Ontogenetic niche shifts and resource partitioning of lake trout morphotypes

Zimmerman, Mara S.; Schmidt, Stephanie N. SchmidtS.N.; Krueger, Charles C.; Zanden, M. Vander ZandenM.J. Vander Jake; Eshenroder, Randy L.

doi:10.1139/f09-060

Cited by 76 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Thus, the divergence of GBL Lake Trout into discrete morphs is likely, at least partially, related to selection acting on traits important for food exploitation (or habitat use associated with prey distribution). Variation in depth-related habitat use and diet has also been associated with ecotypic/morphological variation in this species in other northern systems (Zimmerman et al, 2007) including GSL (Zimmerman et al, 2006(Zimmerman et al, , 2009. GSL has likely shared a similar glacial history to that of GBL, and Lake Trout from these two systems have likely been isolated for approximately 8500 years (Smith, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Evolution and origin of sympatric shallow-water morphotypes of Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in Canada’s Great Bear Lake

et al. 2014

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Range expansion in north-temperate fishes subsequent to the retreat of the Wisconsinan glaciers has resulted in the rapid colonization of previously unexploited, heterogeneous habitats and, in many situations, secondary contact among conspecific lineages that were once previously isolated. Such ecological opportunity coupled with reduced competition likely promoted morphological and genetic differentiation within and among post-glacial fish populations. Discrete morphological forms existing in sympatry, for example, have now been described in many species, yet few studies have directly assessed the association between morphological and genetic variation. Morphotypes of Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush, are found in several large-lake systems including Great Bear Lake (GBL), Northwest Territories, Canada, where several shallow-water forms are known. Here, we assess microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation among four morphotypes of Lake Trout from the five distinct arms of GBL, and also from locations outside of this system to evaluate several hypotheses concerning the evolution of morphological variation in this species. Our data indicate that morphotypes of Lake Trout from GBL are genetically differentiated from one another, yet the morphotypes are still genetically more similar to one another compared with populations from outside of this system. Furthermore, our data suggest that Lake Trout colonized GBL following dispersal from a single glacial refugium (the Mississippian) and support an intra-lake model of divergence. Overall, our study provides insights into the origins of morphological and genetic variation in post-glacial populations of fishes and provides benchmarks important for monitoring Lake Trout biodiversity in a region thought to be disproportionately susceptible to impacts from climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Evolution and origin of sympatric shallow-water morphotypes of Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in Canada’s Great Bear Lake

et al. 2014

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“…These morphs thrive in the pelagic area but, since the brook trout populations are usually dominated by generalist individuals, the habitat use of specialized morphs can be highlighted only with individual-based studies (e.g. radiotracking; Mucha & Mackereth 2008) or with appropriate analyses to distinguish the fish morphs (morphological, dietary, parasitological and isotope analyses; Bertrand et al 2008;Zimmerman et al 2009). Our results are strongly influenced by the distribution of dominant, generalist individuals, and they probably miss highlighting possible deviations from the usual brook trout distribution patterns derived from the feeding specialization of some individuals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of introduced brook troutSalvelinus fontinalis(Salmonidae) within alpine lakes: evidences from a fish eradication campaign

Tiberti

Nelli

Brighenti

et al. 2017

The European Zoological Journal

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Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis have been used worldwide to stock fishless alpine lakes, negatively affecting native biota. Understanding its spatial ecology in invaded ecosystems can provide information to interpret and contrast its ecological impact. We opportunistically used capture points of brook trout gillnetted during an eradication campaign to assess the distribution patterns of four unexploited populations inhabiting high-altitude lakes. The main eradication method implies the use of many gillnets with several mesh sizes, which are selective for different fish sizes. For each lake we drew six capture maps associated with as many different mesh sizes, and we tested whether the distance from the coastline (which in alpine lakes is a reliable proxy of the most important spatial gradients, e.g. depth, temperature, prey availability, lighting conditions) influences the proportion of captured fish belonging to different size classes and the number of fish captured by the nets with different mesh sizes. To interpret the results, we also provide a cartographic description of the lakes' bathymetry and littoral microhabitats. We found (1) a negative relationship between brook trout distribution and the distance from the coastline in all of the size classes, lakes and mesh sizes; (2) that large brook trout can thrive in the lakes' center, while small ones are limited to the littoral areas; and (3) that the distance from the coastline alone cannot explain all the differences in the catch densities in different parts of the lakes. As in their native range, introduced brook trout populations also have littoral habits. Microhabitats, prey availability and distance from the spawning ground are other likely factors determining the distribution patterns of brook trout populations introduced in alpine lakes. The obtained results also provide useful information on how to plan new eradication campaigns.

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“…Muscle isotope composition depends on growth rate and metabolic turnover of the fish during diet shift (Kolasinski et al 2009;Zimmerman et al 2009 commonly viewed as rapidly reaching the isotopic composition of the primary food source in an asymptotic manner with increasing body size or age. Exceptions to this pattern are generally attributed to the influence of dietary or habitat switches (Gu et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable isotope analysis has been used to investigate changes in diet and food web structure after species invade lakes (Vander Zanden et al 1999;Gorokhova et al 2005;Cucherousset et al 2007). The analysis has also been used to study ontogenetic diet shifts of lake trout (Zimmerman et al 2009), goatfish (Kolasinski et al 2009), lake anchovy , and two kinds of sculpin (Yoshii et al 1999). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combining the analysis of fish stomach contents and the stable isotope analysis has demonstrated that body sizes of predators and their prey are significantly correlated with each other, but not with trophic level (Layman et al 2005). Changes in morphology, behavior, habitat, and distribution have been suggested to be associated with changes in feeding strategies of organisms (Kolasinski et al 2009;Zimmerman et al 2009), indicating that conclusions about the trophic position of any species in the aquatic ecosystem must be drawn with caution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decreased trophic position as a function of increasing body size of a benthic omnivorous fish from the largest freshwater lake in China

Wang

2011

Environ Biol Fish

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Potential body size-trophic position relationships of the Darkbarbel catfish Pelteobagrus vachelli (Richardson 1846) were examined using stable isotope analysis. Pelteobagrus vachelli is a benthic feeding fish from Lake Poyang, the largest freshwater lake in China. Two-source mixing model with mussel (Corbicula fluminea) and snail (Bellamya aeruginosa) as baseline primary consumers of planktonic and benthic food webs, respectively, was used to estimate contribution of carbon derived from planktonic vs. benthic food web. Results showed that as an indicator of trophic position, δ 15 N was negatively correlated with the body length and weight of the fish; on the other hand, as an indicator of the end-member food sources, δ 13 C was not correlated with fish size. The mixing model results showed that the averaged trophic position of our sampled 3.3-12.7 cm Pelteobagrus vachelli was 3.1±0.2 and derived 68± 27% of their food from the benthic food web, confirming that the feeding behavior of the catfish favors benthic food sources.

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Ontogenetic niche shifts and resource partitioning of lake trout morphotypes

Cited by 76 publications

References 70 publications

Evolution and origin of sympatric shallow-water morphotypes of Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in Canada’s Great Bear Lake

Evolution and origin of sympatric shallow-water morphotypes of Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in Canada’s Great Bear Lake

Spatial distribution of introduced brook troutSalvelinus fontinalis(Salmonidae) within alpine lakes: evidences from a fish eradication campaign

Decreased trophic position as a function of increasing body size of a benthic omnivorous fish from the largest freshwater lake in China

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