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Distribution, characteristics and condition of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) spawning grounds in a differentially eutrophicated twin-basin lake

Distribution, characteristics and condition of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) spawning grounds in a differentially eutrophicated twin-basin lake
Distribution, characteristics and condition of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) spawning grounds in a differentially eutrophicated twin-basin lake
Spawning is a key but often fragile event in the life cycles of fish populations. Nevertheless, it has been relatively little studied for lithophilic lacustrine species requiring hard spawning substrates, such as gravels or stones, largely devoid of fine sediments. Twelve demonstrated or putative spawning grounds of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in shallow and deep areas of the north and south basins of the eutrophicated lake of Windermere, UK, were described by hydroacoustic, physical and visual surveys. In addition, their current conditions were compared with their original qualitative descriptions made over 50 years ago. Spawning ground characteristics were found to be more complex than originally described, with considerable overlaps in depth ranges and only limited areas of appropriate hard substrates. Moreover, extensive gill netting surveys in recent years have found spawning Arctic charr at only seven of the original 12 demonstrated or putative spawning grounds, although several new spawning areas have also been found. The distribution of unsuitable fine sediments is widespread in the lake, particularly in the more eutrophicated south basin where suitable spawning habitat within the putative spawning areas is limited. Windermere faces a number of environmental problems including climate change and species introductions. However, the temporal and spatial patterns of the lake's eutrophication suggest that associated increases in fine sediments have been a major driver of the observed deterioration of Arctic charr spawning grounds and so may have also contributed to a marked decline recently observed in the local abundance of this species.
arctic charr, salvelinus alpinus, uk, windermere, spawning grounds, littoral, bottom substrate, eutrophication
0906-6691
32-43
Miller, Helen
2210c42b-b040-4519-9705-69a55015b461
Winfield, Ian J.
f208cedf-1e42-4495-a9ff-a147b0c1d42b
Fletcher, Janice M.
b294c3bb-e400-4a8f-a022-a8aa11bb4443
Ben James, J.
f18d1ff3-f1ec-4b4a-b9d1-79c02430e4ac
van Rijn, Joey
c488cfeb-e30b-4322-9cf7-e1304b332c90
Bull, Jonathan M.
974037fd-544b-458f-98cc-ce8eca89e3c8
Cotterill, Carol J.
31d2048e-140d-4e40-8b9d-b54edc8c9723
Miller, Helen
2210c42b-b040-4519-9705-69a55015b461
Winfield, Ian J.
f208cedf-1e42-4495-a9ff-a147b0c1d42b
Fletcher, Janice M.
b294c3bb-e400-4a8f-a022-a8aa11bb4443
Ben James, J.
f18d1ff3-f1ec-4b4a-b9d1-79c02430e4ac
van Rijn, Joey
c488cfeb-e30b-4322-9cf7-e1304b332c90
Bull, Jonathan M.
974037fd-544b-458f-98cc-ce8eca89e3c8
Cotterill, Carol J.
31d2048e-140d-4e40-8b9d-b54edc8c9723

Miller, Helen, Winfield, Ian J., Fletcher, Janice M., Ben James, J., van Rijn, Joey, Bull, Jonathan M. and Cotterill, Carol J. (2015) Distribution, characteristics and condition of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) spawning grounds in a differentially eutrophicated twin-basin lake. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 24 (1), 32-43. (doi:10.1111/eff.12122).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Spawning is a key but often fragile event in the life cycles of fish populations. Nevertheless, it has been relatively little studied for lithophilic lacustrine species requiring hard spawning substrates, such as gravels or stones, largely devoid of fine sediments. Twelve demonstrated or putative spawning grounds of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in shallow and deep areas of the north and south basins of the eutrophicated lake of Windermere, UK, were described by hydroacoustic, physical and visual surveys. In addition, their current conditions were compared with their original qualitative descriptions made over 50 years ago. Spawning ground characteristics were found to be more complex than originally described, with considerable overlaps in depth ranges and only limited areas of appropriate hard substrates. Moreover, extensive gill netting surveys in recent years have found spawning Arctic charr at only seven of the original 12 demonstrated or putative spawning grounds, although several new spawning areas have also been found. The distribution of unsuitable fine sediments is widespread in the lake, particularly in the more eutrophicated south basin where suitable spawning habitat within the putative spawning areas is limited. Windermere faces a number of environmental problems including climate change and species introductions. However, the temporal and spatial patterns of the lake's eutrophication suggest that associated increases in fine sediments have been a major driver of the observed deterioration of Arctic charr spawning grounds and so may have also contributed to a marked decline recently observed in the local abundance of this species.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 21 January 2014
Published date: January 2015
Keywords: arctic charr, salvelinus alpinus, uk, windermere, spawning grounds, littoral, bottom substrate, eutrophication
Organisations: Geology & Geophysics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 362578
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/362578
ISSN: 0906-6691
PURE UUID: 20e903c6-4f11-481e-8be9-2509b9e23f67
ORCID for Jonathan M. Bull: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3373-5807

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Date deposited: 26 Feb 2014 17:27
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:44

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Contributors

Author: Helen Miller
Author: Ian J. Winfield
Author: Janice M. Fletcher
Author: J. Ben James
Author: Joey van Rijn
Author: Carol J. Cotterill

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