Meristic Differences Between Anadromous and Freshwater-Resident Arctic Char ( Salvelinus alpinus) in the Sagavanirktok River Drainage, Alaska

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: McCart, P., Craig, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Salvelinus alpinus; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f71-022; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f71-022

Both anadromous and freshwater-resident populations of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) occur in the Sagavanirktok River drainage, Alaska. A comparison of the gill-raker and pyloric-caeca counts of populations of the two types revealed that anadromous fish had lower gill-raker and pyloric-caeca counts than freshwater-resident fish. Freshwater-resident populations correspond meristically to McPhail's Eastern Arctic form, and anadromous population scor-respond to his Western Arctic–Bering Sea form (McPhail, J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada 18: 793–816, 1961). It is suggested that the former was the original inhabitant of the area but has been replaced by the latter except in inaccessible, headwater lakes.