Resource partitioning and behavioral interactions among young-of-the-year salmonids, Chena River, Alaska

• Main Author: Lee, Kristine M.
• Other Authors: Reynolds, James B.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 1985
• Subjects: Arctic grayling; Chinook salmon; Whitefishes; Fish populations; Chena River; Salmonidae; Arctic; Thymallus arcticus; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14767

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1985 The partitioning of habitat and food and the behavioral interactions of young-of-the-year Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) were studied in the laboratory and in their natural habitat. Individuals of all three species defended territories. Arctic grayling were the most aggressive of the three and appear to displace round whitefish from their preferred habitat. In sympatry, there is a segregation of habitat use between Arctic grayling and chinook salmon. Stomach content analysis showed an overlap in diet among the three species. Larvae of the three species emerged at different times and sizes, resulting in a size divergence among coexisting species during their first summer. The three species were found to inhabit faster moving and deeper water as they grew, resulting in a spatial separation of the species and a reduced probability of interactions and competition among them. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fish Division