Journal
ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH
Volume 22, Issue 2, Pages 192-201Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/eff.12014
Keywords
diet; subarctic lakes; summer ecology; winter ecology; zooplankton
Categories
Funding
- Fisheries Society of the British Isles
- Academy of Finland [140903]
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
- European Regional Developmental Fund [A30205]
- Academy of Finland (AKA) [140903, 140903] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Lakes in Arctic and subarctic regions display extreme levels of seasonal variation in light, temperature and ice cover. Comparatively little is known regarding the effects of such seasonal variation on the diet and resource use of fish species inhabiting these systems. Variation in the diet of European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) during periods of ice cover in this region is often regarded as common knowledge'; however, this aspect of the species' ecology has not been examined empirically. Here, we outline the differences in invertebrate community structure, fish activity, and resource use of monomorphic whitefish populations between summer (AugustSeptember) and winter (FebruaryMarch) in three subarctic lakes in Finnish Lapland. Benthic macroinvertebrate densities did not exhibit measurable differences between summer and winter. Zooplankton diversity and abundance, and activity levels of all fish species (measured as catch per unit effort) were lower in winter. The summer diet of C.lavaretus was typical of a generalist utilising a variety of prey sources. In winter, its dietary niche was significantly reduced, and the diet was dominated by chironomid larvae in all study sites. Pelagic productivity decreases during winter, and fish species inhabiting these systems are therefore restricted to feeding on benthic prey. Sampling time has strong effect on our understanding of resource utilisation by whitefish in subarctic lakes and should be taken into account in future studies of these systems.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available