Do natural history data predict the movement ecology of fishes in Lake Ontario streams?

• Published in: Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2014-08, Vol.71 (8), p.1171-1185
• Main Authors: Dolinsek, Ivan J, McLaughlin, Robert L, Grant, James W.A, O'Connor, Lisa M, Pratt, Thomas C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal locomotion; Creeks & streams; Environmental aspects; Fish; Fish populations; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Freshwater; Freshwater ecology; Lakes; Pisces; Spawning; Streams; Water temperature; Zoological research
• ISSN: 0706-652X; 1205-7533
• DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2013-0294

Little is known about the movements of most stream fishes, so fisheries managers often rely on natural history data from the literature to make management decisions. Observations of over 15 000 individuals from 37 species across 3 years were used to evaluate four aspects of the reliability of literature data for predicting the movement behaviour of stream fishes: (i) water temperature when fish enter streams; (ii) reasons for moving into the streams; (iii) stream residence times of migrants; and (iv) relative use of lake and stream habitats. Comparisons of our data for arrival times in the streams, water temperature at arrival, and time spent in the streams were highly correlated with literature data, whereas relative use of the lake was not. Further, our detailed data revealed two novel findings: (1) in many species juveniles were also moving into streams, even in those species where adults were clearly spawning in the streams; and (2) adult-sized individuals were moving into streams for nonreproductive purposes. Our results suggest that fishery managers can confidently use natural history information to gain general insights into the movement ecology of fishes, but should also recognize that this information remains incomplete in important ways.