The objective of this study was to contrast movement rates and habitat choice of pike (Esox lucius Linnaeus) in mid-summer and mid-winter in a 25-ha lake (Kleiner Döllnsee, northeastern Germany) using radio-telemetry. Positional telemetry for consecutive 96-h was conducted by boat in July 2005 and by walking on surface ice in January/February 2006. Positions of pike (N = 11) were recorded with a GPS unit corrected by a reference station. Movement rates, distance to shore and habitat use were compared between summer and winter and relative to daytime and fish length. Pike moved significantly more in summer, and during summer had activity peaks in twilight periods. In winter, pronounced activity peaks at specific daytime periods were missing and pike chose habitats significantly closer to shore. In summer, submerged macrophyte beds were positively and pelagic areas negatively selected. In winter, pike negatively selected shallow open water in the littoral zone, and there was a tendency to avoid the pelagic. Movement rate and distance to shore were significantly and positively related to the size of pike.

Out of 52 chub Leuciscus cephalus tagged with internal radio‐transmitters, 46 migrated to spawning grounds in the River Spree, Germany. All chub started their first spawning migration on 21–22 May in both years of study, 1995 and 1996. They arrived at three different spawning grounds within a day and left after 1 to 6 days to return to their original sites. On 17 and 18 June 1995 and 1996 chub started their second spawning migration with the same pattern as the first. About 60% of all migrating chub moved between 1 and 13 km upstream to the nearest spawning ground. Some exceptions were observed: a few chub did not use the nearest spawning ground, some chub used different spawning grounds at first and second spawning or moved downstream to a spawning ground. Spawning grounds were characterized by 0·4 m s−1 current velocity, shallow depth (0·1–0·8 m) and a stony bottom, where most eggs adhered.

Individual movement patterns of adult ide Leuciscus idus, a Eurasian river‐dwelling cyprinid, in two lowland rivers were measured all year‐round during 1997–2000 to assess migratory behaviour and variation between and within these populations. In the River Elbe, a 1091 km long lowland river with a free flowing stretch of 590 km, 24 ide were implanted with radio transmitters. Fish were hand‐tracked all year‐round once a week in the main study area (75 km), and once per 6 weeks in a larger area (321 km). In the River Vecht, a 190 km long highly regulated river with six weirs and fishways in the Dutch section, 25 ide were implanted with transponders. An array of three automatic detection stations covering the entire river width, registered each individual passage continuously. Within population variation in year‐round movement patterns was very high. In both rivers a similar continuum was found from individuals using a river stretch of only a few km for spawning, feeding and wintering, to individuals migrating >100 km. The populations in the two rivers differed, however, in spawning site fidelity. In the River Vecht spawning site fidelity was observed in all individuals and appeared much stronger than in the River Elbe, where individuals moving downstream >60–90 km tended to adopt new spawning sites in the next year. Moreover, some ide in the River Vecht migrated upstream to wintering habitats in autumn, whereas this was not observed in the River Elbe. The results suggest that ide is a flexible species capable of using a wide variety of movement patterns and scales.

Water body and bank structure use of adult roach Rutilus rutilus were examined to increase the knowledge of the most abundant species in the River Spree, Germany. Six tracking series were conducted between 1994 and 1995 to analyse the seasonal and diel movements of the fish. In each series, four to 12 roach were tagged externally and located every 2 h for up to 14 days using radiotelemetry. Roach were highly active, moving up to 10 km downstream to Lake Dämeritzsee, and up to 6 km upstream from their release site. The fish, which mostly swam greater distances upstream during the day and downstream at night, were most active during the spawning season. Their habitat range varied greatly. Close-range habitat, based on 50% of all radiolocations, varied between 5 and 1350 m (mean, X=296 m). Wide-range habitat, based on 90% of all radiolocations, varied between 75 and 3820 m (X=1006 m). The fish preferred different sections of water at different times of year, casting doubt on the relevance of the term home range. Generally, roach stayed close to the bank structures of the main channel during the day and moved to the stagnant waters at night. Consequently, they were most active at dawn and dusk. 1998 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles