Reliance on lakes by salmon, trout and charr (Oncorhynchus,SalmoandSalvelinus): An evaluation of spawning habitats, rearing strategies and trophic polymorphisms

Abstract

Salmonid fishes may reside within or migrate between stream and lake habitats, or undergo anadromous migrations between freshwater and the ocean. While the degree of anadromy of salmonids has been thoroughly compared, no analogous review has examined the degree of lake use. To assess the extent of reliance on lake habitat in this family, we considered 16 species of salmon, trout and charr from the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, comparing their (a) use of lakes as spawning habitat, (b) rearing strategies in lakes, and (c) occurrence and diversity of lacustrine trophic polymorphism. In identifying the primary life‐history patterns of each species and exploring the lesser‐known lacustrine behaviours, we found that the extent of reliance on lakes exhibits a negative association with the degree of anadromy. Oncorhynchus rely least on lakes, Salmo to an intermediate level and Salvelinus the most, opposite of the general prevalence of anadromy among these genera. Lakes are critical to adfluvial and lake‐resident salmonids, but they also support anadromous and fluvial life histories by providing spawning, rearing, overwintering and/or summer refuge habitat. Adfluviality, although a non‐anadromous life history, consists of similar migration‐related traits and behaviours as anadromy, including the parr–smolt transformation, sex‐biased patterns of migration and residency, and the presence of precocious males. Lakes support life‐history variants, reproductive ecotypes and trophic morphs unique to lacustrine habitat. Therefore, conservation of salmonids is dependent on maintaining the diversity and quality of their habitats, including lakes.

Loss of Coilia nasus habitats in Chinese freshwater lakes: An otolith microchemistry assessment

“…The results of the study suggested a natal homing capability of this species; the Poyang Lake, Yangtze River, and Yellow Sea seemed to be the natal lake, migration pathway, and feeding ground, respectively, for this species [ 48 ]. As indicated by Arostegui and Quinn [ 65 ], based on studies of salmonid fish of the North American, Asian, European, and African ranges, lakes provide spawning, rearing, and refuge habitats and support life-history variants, reproductive ecotypes, and trophic morphs. Unfortunately, anadromous C. nasus individuals have not been found recently in the lakes of Dongting, Gucheng, Taihu, or Dongping.…”

Telemetry and genetics reveal asymmetric dispersal of a lake‐feeding salmonid between inflow and outflow spawning streams at a microgeographic scale

“…If so, the actual proportion of strayers among the trout tagged during this study may exceed the proportion reported here. Finally, although brown trout primarily spawn in fluvial habitats, they are capable of successfully spawning in lakes if suitable hydrological conditions are present (Arostegui & Quinn, ). It is possible that some of the mature‐sized lake‐tagged trout that were not detected in either the inflow or outflow were in fact lacustrine spawners.…”

The macroecology of fish migration

“…For example, Galaxias maculatus (known as puye in Chile and inanga in New Zealand) is a facultative migrant and is classified as amphidromous, catadromous, potamodromous, and non-migratory (Alò et al, 2019;Górski et al, 2018;Ruiz-Jarabo et al, 2016). Similarly, many salmonids are partial migrants having both migratory and resident forms (e.g., Oncorhynchus mykiss; Baerwald et al, 2016;Ferguson et al, 2019;Hecht et al, 2012), but are often defined as anadromous regardless of the presence of any connection to a marine setting (Arostegui & Quinn, 2019). Partial migration is a rather common phenomenon among fishes.…”