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Spawning‐Site and Natal‐Site Fidelity by Northern Pike in a Large Lake: Mark–Recapture and Genetic Evidence
Author(s) -
Miller Loren M.,
Kallemeyn Larry,
Senanan Wansuk
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(2001)130<0307:ssansf>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - pike , esox , spawn (biology) , fishery , philopatry , mark and recapture , biological dispersal , biology , ecology , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , population , demography , sociology
We supplemented physical‐tagging data with genetic data to provide evidence for spawning‐site and natal‐site fidelity by two spawning populations of northern pike Esox lucius in Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota. A mark–recapture study supported previous reports that individual northern pike and other esocids tend to return to the spawning grounds that they used in previous years. Of 1,900 northern pike marked at two spawning sites in the first year of the study, 23% were recaptured on spawning grounds one to three times over the next 4 years. Of these recaptured fish, only 1.3% and 4.8%, respectively, of those marked at the two spawning sites were recaptured at the other site. Tag returns from anglers showed that the year‐round ranges for fish from the two sites overlapped, so that lack of dispersal could not completely explain the high fidelity to spawning sites. Significant allele frequency differences at five microsatellite DNA loci between the 1983 ( P = 0.03) and 1985 ( P = 0.002) spawning populations indicated low levels of gene flow between the populations. This reproductive isolation would only be expected if most individuals first spawn at the site of their own birth and subsequently return to that site. We therefore conclude that northern pike in Kabetogama Lake exhibit both natal‐site and spawning‐site fidelity. Management on the basis of discrete spawning populations within lakes may thus be appropriate for a larger number of species and locations than commonly practiced.