Preference for near-shore and estuarine habitats in anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian high Arctic (Victoria Island, NU) revealed by acoustic telemetry
We used an array of fixed acoustic receivers (N = 42) to track the summer marine movements of 121 anadromous Arctic char equipped with acoustic transmitters at three tagging locations in the Cambridge Bay region, where commercial and subsistence fisheries target the species. The timing of transition...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing)
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1807/72537 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2015-0436 |
| Summary: | We used an array of fixed acoustic receivers (N = 42) to track the summer marine movements of 121 anadromous Arctic char equipped with acoustic transmitters at three tagging locations in the Cambridge Bay region, where commercial and subsistence fisheries target the species. The timing of transitions between salt and fresh water was influenced by the putative river of origin of tagged individuals, but not by their size or sex. Females, however, were more likely to remain proximate to rivers where they were tagged throughout the summer. A majority of fish migrated west from their rivers of origin, primarily moving between estuarine environments. Individuals occupied estuaries for several days between bouts of marine movement, and these periods of residency coincided with spring tides in some estuaries. We also recorded increased numbers of detections on receivers located less than 1.5 km from the coast, indicating a preference for near-shore habitats. Finally, we report evidence of extensive stock mixing throughout the summer, including at known fishing locations and periods, a finding with implications for fisheries management. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author. |
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