Breeding-season habitat use by sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) at Isle Verte, Quebec

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 2126-2130 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. Whoriskey ◽  
G. J. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Tidal Salt Marsh ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Marsh Pools ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

We examined habitat use patterns of three species of sticklebacks as they moved from the St. Lawrence estuary into tidal salt marsh pools to breed. All three species apparently avoided pools that dried out and settled more often in pools that retained their water. Habitat choice by immigrants was not influenced by either the presence of the most aggressive species or by resident fish density. Movements of fish into the marsh and densities of fish in the pools peaked on the first days of the approximately 7-day flooding cycles, and declined thereafter. Thus, large numbers of fish moved away from these pools after initially settling in them, but the reason for this and the subsequent fate of the fish is unknown.

Habitat segregation among the age groups of Gasterosteus aculeatus (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) in the middle St. Lawrence estuary, Canada

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1202-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Picard Jr. ◽  
Julian J. Dodson ◽  
Gérard J. FitzGerald
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Spawning Period ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Tidal Rivers ◽  
Marsh Pools ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Previous studies of migratory populations of sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) have been exclusively limited to their biology on the spawning grounds during the spring breeding season. In 1985 and 1986, we studied the ecology of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in three subhabitats of the middle St. Lawrence estuary before, during, and after the breeding season: (i) the open waters of the estuary, (ii) a series of intertidal salt marsh pools, and (iii) two tidal rivers (Rivière des Vases and Rivière Trois-Pistoles). In spring, our catch data in the various subhabitats showed that adults moved from the open waters of the estuary towards the tidal rivers and tide pools. Catches of adults in all subhabitats subsequently declined, whereas the young of the year (age 0+) became increasingly abundant. In this area, G. aculeatus live for 2 years and are physiologically capable of breeding during their first summer as adults. However, we found age-related differences in habitat use between the two adult year classes. Age 1+ fish were never more abundant than age 2+ fish in Rivière des Vases, in the tide pools, and in the open waters of the estuary, whereas age 1+ fish were more abundant than age 2+ fish in Rivière Trois-Pistoles. Throughout the breeding season, gonadosomatic indices of female G. aculeatus were the same for the two age groups. Total lengths of age 0+ fish captured in the various subhabitats suggest that the major spawning period is limited to May and June. Age 0+ fish do not leave the tide pools for the open waters of the estuary before having attained a certain minimum size.

scholarly journals Do Barrow's Goldeneyes, Bucephala islandica, Breed South of the St. Lawrence Estuary in the Gaspé Peninsula, Eastern Canada?

2010 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Jean-François Ouellet ◽  
Pierre Fradette ◽  
Isabel Blouin
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
North Shore ◽  
The North ◽  
Bucephala Islandica ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

We report the first observations of Barrow's Goldeneyes south of the St. Lawrence estuary in typical breeding habitat during the breeding season. Until recently, the confirmed breeding locations for the species in Eastern North America were all located on the north shore of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The effects of bird predation on an estuarine stickleback (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) community

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. Whoriskey ◽  
G. J. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Fish Community ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Selective Predation ◽  
Bird Predation ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Nycticorax Nycticorax ◽  
Larus Delawarensis ◽  
Night Heron ◽  
Marsh Pools ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Eight species of birds fed on a community of sticklebacks living in salt marsh pools along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence estuary in May and June when the fish breed. Three birds, the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), the bronzed grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), and the ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) accounted for 80% of the estimated captures. Bird predation removed about 30% of the sticklebacks in the marsh. Significantly more male than female Gasterosteus aculeatus and G. wheatlandi were eaten, indicating selective predation is playing a role in structuring this fish community.

Habitat use by early life stages of the re-established striped bass and conspecific fish species along the St. Lawrence estuary

2020 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 106696
Author(s):  
L. Vanalderweireldt ◽  
G. Winkler ◽  
E.L. Forget-Lacoursière ◽  
M. Mingelbier ◽  
P. Sirois
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Striped Bass ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Nekton and Macro-Crustacean Habitat Use of Mississippi Micro-Tidal Salt Marsh Landscapes

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1399-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Ennis ◽  
Mark S. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Tidal Salt Marsh

Forced copulation in sympatric American black ducks and mallards in Nova Scotia

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 1691-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Seymour
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Black Duck ◽  
Forced Copulation ◽  
American Black ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Observations of primarily identifiable wild black ducks and mallards provided qualitative and quantitative descriptions of interactions within and between intraspecific, interspecific, and heterospecific pairs throughout the breeding season. The study was carried out in a watershed on the St. Lawrence estuary shore of Nova Scotia from 1972 to 1988. Attempted forced copulation and forced pair copulation were rare among black ducks at any time throughout the breeding period. Only two apparently successful forced copulations were observed. Territorial males chased both female black ducks and mallards, and these chases appeared motivated by hostility. Males that had left their mates/territories did not attempt forced copulation with other females. Females sometimes avoided strange males, particularly when they returned to territories from their nests. Paired males rarely approached females with broods. Male mallards chased both female mallards and black ducks, and did not appear to discriminate between species when attempting forced copulation. Male mallards were more persistent and vigorous in their chases than black ducks, and they attempted forced copulation, whether with black ducks or mallards, more frequently than male black ducks did. Apparently successful forced copulation between a male mallard and female black duck occurred on three occasions.

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