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.

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.

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.

Salinity tolerances and preferences of fry of two species of sympatric sticklebacks: possible mechanisms of habitat segregation

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1048-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Campeau ◽  
Helga Guderley ◽  
Gerard Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Tidal River ◽  
Differential Distribution ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Parental Stock ◽  
Salinity Preference ◽  
Tolerance Field ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

During their period of reproductive activity, the sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus (trachurus) and Gasterosteus wheatlandi show differences in their use of available microhabitats in the salt marshes of the St. Lawrence estuary. Gasterosteus aculeatus is found at all stations along a tidal river, Rivière des Vases, while G. wheatlandi is absent from the sites exposed to freshwater. To determine whether the juveniles of these species have different sensitivities to low salinities which could account for their differential distribution, we examined the salinity tolerances of laboratory-reared fry. Adult G. aculeatus (form trachurus) and G. wheatlandi collected at the mouth of the Rivière des Vases were used as the parental stock. For 1-week-old fry of both species, freshwater represented a marginal environment. Following exposure to freshwater for 96 h, G. aculeatus fry showed a 22% mortality while G. wheatlandi showed a significant decrease in growth. By 5 weeks of age, both species were euryhaline. Despite a wide salinity tolerance, field-collected G. wheatlandi significantly preferred a salinity of 7–14‰ while field-collected G. aculeatus fry showed no significant salinity preference.

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.

Evidence for differential predation on an estuarine stickleback community

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2394-2395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gérard J. FitzGerald ◽  
Jean-Denis Dutil
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Pungitius Pungitius ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Nycticorax Nycticorax ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Differential Predation ◽  
Apeltes Quadracus ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Night Heron ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

The diet of the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) feeding in June and July along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary was composed primarily of the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus. Three other sticklebacks, G. wheatlandi, Pungitius pungitius, and Apeltes quadracus occur in areas where the birds feed but were not eaten. It is suggested that differential predation on G. aculeatus may diminish interspecific competition for nest sites where the four stickleback species co-occur on the breeding grounds.

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.

A LONG-TERM STUDY OF A SHORT-LIVED FISH: THE DEMOGRAPHY OF GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS

Behaviour ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 981-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Wootton ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Spawning Period ◽  
Trend Line ◽  
Density Dependent Mortality ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Abstract(1) We present the results of the first long-term investigation on the demography of a population of three-spined sticklebacks. This study describes the changes in the abundance of a population from a backwater of the Afon Rheidol in mid-Wales, based on mark-recapture data collected in October of each year from 1972 until 1998. (2) The population showed quasi-cyclical changes in abundance around a trend line with a period of approximately 6 years. Over the duration of the study there was a tendency for the population to decline. During the unusually dry summers of 1976, 1983, 1984 and 1989 the population was either at a minimum size or was below the estimated trend line. Estimates of stickleback densities varied between 7-28 m-2. (3) Analysis of length-frequency data showed there were two cohorts present. These were assumed to represent two age classes, 0+ and 1+ , with the population consisting largely of the 0+ class. Thus the population was essentially annual. (4) There was evidence of density-dependent mortality and growth of 0+ sticklebacks during and shortly after the spawning period.

Changes in activity patterns, agonistic behavior, and territoriality of black ducks (Anas rubripes) during the breeding season in a Nova Scotia tidal marsh

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1773-1785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman R. Seymour ◽  
Rodger D. Titman
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Quantitative Description ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Spatial Displacement ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Observations of marked wild black ducks provided a qualitative and quantitative description of hostile interactions between pairs throughout the breeding season. This study was carried out on a tidal estuary on the St. Lawrence estuary shore of Nova Scotia from 1972 to 1974. Interactions occurred first on the communal part of the marsh and later on territories.Territories corresponded to tidal ponds (0.16–3.8 ha) at the marsh periphery and were established only after pairs were on the marsh 30–40 days. Territories were established approximately 5 days before egg laying began and females were responsible for their location. Females spent approximately 45 days on the territory and males stayed 27–32 days. Males remained almost continuously on territories during the prelaying and laying periods but left both females and territories during midincubation.The activity of males and females of pairs was analysed and compared according to three activities: foraging, loafing, and hostility. Females foraged at a faster rate and for longer durations than their mates in both the preterritorial and territorial periods. Hostility by territorial males toward intruding pairs provided seclusion for resident pairs. Changes in the form and intensity of hostility led to the spatial displacement of pairs. The pursuit flight by males was the main mechanism in the establishment and maintenance of territories.

Croissance de la plie rouge (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) de l'estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1610-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Vaillancourt ◽  
Jean-Claude F. Brêthes ◽  
Gaston Desrosiers
Keyword(s):  
Linear Growth ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pseudopleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Spawning Period ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Growth Equations ◽  
South Shore ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

A study on the growth in size and weight of the Winter Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum), was conducted from samples collected during the summers of 1979 and 1980, in the bay of Saint-Fabien-sur-Mer (Québec) on the south shore of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. Age was determined by otolith readings and length–weight relationships were calculated. Linear growth equations were not statistically different for males and females. On the other hand, weight was found to be higher for females than for males of equal sizes. This relationship also varies with the sampling period, and a substantial weight increase follows the spawning period. The growth of P. americanus is slower in the estuary than in more southern areas, while the weights at equal sizes are higher. These results reflect the severe environmental conditions, which necessitate a large accumulation of food energy by the fish as reserves, to the detriment of growth.

Temperature preferences of three sympatric sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae)

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1573-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Lachance ◽  
Pierre Magnan ◽  
Gerard J. FitzGerald
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Habitat Partitioning ◽  
Pungitius Pungitius ◽  
Temperature Preference ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Preferred Temperatures ◽  
Temperature Preferences ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Reproductive Migration

We determined the temperature preferences of three sympatric species of sticklebacks in the laboratory to see if differences in preferences could explain variation in times of reproductive migration to and from salt marsh tide pools along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence estuary, Quebec. The preferred temperatures were 9–12 °C for Gasterosteus aculeatus (form trachurus) and 11–14 °C for G. wheatlandi, while Pungitius pungitius showed a bimodal preference of 9–10 °C and 15–16 °C. In the field, G. aculeatus and G. wheatlandi left the tide pools earlier in the season than P. pungitius. Our results suggest that temperature preference may play a role in habitat partitioning among these species, hence facilitating their coexistence at high densities in the pools.

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