Habitat use of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr in a dynamic winter environment: the influence of anchor-ice dams

The effect of anchor‐ice dams on the physical habitat and behavioural responses of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr in a small, steep stream was investigated. Anchor‐ice dams formed periodically, leading to a dynamic winter environment as the study reach alternated between riffle and walk dominated...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish biology 2008-09, Vol.73 (4), p.926-944
Main Authors: Stickler, M., Enders, E. C., Pennell, C. J., Cote, D., Alfredsen, K. T., Scruton, D. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anchor-ice formation
distribution
Marine
mesohabitat
passive integrated technology
Salmo salar
steep streams
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The effect of anchor‐ice dams on the physical habitat and behavioural responses of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr in a small, steep stream was investigated. Anchor‐ice dams formed periodically, leading to a dynamic winter environment as the study reach alternated between riffle and walk dominated habitat. Parr demonstrated large individual variation in habitat use, utilizing most of the wetted stream width, and were generally unaffected by diel changes in the mesohabitat composition. Furthermore, parr displayed high site fidelity in areas with low embedded substrata, and demonstrated few large movements between the three mesohabitat classes present: shallow riffle, walk and pool. Findings from this study question the importance of hydraulic variables such as water depth, flow velocity and dynamic ice formation as single habitat features for juvenile stream salmonids during winter and emphasize the importance of access to substratum cover.
ISSN:0022-1112
1095-8649
DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.01988.x