Arctic char enter the marine environment before annual ice breakup in the high Arctic

Author(s):  
Lars J. Hammer ◽  
Nigel E. Hussey ◽  
Marianne Marcoux ◽  
Harri Pettitt-Wade ◽  
Kevin Hedges ◽  
...  
1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Beverley-Burton

Seven species of parasitic metazoans were found in 71 arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus L.) taken in Char Lake, Cornwallis Island, N.W.T., Canada (74°42′ N, 94°50′ W): Tetraonchus alaskensis (Monogenea); Diphyllobothrium sp. (plerocercoids), Eubothrium salvelini, Eubothrium sp., and Proteocephalus longicollis (Cestoidea); Cystidicola cristivomeri (Nematoda) and Salmincola edwardsii (Crustacea: Copepoda). Except for S. edwardsii these reports, from a population of S. alpinus which is confined to fresh water, constitute new northerly distribution records for North America. Reports of P. longicollis and C. cristivomeri from S. alpinus in Canada have not been published previously.


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1195-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A. Hobson ◽  
Harold E. Welch

Stable-nitrogen (15N/14N) isotope ratios (from 2.1‰ in moss to 14.5‰ in Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus), showed enrichment with trophic level in the food web of Char Lake, Northwest Territories, and may be used to infer trophic position. The average 15N enrichment of 1.5‰ between moss or algae and invertebrates suggests input to the food web of isotopically lighter nitrogen than that measured for these sources of primary production. Stable-carbon (13C/12C) isotope ratios differed between moss and algae by almost 10‰ and indicate that carbon in the Char Lake food web is derived from a blend of these sources of primary production. Arctic char δ15N values for muscle tissue were positively correlated with fork length and clustered into three distinct groups: small fish (1–3 cm, mean δ15N = 5.7‰), which possibly consumed more benthic particles than previously assumed; intermediate-size fish (10–35 cm, mean δ15N = 10‰), which likely depended on larval char as well as their primary zooplankton and chironomid prey; and larger Arctic char, which showed a mean stepwise increase in δ15N of 3.7‰. This suggests that complete cannibalism in this population generally occurs abruptly and is exercised by a relatively small number of large individuals.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Beine ◽  
F. Dominè ◽  
A. Ianniello ◽  
M. Nardino ◽  
I. Allegrini ◽  
...  

Abstract. Measurements of atmospheric and snow mixing ratios of nitrates and nitrites and their fluxes above the snow surface were made during two intensive campaigns during spring time 2001 at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard as part of the EU project  "`The NItrogen Cycle and Effects on the oxidation of atmospheric trace species at high latitudes" (NICE). At this coastal site close to the unseasonably unfrozen fjord, of the measured nitrogen species, only HNO3 showed a significant flux on to the snow surface; a mean deposition of -8.7 nmol h-1 m-2 was observed in late April / early May 2001. These fluxes may be due to the reaction of HNO3 with sea salt, and especially NaCl, or may be simply uptake of HNO3 by ice, which is alkaline because of the sea salt in our marine environment. During snowfall periods dry deposition of HNO3 may contribute up to 10% of the N budget in the snow; however, the main source for N is wet deposition in falling snow. The surface snow at Ny-Ålesund showed very complex stratigraphy; the NO3- mixing ratio in snow varied between 65 and 520 ng g-1, the total NO3- content of the snowpack was on the order of 2700 ng cm-2. In comparison the atmospheric boundary layer column showed a NO3- content of only 8 ng cm-2. The limited exchange, however, between the snow and the atmosphere was attributed to low mobility of NO3- in the observed snow. Contrary to other Arctic sites (i.e. Alert, Nunavut or Summit, Greenland) deposition of sea salt and crustal aerosols in this marine environment made the surface snow alkaline; snow NO3- was associated with heavier cations and was not readily available for physical exchange or photochemical reactions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1434-1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Sébastien Moore ◽  
Les N. Harris ◽  
Steven T. Kessel ◽  
Louis Bernatchez ◽  
Ross F. Tallman ◽  
...  

We used an array of fixed acoustic receivers (N = 42) to track the summer marine movements of 121 anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) equipped with acoustic transmitters at three 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 nearshore 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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Arbour ◽  
D. C. Hardie ◽  
J. A. Hutchings

Multivariate morphometric analyses were used to examine variation in head, body, and fin shape between two sympatric morphotypes of Arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus (L., 1758)) from Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Population structure of the Lake Hazen Arctic char was examined using five microsatellite loci. The “small” morph was found to have a larger (primarily deeper) head, larger and more elongate fins, and a deeper lateral profile than the “large” morph. The morphs also differed in allometric growth patterns. The large and small morphs do not appear to represent genetically distinct populations. The head morphology of the Lake Hazen small and large morphs exhibited similarities to benthic and pelagic morphs (respectively) from other lakes. We hypothesize that the large morph may be adapted to high-efficiency swimming and that the small morph may be adapted to low-efficiency, high-acceleration swimming. Such functional trade-offs are not uncommon among fish specializing in dispersed or mobile prey (fish and plankton) and benthic prey, respectively. The lack of apparent genetic differentiation between the morphs may suggest that the morphological differences result, to some extent, from phenotypic plasticity. Based on these results and previous analyses, it seems reasonable to conclude that Lake Hazen Arctic char represent a resource polymorphism.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. F. Holeton

The routine of resting oxygen consumption of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from a high arctic lake (74°42′N) was measured at 2 (acclimated) and 6 C (unacclimated). The oxygen uptake versus wet weight relation at 2 C was: Log O2 uptake = 0.7316 Log weight – 1.0944. Oxygen uptake was low, not showing any evidence of "cold adaptation," and was comparable to projections of oxygen uptake versus temperature relations of other salmonid fish from lower latitudes.The short term metabolic response to a rise in temperature of 4 C was independent of body size except with fish with yolk sacs and weighing less than 0.125 g.


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