Feeding of juvenile Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar L. and its trophic relations with other fish species in rivers of the Barents and White sea drainage basins (Kola peninsula)

The feeding patterns of the young Atlantic salmon (salmon) and its trophic relations with members of the resident fish fauna – brown trout, grayling, perch, pike and mature min66 now were investigated in a variety of their shared habitats in rivers of theKola Peninsula. At the same time, the food re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Maksim Alekseev, Artem Nikolaev, Alexander Zubchenko, Elena Rasputina, Anna Legun, Nikolai Ilmast, Yury Shustov
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Russian
Published: Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2018
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.17076/eco628
https://doaj.org/article/5f4843f8c56a43498660427b244f4764
Description
Summary:The feeding patterns of the young Atlantic salmon (salmon) and its trophic relations with members of the resident fish fauna – brown trout, grayling, perch, pike and mature min66 now were investigated in a variety of their shared habitats in rivers of theKola Peninsula. At the same time, the food resources were studied, the hydrological characteristics of selected areas were assessed, and the overall fish distribution density was determined. The species and age compositions of the fish fauna were found to vary among habitats. Underyearlings of Atlantic salmon and brown trout, as well as of the minnow prefer to aggregate (in a mosaic pattern) in large numbers in shallow water areas with low current. Juvenile salmon, brown trout and grayling of older age classes occupy the deeper and fast-flowing part of the watercourse, with a differentiation among horizons – trout and salmon closer to the bottom, and grayling in the pelagic layer. The greatest similarity of the feeding spectra was observed between young Atlantic salmon and brown trout. No cases of competition for food or predation on juvenile salmon by brown trout, perch and pike have been observed. The division of food items, owing to rheophilic species preferring to live separately in relatively isolated hydrological niches, can be considered as a manifestation of adaptation aimed at a more complete exploitation of the food resource in a situation where several species coexist at fairly high densities