Preliminary Energy Budget of the Ninespine Stickleback ( Pungitius pungitius) in an Arctic Lake

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Cameron, J. N., Kostoris, J., Penhale, P. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1973
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Lake; Zooplankton; Alaska; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f73-188; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f73-188

In a study of energy flow through the stickleback population of Ikroavik Lake, northern Alaska, oxygen consumption was related to weight and temperature by the equation Log Y = −2.795 +.823 W +.094 T where Y = μl∙min −1 O 2 uptake; W = log weight, mg; and T = temperature. Growth was fairly rapid, with fish reaching about 21 mm at the end of the first year, 42 mm by the second, and 65 mm by the third. No older fish were found. Food was primarily chironomid larvae and zooplankton, especially copepods and Daphnia. Estimates of daily ration were calculated from growth and metabolic data (23.4 cal/day for a 30-mm fish at 10 C), gastric clearing rate determinations (12.2 cal/day at 15 C), and laboratory feeding experiments (24 cal/day at 10 C). Population distribution was uneven. Higher densities were reached in early summer, up to 74 g/m 2 in the marginal marsh areas. For specified days when temperatures were accurately known, an energy budget could be calculated for the population in given areas, including estimates of population biomass, respiration, growth, ration, and growth efficiency.