Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe
Abstract European whitefish is a model species for adaptive radiation of fishes in temperate and subarctic lakes. In northern Europe the most commonly observed morphotypes are a generalist (LSR) morph and a pelagic specialist (DR) morph. The evolution of a pelagic specialist morph is something of an...
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crwiley:10.1111/jfb.14999 2024-09-15T18:37:56+00:00 Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe Hayden, Brian Harrod, Chris Thomas, Stephen Kahilainen, Kimmo K. 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14999 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.14999 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jfb.14999 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Fish Biology volume 101, issue 2, page 389-399 ISSN 0022-1112 1095-8649 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14999 2024-07-23T04:15:02Z Abstract European whitefish is a model species for adaptive radiation of fishes in temperate and subarctic lakes. In northern Europe the most commonly observed morphotypes are a generalist (LSR) morph and a pelagic specialist (DR) morph. The evolution of a pelagic specialist morph is something of an enigma, however, as this region is characterized by long, dark winters with pelagic primary production limited to a brief window in late summer. We conducted the first winter‐based study of polymorphic whitefish populations to determine the winter ecology of both morphs, and we combined seasonal diet and stable isotope analysis with several proxies of condition in three polymorphic whitefish populations. The generalist LSR morph fed on benthic and pelagic prey in summer but was solely reliant on benthic prey in winter. This was associated with a noticeable but moderate reduction in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in winter relative to summer. In contrast, the DR whitefish occupied a strict pelagic niche in both seasons. A significant reduction in pelagic prey during winter resulted in severe decrease in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in DR whitefish in winter relative to summer, with the pelagic morph apparently approaching starvation in winter. We suggest that this divergent approach to seasonal foraging is associated with the divergent life‐history traits of both morphs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Wiley Online Library Journal of Fish Biology |
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English |
description |
Abstract European whitefish is a model species for adaptive radiation of fishes in temperate and subarctic lakes. In northern Europe the most commonly observed morphotypes are a generalist (LSR) morph and a pelagic specialist (DR) morph. The evolution of a pelagic specialist morph is something of an enigma, however, as this region is characterized by long, dark winters with pelagic primary production limited to a brief window in late summer. We conducted the first winter‐based study of polymorphic whitefish populations to determine the winter ecology of both morphs, and we combined seasonal diet and stable isotope analysis with several proxies of condition in three polymorphic whitefish populations. The generalist LSR morph fed on benthic and pelagic prey in summer but was solely reliant on benthic prey in winter. This was associated with a noticeable but moderate reduction in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in winter relative to summer. In contrast, the DR whitefish occupied a strict pelagic niche in both seasons. A significant reduction in pelagic prey during winter resulted in severe decrease in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in DR whitefish in winter relative to summer, with the pelagic morph apparently approaching starvation in winter. We suggest that this divergent approach to seasonal foraging is associated with the divergent life‐history traits of both morphs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hayden, Brian Harrod, Chris Thomas, Stephen Kahilainen, Kimmo K. |
spellingShingle |
Hayden, Brian Harrod, Chris Thomas, Stephen Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
author_facet |
Hayden, Brian Harrod, Chris Thomas, Stephen Kahilainen, Kimmo K. |
author_sort |
Hayden, Brian |
title |
Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
title_short |
Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
title_full |
Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
title_fullStr |
Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe |
title_sort |
winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of european whitefish, coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern europe |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14999 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.14999 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jfb.14999 |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_source |
Journal of Fish Biology volume 101, issue 2, page 389-399 ISSN 0022-1112 1095-8649 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14999 |
container_title |
Journal of Fish Biology |
_version_ |
1810482283011899392 |