Conceptual Model for Disease Effects in the Klamath River

This summary report describes a conceptual model for myxozoan disease effects on juvenile Chinook and coho salmon in the Klamath River under the scenarios of current conditions and removal of the four Klamath project dams. For reasons summarized in a previous document “Compilation of Information Relating to Myxozoan Disease Effects to Inform the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (Compilation Report; Bartholomew
and Foott 2010), we use Ceratomyxa shasta infection as an indicator of disease mortality. A review of the parasite life cycle, parasite distribution in the Klamath River, assumptions, definitions and assessments of how specific physical and biological parameters affect disease is presented in that document. That report also prioritized the factors we believe are most important for predicting where disease effects will occur under current conditions and where future areas of high infection might occur.