Diel patterns of activity and substrate preference in young Arctic char from the Koroc River, northern Quebec

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2500-2502 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Adams ◽  
D. R. Barton ◽  
R. A. Cunjak ◽  
G. Power ◽  
S. C. Riley

Young Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) were observed in a stream tank located on the bank of the Koroc river, northern Quebec. Early in the summer, char were most active from dusk to dawn, and at midday, mainly over gravel or sand. Some nocturnal feeding activity was evident. As the summer progressed, this diel periodicity in activity became less pronounced; char exhibited increasing diurnal activity, most of it over rubble substrata. Char preferred rubble for resting throughout the summer. Invertebrate drift decreased from July through August so that, although fish were active more of the time, the rate of feeding during periods of activity declined.

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2894-2900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Alanärä ◽  
Eva Brännäs

When food is limited and competition for it is high, individual fish may adopt different diel activity patterns. We followed individual feeding activity in groups of 10 Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using a combined self-feeding and PIT-tag system. Food was supplied at low and high rewards to five replicate groups of Arctic char and rainbow trout. Four categories were identified in both species: high-triggering diurnal (diurnal fish with the highest self-feeding activity), low-triggering diurnal, nocturnal, and nontriggering fish. On average, the photophase proportion of the total daily activity was approx 90% in diurnal and approx 20% in nocturnal individuals. Rainbow trout offered high rewards did not show any diel preferences. Diurnal Arctic char and rainbow trout with the highest self-feeding activity were initially larger and had the highest growth rates, indicating a high social position. Nocturnal fish were initially smaller and their proportion of trigger actuations much lower than the high-triggering diurnal fish. These still grew successfully whereas nontriggering fish grew significantly less. Thus, some individuals with a low social status may apply an alternative strategy to attain adequate growth by feeding at night when dominant individuals are less aggressive. This may be referred to as concurrent dualism (diurnalism and nocturnalism).


1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Alanärä ◽  
Svante Winberg ◽  
Eva Brännäs ◽  
Anders Kiessling ◽  
Erik Höglund ◽  
...  

The relationships between feeding activity, brain serotonergic activity level, and energy reserves in eight groups of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) were evaluated using self-feeders in combination with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Serotonin concentrations were measured in the brain stem, telencephalon, and hypothalamus. Energy reserves were measured, as fat levels, in muscle and mesenteric tissue. The self-feeding activity level was found to correlate positively (P < 0.05) with the growth rate and negatively (P < 0.05) with the serotonergic activity levels in the brain stem and telencephalon. No significant relationship was found, however, between the number of trigger activations and the muscle or mesenteric tissue lipid level. One or, in some cases, two fish in each group clearly dominated the activation of the trigger, and showed the highest growth rates and lowest stress levels, measured as brain serotonergic activity. Subordinate fish (one to three individuals) hardly ever activated the trigger, but showed relatively high growth rates and brain serotonergic activity levels that did not differ significantly from those of dominant fish. The remaining individuals showed very little feeding activity and low growth rates. In addition, brain serotonergic activity levels were significantly higher than in fish in the former two categories, indicating that the subordinate fish suffered from stress and had a low social rank.


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.


1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 1461-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. McDonald ◽  
B. R. McMahon

Changes in surface morphology of the gills, ventilation rate, and heart rate were examined in Arctic char larvae exposed to normoxia (pO2 = 121 ± 6 (SE) mmHg) or chronic hypoxia (pO2 = 33 ± 3.5 mmHg) for 47 days after hatching. A modified weighted-averages technique was developed to measure aspects of gill morphology.Early development of the gills was characterized by rapid increases in filament size and number, and the emergence and proliferation of secondary lamellae. Variations in the dimensions of the gills, as noted in adult fish, were particularly evident in the larval fish.Hypoxia caused increases in both ventilation rate and heart rate. Prolonged exposure led to a retardation of gill growth, particularly the proliferation of secondary lamellae. However, growth of individual lamellae was stimulated between 38 and 47 days.


1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Schmitz

The existence of basic smoltification characteristics, measured by means of seasonal changes in rheotactic behaviour and seawater adaptability, was studied from February to November in 1- and 2-yr-old landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Up- and downstream directed movements were monitored in an annular stream tank at a water velocity of 0.2 m/s. A 48-h seawater challenge test using 25‰ seawater was performed at monthly intervals throughout the year to assess seawater adaptability. The 1-yr-old char displayed mainly nondirectional behaviour during spring, but from August onwards the movements were predominantly against the current. Seawater performance improved slightly in this group in May and June. The 2-yr-old char progressively developed a downstream behaviour and exhibited an increased seawater adaptability during spring and early summer. In late August, a marked reversal in rheotactic behaviour occurred, followed by a rapid decrease in seawater tolerance. The results demonstrate that seasonal changes in seawater adaptability and changes in migratory behaviour which were directionally consistent with smolting still exist in a population of Arctic char that has been landlocked for about 6000 yr.


Author(s):  
Véronique Dubos ◽  
André St-Hilaire ◽  
Normand E Bergeron

Arctic char is a fish species known to occupy diverse habitats within the Arctic region. However, summer habitat use during the juvenile stage of the anadromous form is largely unknown. The present study aims to characterize fry and parr summer habitat preferences. Surveys were conducted by electrofishing, associated with physical habitat characterization on several rivers of the Ungava Bay, Nunavik, Canada. At the microhabitat and station scales, fry showed significant habitat preferences for shallow water and slow velocity. At the mesohabitat scale, fry showed a significant habitat selectivity for riffles. This habitat selectivity implies that habitat models can be built to evaluate the potential of habitat suitability for Arctic char fry. However, no significant habitat selectivity was found for parr. Parr size was nonetheless positively correlated with velocity, which was found to be a limitative factor for juvenile habitat use. This first attempt at modeling juvenile anadromous Arctic char habitat in rivers emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate spatial scale and reiterates the fact that parr showed relatively high plasticity in stream habitat selection.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2343-2353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingeborg M. Mulder ◽  
Corey J. Morris ◽  
J. Brian Dempson ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
Michael Power

Anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) migrate back to fresh water in late summer to spawn and (or) overwinter. Upon freshwater entry, feeding is reduced or absent, and movement activity is restricted. While the physiological responses to low temperatures (e.g., growth, metabolism) are understood, specifics of the use of thermal habitat for overwintering remains poorly characterized. This study used acoustic and archival telemetry data from two lakes in southern Labrador, Canada, to study thermal habitat use during the ice-covered period. Results showed that lake-dwelling anadromous Arctic char predominantly occupied a narrow range of temperatures (0.5–2 °C) and used cooler temperatures available within the middle and upper water column. Use of the selected temperatures is likely a strategy that lowers metabolic costs and minimizes energy expenditure, preserving stored lipids for overwinter survival and the energetic costs of preparation for seaward migration. As Arctic char are visual feeders, use of the upper water column is also thought to aid foraging efficiency by increasing the likelihood of prey capture.


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