spawning beds
Egg-laying grounds
Spawning beds are areas of gravel, sand, or vegetation in rivers, lakes, or coastal waters where fish deposit and fertilize their eggs.
The term appears most often in discussions of salmon and trout, which dig shallow depressions called redds in streambeds: Conservation efforts focused on protecting the spawning beds upstream.
Spawning beds require specific conditions—water temperature, oxygen levels, substrate type—making them vulnerable to pollution and habitat disruption.
- rifflesShallow, turbulent stream sections
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
- gravel barsWaterway sediment formations
- river bottomFloor beneath flowing water
- nestsAnimal-built shelters for young
breeding · eggs · salmon · wild salmon · trout · kokanee · fertilization · aquatic habitat · substrate · freshwater ecosystems · alevin · upstream migration · streambeds · spawning · aquatic · incubation · sockeye · water
spawning bedsopen water
Unobstructed body navigable freely
deep water · dead zones · open ocean · offshore waters · water column
spawn, spawned, spawns, spawner, spawners, bed, beds, bedded, bedding