Data from: High summer macrophyte cover increases abundance, growth and feeding of juvenile Atlantic salmon ...

• Main Authors: Marsh, Jessica E., Lauridsen, Rasmus B., Gregory, Stephen D., Kratina, Pavel, Scott, Luke J., Cooling, Dave, Jones, J. Iwan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2021
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.612jm643t; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.612jm643t

Aquatic habitats are severely threatened by human activities. For anadromous species, managing freshwater habitats to maximise production of more, larger juveniles could improve resilience to threats in marine habitats and enhance population viability. In some juvenile salmonid habitats, complexity created by large substrates provides resources and reduces competitive interactions, thereby promoting juvenile production. In lowland rivers, which lack large substrates, aquatic plants might provide similar complexity and enhance fish productivity. To test the influence of aquatic plants on juvenile Atlantic salmon and sympatric brown trout in a lowland river, we directly manipulated cover of the dominant macrophyte, Ranunculus, in nine sites during summer and autumn for two years. We quantified the abundance, site retention and growth of salmon and trout under high, medium and low Ranunculus cover. To investigate the effects of Ranunculus cover on feeding opportunities and interspecific competition, we ... : Fish abundance dataset Data corresponding to the analyses of juvenile (0+) salmon and trout abundance as a function of Ranunculus cover (%), explanatory variables describing the experimental design (Year, Month, Block), and explanatory variables representing site- and time-specific habitat characteristics of study sites (Water depth [cm], Proportion of Fast Velocities, Velocity Heterogeneity, Macroinvertebrate biomass [mg]). Fish site retention rate dataset Data corresponding to the analyses of juvenile (0+) salmon and trout site rentention rate (Recaptured fish caught in time t, Total fish tagged in time t-1) as a function of Ranunculus cover (%), explanatory variables describing the experimental design (Year, Period, Block), and explanatory variables representing site- and time-specific habitat characteristics of study sites, averaged across time period (Water depth [cm], Proportion of Fast Velocities, Velocity Heterogeneity, Macroinvertebrate biomass [mg]). Fish growth dataset Data corresponding to the ...