Ecology of Freshwater Fish最新文献

The recent miniaturisation of implantable temperature recording tags has made measuring the water temperatures fish experience in the wild possible, but there may be a body size-dependent delay in implanted tag response time to changes in external temperature. To determine whether fish body size affects the response rate of implanted temperature tags, we implanted 20 Salvelinus fontinalis (127–228 mm fork length (FL), 15.1–120.4 g) with temperature recording tags and subjected them to rapid temperature changes (±8°C in less than 2 seconds) in the laboratory. We found that thermal transfer rates, and the lag in temperature tag response rate, was positively correlated with fish size, but the direction of temperature change (colder or warmer) had no significant effect. In fish exposed to a slower rate of temperature change (2°C h⁻¹) implanted tags did not show a response lag. Understanding the limitations of this important technology is crucial to determining the utility of the data it produces and its ability to accurately measure fish thermal experience in the wild.

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the issue of barrier removal is complicated by the presence of non-native species below barriers. A fish tracking study was conducted to guide efforts for barrier remediation decisions for the restoration of fish populations with a focus on Walleye (Scander vitreus) and Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Black Sturgeon River, a river system fragmented by a dam which blocks access of fishes to the majority of a large, otherwise barrier-free watershed. Data from 3 years of spawning migrations (2018–2020) indicated that the Walleye population in Black Bay likely consists of both river (65%) and lake spawners (27%), with the remaining individuals spawning in the bay or river in different years. Walleye and Lake Sturgeon showed consistent differences in the extent to which individuals migrated upstream in the river during the spawning season, despite expectations that both species would spawn at the base of the dam when prevented from further migration. The dam was presumably a barrier to migration for Lake Sturgeon, as nearly all Lake Sturgeon that entered the river migrated to the base of the dam. In contrast, few Walleye entering the river during the spawning season migrated to the dam annually. These findings suggest that Walleye and Lake Sturgeon may not benefit equally, at least in the short term, from barrier remediation or dam removal.

Location, dimensions, substrate and depth of the redds of the only non-introgressed population of the critically endangered Mediterranean trout Salmo cettii Rafinesque 1810 were investigated over 2 days, in January–February 2021, in a reach located in the headwaters of Tellesimo stream, Sicily. The habitat type (pool, riffle and glide) was identified for all the 13 redds observed; lengths, widths, depths and substrate size were measured in a sample of them. Eighty-five percent of the redds were located in pools and 15% in glides; no redd was found in riffles. The median total redd length was 80 cm (range: 43–580 cm; n = 11), and the median total area was 0.20 m² (range: 0.01–2.09 m²; n = 11). The median size of dominant substrate in pot was 0.65 cm (range: 0.20–2 cm) and in tailspill 1.25 cm (range: 0.50–2.00 cm). Redds were found at median water depth of 27.5 cm (range: 12–98 cm). These results represent the first description of the characteristics of the spawning nests of this autochthonous salmonid.

In temperate ecosystems, resource availability fluctuates seasonally due to changes in environmental conditions and productivity. Intra- and inter-specific trophic niche overlap under resource limitation is a measure of competitive interactions and influences species coexistence and community dynamics, but patterns of this overlap are influenced by anthropogenic activities. To investigate seasonal trophic niche dynamics of coexisting fish species in a flow-altered river, we analysed prey resources, stomach content samples and stable isotope signatures of mottled sculpin Cottus bairdii and juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta in the Blue River, Colorado, USA, a high-elevation oligotrophic river. Prey biomass (i.e. benthic macroinvertebrates) peaked in spring and declined through summer and autumn. Stomach content and stable isotope analysis results showed that diet composition of mottled sculpin and brown trout varied seasonally in response to changes in prey availability. Stomach content analysis results revealed that in autumn, both species exhibited the highest frequency of empty stomachs and expanded population trophic niches due to increased inter-individual diet variation despite decreased individual trophic niche breadth. Inter-specific trophic niche overlap was relatively high across all seasons, but the lowest degree of overlap occurred in autumn of both years when prey availability was lowest. Isotopic analysis revealed similar trends to stomach content analysis, of wider isotopic niches and reduced overlap in autumn compared to spring. Our data indicated that seasonal variation affected individual- and population-level trophic niche dynamics and inter-specific niche overlap between mottled sculpin and brown trout. This trophic segregation under resource limitation may serve as a mechanism that facilitates species coexistence in a flow-regulated, oligotrophic river.

Arctic regions of northeastern Asia represent areas of secondary contact of the glacial phylogenetic lineages of charrs belonging to the genus Salvelinus (Salmoniformes: Salmonidae). However, the post-glacial dispersion of charr across Arctic regions is poorly understood, as knowledge of populations from Chukotka and its neighbouring areas remains limited. Specifically, there is no clear understanding of which charr species inhabit significant regions of Chukotka from the sea coasts to the Kolyma drainage. In this study, we explored the affiliation of lacustrine charrs from the Chukotka area with (1) the Arctic lineage of Taranetz' charr (Salvelinus taranetzi); (2) the Bering lineage of Northern Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma malma) and (3) the Siberia and Atlantic lineages of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). We analysed sequence variation of the mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA CR; 960 base pairs) and genotyped seven microsatellite loci of nuclear DNA from charr collected at 13 sampling sites. We found different consequences of secondary contact: (1) complete fixation of introgressed mtDNA (mitochondrial capture) and (2) preservation of several mtDNA lineages with the absence of contemporary gene flow between resident populations. Combining the distribution patterns, phylogenetic network topology and knowledge of the glaciation history of the region, we propose two zones of secondary contact of the glacial lineages in Chukotka–Kolima-Chukotka River system and Paleo-Amguema River–from where charrs with introgressed genomes spread throughout this range. However, in some cases, the process of foreign mtDNA capture likely occurs in a more localised manner.

Heterospecific sociability could enhance invasion success in social species since social non-natives usually belong to small founding populations during the early stages of invasion. The twospot livebearer (Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculatus) is native to Central America and southern Mexico and is recently recognised as invasive in the Mexican Central Plateau, where it poses a threat to native species. Here, we evaluated twospot livebearer sociability towards either a conspecific pair or a shoal of four fish with one of four possible compositions, all conspecifics or two conspecifics combined with either two guppies, two porthole livebearers or two twoline skiffias. In a second experiment, foraging time, latency to feed, first fish to begin foraging and aggressive interactions were recorded under the same social conditions used in the sociability experiment, with body size included as a covariate in both experiments. All focal twospot livebearers spent significantly more time with the given shoals rather than with the available space in the aquarium. They showed a higher tendency to associate with small shoals of conspecifics than with pairs. Larger twospot livebearers associated more, regardless of the social condition. Twospot livebearer fed more with porthole livebearers, less with guppies and similarly with twoline skiffias. Latency to forage did not vary significantly between social conditions. Twospot livebearers were involved in more aggressive interactions when with guppies or porthole livebearers than when with native twoline skiffias or conspecifics. Twospot livebearers could gain benefits from associating with natives and conspecifics, but not with other invasive poeciliids. Heterospecific shoaling behaviour with natives may enhance invasion success during early stages when conspecifics are scarce while associating with other invasive poeciliids could lead to increased competition. Further research is needed on heterospecific interactions of non-natives to better understand their behavioural role in invasion likelihood.

The kelt phase of anadromous iteroparous salmonid life history remains mysterious, particularly aspects of their habitat use and factors influencing survival. Atlantic salmon and sea-run brown trout were captured in the estuary during their return migration to the Vosso River, Norway, tagged with acoustic transmitters, and tracked in the watershed and estuary in three different years (2020–2023). We found a relatively narrow window of river exit timing among trout that survived overwinter, whereas salmon tended to leave during a more protracted period. Trout preferred overwintering in lakes within the river system, which provided for lower locomotor activity than fish that overwintered in pools in the river according to data from tri-axial accelerometer transmitters. In contrast, Atlantic salmon tended to spend surprisingly little time in lakes even though the energy expenditure in this habitat is was seemingly lower for salmon that did overwinter in the lake. Our results demonstrate different use of habitat during overwintering and could suggest that measures to protect iteroparous life history strategies of salmonids will differently impact these two iteroparous salmonids.

Dams and other in-stream obstacles disrupt longitudinal connectivity and hinder fish from moving between habitats. Fishways and other fish passage solutions are used to pass fish over these artificial migration barriers. Fish passage functionality, however, varies greatly with fish passage design and environmental conditions and depends on fish species and characteristics. In particular, swimming performance and fish behaviour are considered key characteristics to predict fish passage performance. It is also well known, but not well quantified, that the presence of conspecifics affects fish passage behaviour. In this study, we quantified individual passage rates of PIT-tagged gudgeons (Gobio gobio) over a scaled deep side notch weir in an hydraulic flume. We then quantified individual swimming capability (time to fatigue) and activity level (distance moved in an open field test) for the same individual fish and tested for potential effects on fish passage rate. To check for potential group effects, we then repeated the passage experiment for fish individually or in groups of five. More active fish displayed higher passage rates compared to less active fish, and fish passed the obstacle at higher rates in groups of five compared to alone. No effect of fish swimming capability on passage rates was detected. This result highlights the need to take both individual variation as well as the presence and behaviour of conspecifics into account in fish passage studies and evaluations. Doing so has the potential to improve the understanding of fish behaviour, and in the end, the design of fish passage solutions. Future studies should explore these results on free ranging fish and in relation to in-situ fish passage solutions.

Mixing processes in lakes are important in determining sedimentation zones and in setting the so-called “wash zone”, the area of lake bottom in contact with an oscillating thermocline during wind-driven internal seiche events. The wash zone also aligns with a sharp change in sediment roughness and hardness. Taken together, these rapid changes in temperature and sediment indicate that the wash zone is a distinctive ecotone in stratified lakes. Depth stratified randomised netting was used to develop count-based habitat use models for three common benthic fish species as a function of depth or temperature covariates. Using data from two lakes with quite different wash zone depths, we show the wash zone to describe fish habitat for two of three benthic fish species by utilising the top 50% of estimated fish abundance as an indicator of habitat use. White sucker (Catostomus commersoni) habitat use was within the boundaries of the wash zone. Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) habitat was adjacent and within the wash zone. Longnose sucker (C. catostomus) habitat use was in the deep areas of lakes dominated by sediment focusing and did not overlap white sucker. Lake whitefish habitat use overlapped both catostomids, but peak abundance of both lake whitefish and white sucker overlapped pointing to potential interactions between these species. Smaller lakes have less vigorous mixing processes and a narrower wash zone, so with a decline in lake size the likely area of the wash zone as habitat for benthic feeding fish would become smaller.

Introduced species may exhibit variations in their preferred climatic niches between their native and introduced ranges, which can have important implications for the transferability of distribution models. In the Himalayan ecoregion, little is known about the geographic distribution and climatic niche overlap between native and introduced cold-water species. Here, we used the COUE (centroid shift, overlap, unfilling, and expansion) framework to explore the invasive potential of rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown (Salmo trutta fario) trout and corresponding climatic niche overlap with native snow trout (Schizothorax plagiostomus and Schizothorax richardsonii) in the Indus and Ganges River basins. Although we found more stability in the climatic niche for O. mykiss (93%) than S. trutta (58%), both species do not conserve their climatic niches in this region (p > 0.05). S. trutta has expanded more toward new environmental conditions (42%) compared to O. mykiss (7%). However, there are still available environmental gaps that O. mykiss and S. trutta can potentially occupy in the future. There was a higher overlap in climatic niches between S. plagiostomus and O. mykiss and between S. richardsonii and S. trutta. Observed shifts in climatic niches of these introduced species can negatively affect the transferability of distribution models, which may underestimate the assessments of habitat suitability for introduced trout in the Himalayas. Our study demonstrates that the information on climatic niche dynamics can inform the model-building process and improve the transferability and predictive performance to better assess vulnerability of sensitive habitats to introduced species in the Himalayas and elsewhere.