Density-dependent territory size and individual growth rate in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Whether territoriality regulates population size depends on the flexibility of territory size, but few studies have quantified territory size over a broad range of densities. While juvenile salmonids in streams exhibit density-dependent mortality and emigration, consistent with space limitation, there has been relatively little study of how territory size and individual growth rate change over a broad range of densities, particularly in field experiments. Consequently, we manipulated the density (range=0.25-8m(-2)) of young-of-the-year (YOY) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in mesh enclosures erected in a natural stream to test whether (i) territory size is fixed, decreases continuously or decreases towards an asymptotic minimum size as density increases; and (ii) individual growth rate decreases as a negative power curve with density as in observational field studies. Territory size decreased with increasing density, consistent with an asymptotic minimum size of about 0.13m(2) for a 5-cm fish. Individual growth rate also decreased with density, although the magnitude of decrease was steeper than in observational studies. Our results suggest a limit to how small territories can be compressed, which will set the upper limit to the local density in a habitat. The density-dependent changes in territory size and individual growth rate will both play a role in the regulation of stream salmonid populations.