Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers
In Nunavik, anadromous Arctic char spend more than six months under ice-covered habitats, mainly in lakes. Their winter habitats in this region have been scarcely studied due to the challenging logistics in the Arctic. In this study, we worked with Inuit fishers to characterize the winter habitat an...
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2023-0008 2023-12-17T10:22:41+01:00 Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers Dubos, Véronique St-Hilaire, André Laurion, Isabelle Bergeron, Normand 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science ISSN 2368-7460 General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science journal-article 2023 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0008 2023-11-19T13:38:40Z In Nunavik, anadromous Arctic char spend more than six months under ice-covered habitats, mainly in lakes. Their winter habitats in this region have been scarcely studied due to the challenging logistics in the Arctic. In this study, we worked with Inuit fishers to characterize the winter habitat and incubation areas used by Arctic chars in five overwintering lakes and one lentic river reach. The collaborating fishers determined char occupancy of certain areas related to fishing sites (presence, absence, spawning) and conducted measurements to characterize the sites while performing their fishing activities. The data showed that incubation areas were associated with significantly shallower depths and warmer (albeit not statistically significant) lake bottom temperatures than sites where no spawning occurs, which is beneficial for egg maturation. The productivity of these areas is also beneficial for fry that hatch during winter. Adults and post-smolt habitats tended to be associated with cold littoral zone but their habitat did not show any other distinct characteristics. This exploratory study adds insights into the cryptic characteristics of the Arctic char winter habitat use, thanks to the Inuit fishers’ knowledge of fish habitats and movements, and the experience and expertise they have acquired working in the local environment. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic inuit Nunavik Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Arctic Nunavik Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science Dubos, Véronique St-Hilaire, André Laurion, Isabelle Bergeron, Normand Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science |
description |
In Nunavik, anadromous Arctic char spend more than six months under ice-covered habitats, mainly in lakes. Their winter habitats in this region have been scarcely studied due to the challenging logistics in the Arctic. In this study, we worked with Inuit fishers to characterize the winter habitat and incubation areas used by Arctic chars in five overwintering lakes and one lentic river reach. The collaborating fishers determined char occupancy of certain areas related to fishing sites (presence, absence, spawning) and conducted measurements to characterize the sites while performing their fishing activities. The data showed that incubation areas were associated with significantly shallower depths and warmer (albeit not statistically significant) lake bottom temperatures than sites where no spawning occurs, which is beneficial for egg maturation. The productivity of these areas is also beneficial for fry that hatch during winter. Adults and post-smolt habitats tended to be associated with cold littoral zone but their habitat did not show any other distinct characteristics. This exploratory study adds insights into the cryptic characteristics of the Arctic char winter habitat use, thanks to the Inuit fishers’ knowledge of fish habitats and movements, and the experience and expertise they have acquired working in the local environment. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dubos, Véronique St-Hilaire, André Laurion, Isabelle Bergeron, Normand |
author_facet |
Dubos, Véronique St-Hilaire, André Laurion, Isabelle Bergeron, Normand |
author_sort |
Dubos, Véronique |
title |
Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
title_short |
Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
title_full |
Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
title_fullStr |
Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
title_sort |
characterization of anadromous arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with inuit fishers |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavik |
genre |
Arctic Arctic inuit Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic inuit Nunavik |
op_source |
Arctic Science ISSN 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0008 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
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1785551305007169536 |