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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Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:45687f0f485340ed9d7dd3640b7e4cb9 2023-12-03T10:14:45+01:00 Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers Véronique Dubos André St-Hilaire Isabelle Laurion Normand Bergeron 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 https://doaj.org/article/45687f0f485340ed9d7dd3640b7e4cb9 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/AS-2023-0008 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/45687f0f485340ed9d7dd3640b7e4cb9 Arctic Science (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 2023-11-05T01:37:32Z 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 Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Nunavik Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Véronique Dubos André St-Hilaire Isabelle Laurion Normand Bergeron Characterization of anadromous Arctic char winter habitat and egg incubation areas in collaboration with Inuit fishers |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
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 |
Véronique Dubos André St-Hilaire Isabelle Laurion Normand Bergeron |
author_facet |
Véronique Dubos André St-Hilaire Isabelle Laurion Normand Bergeron |
author_sort |
Véronique Dubos |
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 |
https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 https://doaj.org/article/45687f0f485340ed9d7dd3640b7e4cb9 |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavik |
genre |
Arctic Arctic inuit Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic inuit Nunavik |
op_source |
Arctic Science (2023) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/AS-2023-0008 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/45687f0f485340ed9d7dd3640b7e4cb9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2023-0008 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
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1784261866428563456 |