The bioenergetics of density-dependent growth in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1651-1662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Guénard ◽  
Daniel Boisclair ◽  
Ola Ugedal ◽  
Torbjørn Forseth ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
...  

We explored the mechanisms of density-dependent growth in Arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus ) by comparing the energetics of growth, consumption, and activity obtained under three replicated density treatments in a large-scale enclosure (90 m2 surface area) experiment. The enclosures permitted the entry of zooplankton and allowed char to feed on the bottom and at the surface of the lake. We found a negative (power) relationship between growth and density. Char consumption rate decreased linearly with increasing density. Growth efficiency was affected by fish density in a similar manner as growth rate. Finally, activity increased with fish density and was particularly high at high densities. Our findings illustrate the complexity of the relationships among consumption, activity, growth rates, and fish density and bring further evidence to the possible involvement of behavioural mechanisms in density-dependent processes, notably by modulating activity costs with density.

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1231-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Lobón-Cerviá

The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which, and the conditions under which, density operated on growth in stream-living brown trout (Salmo trutta). Observational data of 14 cohorts at four sites of Rio Chaballos (northwestern Spain) were examined. Consistent relationships between cohort-specific mass versus cohort-specific density and between year-to-year variations in brown trout mass at the end of five successive life stages versus mean densities corroborated one another and provided compelling evidence for the occurrence of density-dependent growth. However, density-dependent patterns varied in nature among sites to the extent that they were site-specific. A further comparison among 12 data sets revealed a smooth negative power trajectory between juvenile mass versus density. This plot suggested that detection of density-dependent growth might be facilitated in low density – high growth populations located at the steep wing relative to high density – slow growth populations. Current results emphasized the importance of density as a factor determining size-at-age and supported its operation as epiphenomena capable to obscure the effects of temperature on growth. The operation of density-dependent growth on numerical regulation of the population is further discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily B Szalai ◽  
Guy W Fleischer ◽  
James R Bence

A concurrent increase in lakewide abundance and decrease in size-at-age of bloater (Coregonus hoyi) in Lake Michigan have suggested density-dependent growth regulation. We investigated these temporal patterns by fitting a dynamic von Bertalanffy model and length–weight relationship with time-varying parameters to mean length- and weight-at-ages (ages 1–7) from annual surveys (1965–1999). We modeled yearling length, asymptotic size (L[Formula: see text]), and the parameters of a power relationship between mean weight and mean length (α and β) as changing slowly over time using a random walk model. The Brody growth coefficient (k) was modeled as a linear function of L[Formula: see text] with year-specific random deviations. Our results support a positive relationship between L[Formula: see text] and k, indicating that under conditions supporting larger asymptotic lengths, individuals approach the asymptote more rapidly. We explored the relationship between year-specific growth parameters and indices of lakewide bloater abundance and found evidence of density-dependent growth. However, in the most recent years, L[Formula: see text] and yearling length have remained low in Lake Michigan despite low bloater abundances, suggesting the occurrence of a fundamental shift in the food web.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 1337-1347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Blake Brunsdon ◽  
Dylan John Fraser ◽  
William Rundle Ardren ◽  
James William Angus Grant

Dispersal from nesting sites and habitat selection are essential for the fitness of young individuals and shape the distribution, growth, and persistence of populations. These processes are important to consider when releasing young, hatchery-origin fishes into the wild to restore extirpated or depleted populations. By manipulating the density of released young-of-the-year (YOY) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), we evaluated the effects of clumped- (releasing all the fish at one location) and dispersed-stocking (releasing the fish evenly over a complete reach) treatments on juvenile habitat use, dispersal, growth, and survival. Across 14 river reaches, clump-stocked YOY density decreased and growth rate increased with distance downstream, whereas dispersed-stocked YOY densities and growth were relatively constant. Overall, density, spatial variance in density, growth, and survival did not differ between these two stocking treatments, likely due to the greater-than-expected mobility of fish in clumped-stocking reaches; YOY dispersed up to 1600 m, with 41% moving over 200 m downstream. As predicted from previous work, growth rate of individual fish was density-dependent, following a negative power curve. Our results provide insights into how the growth and survival of released individuals are altered via stocking treatments, ultimately shaping their distribution and growth rate.


2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
E Lewisch ◽  
T Frank ◽  
H Soliman ◽  
O Schachner ◽  
A Friedl ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Klobucar ◽  
Jessica A. Rick ◽  
Elizabeth G. Mandeville ◽  
Catherine E. Wagner ◽  
Phaedra Budy

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1229-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Kristoffersen ◽  
Morten Halvorsen ◽  
Lisbeth Jørgensen

Anadromy of nine lake populations of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in northern Norway was scored on the following criteria: prevalence of marine parasites, fish size, and size at maturity. In general, anadromy dominated in shallow lakes and residency dominated in deep lakes. The anadromy scores of the populations were significantly higher in lakes without a profundal zone compared with lakes with a profundal zone. There was also a significant negative correlation between the relative volume of the profundal zone (RPV) and the degree of anadromy and between RPV and mean parr length at ages 2+ and 3+. However, differences in parr growth could not explain all the observed variation in anadromy, and the correlation between mean parr length at ages 2+ and 3+ and the degree of anadromy in the different populations was not significant. In addition to the effect on parr growth, lake morphology seemed to influence the degree of anadromy through the relative size of different habitats, which in turn affects the number of available niches. The parr weight/length relationship and infection with the freshwater parasites Phyllodistomum umblae and Diphyllobothrium spp. did not affect the degree of anadromy.


Oecologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 165 (4) ◽  
pp. 959-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigurd Einum ◽  
Grethe Robertsen ◽  
Keith H. Nislow ◽  
Simon McKelvey ◽  
John D. Armstrong

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