Reproductive biology and movement patterns of humpback whitefish and least cisco in the Minto Flats-Chatanika River complex, Alaska

• Main Author: Dupuis, Aaron Wayne
• Other Authors: Sutton, Trent, Wuttig, Klaus, Seitz, Andrew
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Humpback whitefish; Spawning; Interior Alaska; Reproduction; Least cisco; Master of Science in Fisheries; Elliot; Fairbanks; Coregonus pidschian; pidschian; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12702

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2010 "Humpback whitefish Coregonus pidschian and least cisco C. sardinella are two species of coregonids common to the interior of Alaska and are a food resource for rural and urban communities. These fishes exhibit variation in life-history characteristics throughout their range, and many basic life-history questions remain unanswered. My objectives were to describe the spawning movements and identify the current distribution of putative spawning areas for humpback whitefish, and to assess the reproductive biology of humpback whitefish and least cisco in the Minto Flats-Chatanika River complex. Observed movement patterns indicated that humpback whitefish exhibited complex dispersals to putative spawning areas. Two putative spawning areas were identified: one in the Chatanika River downstream of the Elliot Highway Bridge and the other in the Tanana River near Fairbanks. Mean absolute fecundity was 45,000 eggs female⁻¹ for humpback whitefish and 41,780 eggs · female⁻¹ for least cisco. This examination of reproductive biology suggested that larger-bodied females associated with higher gonadosomatic index values produce more and larger eggs per unit body weight than smaller females. This study increased our understanding of the life history and biology of whitefishes in Alaska and can assist managers with developing appropriate management strategies for these fishes in the future"--Leaf iii University of Alaska Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences