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Thermal habitat use and juvenile growth of Svalbard Arctic charr: evidence from otolith stable oxygen isotope analyses
Author(s) -
Godiksen Jane A.,
Power Michael,
Borgstrøm Reidar,
Dempson J. Brian,
Svenning Martin A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
ecology of freshwater fish
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1600-0633
pISSN - 0906-6691
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2011.00533.x
Subject(s) - otolith , salvelinus , arctic , juvenile , habitat , environmental science , littoral zone , ecology , air temperature , oceanography , fishery , atmospheric sciences , biology , geology , trout , fish <actinopterygii>
– Stable oxygen isotopes (δ 18 O) derived from otoliths were used to estimate mean annual water temperatures experienced by individual Svalbard Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), during their first four growth seasons. The analysed Arctic charr experienced a high variety of temperatures, indicating the use of different thermal habitats. A higher proportion of the juveniles experienced warmer temperatures during their first summer compared with later summers, suggesting the selective use of the shallowest littoral areas of the lake. Although the estimated temperatures were consistent with water temperatures found in High Arctic rivers and lakes during summer, they did not represent the annual variation in air temperature registered over the 20 years of otolith measurement. Furthermore, summer otolith increment width did not correlate with the experienced temperature. However, after the second year, otolith increment width was highly dependent on increment width during the previous summer. This study estimated mean summer water temperatures experienced by individual Arctic charr during the first four growth seasons providing additional evidence that stable oxygen isotope analysis can be used to provide insight into the thermal habitat use by juvenile Arctic charr.