable the species, especially females, to maintain migratory connectivity within and between spawning seasons.