Anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) were caught on their way to and from the sea with the use of a fish trap placed in the Dieset watercourse located on the Spitsbergen Island (79 degrees 10' Northern latitude) within the high-Arctic Svalbard archipelago. When subjected to a seawater challenge test (34 parts/thousand at 4-5 degrees C), charr on their way to the sea showed only minor and temporary changes in blood plasma osmolality and Na+ and Mg2+ concentrations. The seawater tests also revealed good hypoosmoregulatory capacity for Arctic charr returning from the marine environment 4 wk later. A progressive decrease in seawater tolerance was first documented 7-11 days after their return to the freshwater habitat. Thus the Svalbard charr, being the northernmost anadromous salmonid and probably a direct descendant from the first Salvelinus immigrants to freshwater systems, undergoes a preparatory increase of hypoosmoregulatory capacity (smoltification) before entering the oceanic water bodies. Furthermore, the termination of their short annual seawater stay is probably elicited by factors controlling body systems other than osmoregulation.

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The seawater tolerance of juvenile fish from an anadromous and a landlocked population of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), reared in freshwater under a constant light regime, was compared by making repeated seawater challenge tests from one summer to the next. Fish from the landlocked population had higher mortality rates and higher blood plasma Na+ concentrations after transfer to seawater than those from the anadromous population. The gill Na-K-ATPase activity of the landlocked fish was lower than that of the anadromous fish. For both populations, the smallest fish showed the lowest seawater tolerance, but hypoosmoregulatory ability was independent of fish size for fish larger than about 60 g. By June of the second summer, fish from the anadromous, but not those from the landlocked population, developed seawater tolerance 10 d after transfer to seawater. This increase in hypoosmoregulatory ability was accompanied by a doubling of the gill Na-K-ATPase activity.

Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus, in the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, entered the Dieset River (79Њ10ЈN) immediately after ice breakup in late June (1991)(1992)(1993), and within 48 h almost half the migrating population had left the lakes where they spent the winter. The majority of the anadromous char descended into the sea within 3 weeks of the melt. The temporal pattern of emigration was independent of body size. The average residence time at sea of the char was 33.6 d, and the maximum was 56 d. The duration of the seawater sojourn was independent of body size. However, the combined time of downstream migration and marine residence was inversely related to body length in early migrating char. Fish that migrated to the sea early tended to stay there longer. The overall return rate ranged from 33.3% for the smallest (15.1-20 cm) to 75.0% for the largest (45.1-50 cm) char, averaging 51.5%. The average return rate for fish shorter than 25.1 cm (first-time migrants) was 42.5%. The upstream run started in mid-July, peaked in August, and was completed by the beginning of September. In contrast to the seaward migration, there was a structured size-precedence in the upstream run, with the large char entering the river first, followed by char of intermediate size and then the smallest anadromous char. The results indicate insignificant immigration to this high-Arctic watercourse. The marked local adaptation to the extreme physical conditions restricted these char to a narrow migrational window. Because this is the first comprehensive study on migratory behavior in anadromous Svalbard char, the results are a valuable contribution to fishery science and management of individual populations in the most northern Eurasian area.