Influence of Beaver Activity on Summer Growth and Condition of Age‐2 Atlantic Salmon Parr

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society - Tập 135 Số 4 - Trang 1068-1075 - 2006
Douglas B. Sigourney1,2, Benjamin H. Letcher2, Richard A. Cunjak3
1Department of Natural Resources Conservation University of Massachusetts Amherst Massachusetts 01003 USA
2U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division S. O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center Post Office Box 796, One Migratory Way Turners Falls Massachusetts 01376 USA
3Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, and Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management University of New Brunswick Post Office Box 4400 Fredericton New Brunswick E3B 5A3 Canada

Tóm tắt

Abstract

The activity of beavers Castor canadensis in freshwater environments can have considerable localized impacts on the physical and biological components of riparian ecosystems. By changing the habitat of a stream, beaver dams can cause spatial variation in growth opportunity that may have direct consequences for the growth of resident fish. In a small stream in eastern Canada, we studied the effects of an ephemeral beaver pond on the growth and maturity of age‐2 Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr tagged with passive integrated transponder tags. Water temperature remained relatively uniform throughout the study site. We found very little movement of recaptured fish in the study site. Fish that were recaptured in the beaver pond displayed faster summer growth rates in both length and mass than fish that were recaptured immediately above or below the pond. We also found that parr in the pond maintained relatively high condition factors, whereas fish above and below the pond appeared to decrease in condition factor throughout the summer. In addition to growth, the maturation rates of age‐2 males were higher above the dam than below. This study demonstrates the effect a beaver dam can have on individual growth rates. By influencing growth during sensitive periods, the beaver pond may also influence individual life history pathways. This information could be an important component in ecosystem models that predict the effect of beaver population dynamics on the growth of individual salmonids at the landscape scale.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Alexander M. D., 1998, Effects of beaver (Castor canadensis) impoundments on stream temperature and fish community species composition and growth in selected tributaries of Miramichi, New Brunswick., Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2227, 1

10.1111/j.0021-8790.2004.00803.x

10.1577/1548-8659(1987)116<176:WSCAUO>2.0.CO;2

10.1007/BF03161294

10.1023/A:1012262217012

Cunjak R. A., 1990, The Catamaran Brook habitat research project: description and general design of study., Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1751, 1

10.1139/f95-275

10.1002/9780470995242.ch20

10.1139/f83-086

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb01431.x

10.1139/f03-101

10.1006/jfbi.1997.0442

10.1139/f98-107

10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<463:AAHOTI>2.0.CO;2

10.1577/1548-8675(2002)022<0219:TRASOA>2.0.CO;2

10.1139/f86-227

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1982.tb03899.x

10.1139/f86-090

10.2307/3545850

10.1034/j.1600-0633.2000.90107.x

10.1007/BF00001673

10.1163/156853961X00231

Leidholt‐Bruner K., 1992, Beaver dam locations and their effects on distribution and abundance of coho salmon fry in two coastal Oregon streams., Northwest Science, 66, 218

10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00009.x

10.1577/1548-8659(2002)131<0838:SOSDAS>2.0.CO;2

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1998.tb00245.x

10.1007/BF00378759

10.1139/f86-154

Naiman R. J., 1984, The influence of beaver (Castor canadensis) on the production dynamics of aquatic insects., Internationale Vereinigung für theoretische und angewandte Limnologie Verhandlungen, 22, 1801

10.1007/BF00379007

10.2307/1938681

10.2307/1939415

10.1139/f92-088

10.1139/f97-222

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb00359.x

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb01469.x

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb02629.x

10.1577/M03-156.1

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb02728.x

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb04319.x

Rutherford W. H., 1955, Wildlife and environmental relationships of beavers in Colorado forests., Journal of Forestry, 53, 803

10.1139/f86-001

10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[1371:SVIFAA]2.0.CO;2

10.1007/BF00034045

10.1002/(SICI)1099-0755(199801/02)8:1<145::AID-AQC257>3.0.CO;2-7

10.1139/z91-009

10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[0928:IOBOSF]2.0.CO;2

10.2307/1447595

10.1111/j.1095-8649.2002.tb02494.x

10.1139/f98-154

10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12654.x

Yeager L. E., 1954, Beaver management problems in western public lands., Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, 19, 462

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society

Tập 135 Số 4

1068-1075

Thông tin tác giả