Abundance, Production, and Tissue Composition of Mountain Whitefish (<i>Prosopium williamsoni</i>) in a Central Idaho Wilderness Stream

Lance, Michael J.; Baxter, Colden V.

doi:10.3955/046.085.0303

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Moreover, most studies on mountain whitefish have been unable to quantify or even observe juveniles. We provide a comprehensive study on the migratory behavior of mountain whitefish in a river network, and it confirms many of the patterns observed or speculated by others (Pettit and Wallace 1975;Davies and Thompson 1976;Baxter 2002;Lance and Baxter 2011). In addition, we fill knowledge gaps regarding the presence of juveniles in those previous studies by revealing that some juveniles use large river habitats for early rearing.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…In contrast, Sr isotopes in otoliths revealed that first migration to Columbia River was primarily at age-0 and secondarily at age-1. This early age at first migration exhibited by mountain whitefish may explain why we found it difficult to quantify migration of these age classes via PIT tagging (i.e., individuals migrated prior to sampling or were too small to receive a PIT tag), as well as why other investigators found it difficult to observe and quantify these age classes (Baxter 2002;Meyer et al 2009;Lance and Baxter 2011). Our results suggest that a portion of the mountain whitefish population require connectivity to large river habitats to complete their life cycle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…In previous studies (Pettit and Wallace 1975;Meyer et al 2009;Lance and Baxter 2011), mountain whitefish in larger rivers at lower elevation had faster growth and higher rates of production, were larger size-at-age, and had greater fecundity than those in smaller rivers at higher elevation, perhaps owing to increased water temperature or food availability downstream. For example, in the upper Snake River basin, Idaho, mountain whitefish in larger rivers (stream order = 5-7) had greater growth, fecundity, and survival than those occupying smaller rivers (stream order = 2-4; Meyer et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Because mountain whitefish are dispersed over multiple kilometres of mainstem rivers and their abundance varies across seasons (Davies and Thompson 1976;Baxter 2002;Lance and Baxter 2011), it is difficult to study their life history and migratory behavior (Fausch et al 2002). Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag technology and isotopic signatures in otoliths can be combined to characterize movement across a range of spatial and temporal scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal variability in movement, age, and growth of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a river network based upon PIT tagging and otolith chemistry

Benjamin

Wetzel

Martens

et al. 2014

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Connectivity of river networks and the movements among habitats can be critical for the life history of many fish species, and understanding of the patterns of movement is central to managing populations, communities, and the landscapes they use. We combined passive integrated transponder tagging over 4 years and strontium isotopes in otoliths to demonstrate that 25% of the mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) sampled moved between the Methow and Columbia rivers, Washington, USA. Seasonal migrations downstream from the Methow River to the Columbia River to overwinter occurred in autumn and upstream movements in the spring. We observed migration was common during the first year of life, with migrants being larger than nonmigrants. However, growth between migrants and nonmigrants was similar. Water temperature was positively related to the proportion of migrants and negatively related to the timing of migration, but neither was related to discharge. The broad spatio-temporal movements we observed suggest mountain whitefish, and likely other nonanadromous fish, require distant habitats and also suggests that management and conservation strategies to keep connectivity of large river networks are imperative.Résumé : La connectivité des réseaux hydrographiques et les déplacements entre habitats peuvent revêtir une importance capitale pour le cycle biologique de nombreuses espèces de poissons, la compréhension des motifs de déplacement constituant donc un aspect central de la gestion des populations et des communautés, ainsi que des paysages utilisés par ces dernières. L'intégration de données de radio-étiquettes passives intégrées recueillies sur 4 ans et de données d'isotopes de strontium d'otolites permet de démontrer que 25 % des ménominis de montagnes (Prosopium williamsoni) échantillonnés se déplaçaient entre la rivière Methow et le fleuve Columbia (État de Washington, États-Unis). Des avalaisons saisonnières de la rivière Methow vers le fleuve Columbia pour y passer l'hiver se produisaient en automne, et des montaisons, au printemps. Nous avons observé que la migration était répandue durant la première année de vie, les individus migrateurs étant plus grands que les autres. Ces deux groupes présentaient toutefois des taux de croissance semblables. La température de l'eau était positivement corrélée à la proportion d'individus migrateurs et négativement corrélée au moment de la migration, aucune de ces variables n'étant toutefois corrélée au débit. Les grands déplacements spatiotemporels observés portent à croire que le ménomini de montagnes et, vraisemblablement, d'autres poissons non anadromes ont besoin d'habitats éloignés les uns des autres et qu'il est donc impératif d'adopter des stratégies de gestion et de conservation visant à préserver la connectivité des grands réseaux hydrographiques. [Traduit par la Rédaction]

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal variability in movement, age, and growth of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a river network based upon PIT tagging and otolith chemistry

Benjamin

Wetzel

Martens

et al. 2014

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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“…Mountain whitefish often constitute the majority of salmonid biomass in river systems in the Pacific Northwest. Lance and Baxter (2011) found that the species constituted over 50% of the salmonid biomass within an Idaho watershed, with a N:P ratio significantly greater than other bony fishes and similar to sympatric salmonids. This suggests that mountain whitefish represent an important assemblage of nutrients and energy in stream ecosystems.…”

Section: Implications For Management and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 92%

Polymorphic mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a coastal riverscape: size class assemblages, distribution, and habitat associations

Starr

Torgersen

2014

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Polymorphic mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a coastal riverscape:Size class assemblages, distribution, and habitat associations James Chamberlain StarrChair of Supervisory Committee: Affiliate Assistant Professor Christian E. Torgersen School of Environmental and Forest SciencesFluvial mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) offer a rare example of trophic polymorphism among stream dwelling salmonids in temperate North American river systems.Trophic polymorphism is a form of resource-based phenotypic diversification that occurs when exploitation of under-utilized resources necessitates specific morphological characteristics.Studies of trophic polymorphism in the species are few, focusing on diet, foraging behavior, genetic variation, and snout morphology. Pinocchio whitefish develop an elongated snout used to overturn substrate while foraging for benthic invertebrates, whereas normal whitefish have an even sloping head shape and feed primarily on drifting prey. I hypothesized that (1) morphotypes would be associated with distinctly different habitat features based on known feeding behavior and diet, and (2) these differences in habitat association would segregate morphotypes at channel unit and reach scales. In this study, I first compared the spatial distributions of morphotypes and size classes. I then assessed the assemblage structure of morphotypes and size classes and their relationships with aquatic habitat. Finally, I quantified the associations between specific morphotypes and longitudinal variation in aquatic habitat. Spatially continuous sampling was conducted over a broad extent (29 km) in the Calawah River, WA (USA). Whitefish were enumerated via snorkeling in three size classes: small (10-29 cm), medium (30-49 cm), and large (≥ 50 cm). Spatial distributions were compared among size classes of morphotypes by relating cumulative abundance to distance upstream. Assemblage structure and relationships with aquatic habitat were assessed with non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS). Unit-scale differences between morphotypes in pool and non-pool habitats were quantified with Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Associations between specific morphotypes and habitat were quantified at the 1-km reach scale with generalized additive models (GAMs) using thin-plate regression splines. Large size classes of both morphotypes were distributed downstream of small and medium size classes, and normal whitefish were distributed downstream of pinocchio whitefish. Normal whitefish size classes were associated with higher gradient and depth, whereas pinocchio whitefish size classes were positively associated with pool area, distance upstream, and depth. Normal whitefish relative density did not differ between habitat types at the unit scale (p = 0.34, W = 3085), but pinocchio whitefish were more dense in pool habitat than in non-pool habitat (p < 0.0001, W = 1084). Reach-scale GAMs indicated that normal whitefish were associated with larger substrate size in downstream reaches (R 2 = 0.64), and pinocchio wh...

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Colonization of a temperate river by mobile fish following habitat reconnection

et al. 2023

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Mobile species are particularly affected by artificial barriers requiring large investments to restore connectivity. However, few large-scale, long-term studies have investigated the ecological outcomes of restoring connectivity for these species. Our study, spanning 15-20 years, quantified response trajectories, which represent temporal trends following disturbance, of three native salmonids colonizing 20 km of protected habitat following restoration of fish passage at Landsburg Dam, Cedar River, WA, in 2003. Built in 1901, the dam blocked the upriver movement of native anadromous coho and Chinook salmon and nonanadromous mountain whitefish for 102 years. Restoration effectiveness was also assessed by comparing temporal trends in freshwater productivity of juvenile coho and Chinook salmon in the Cedar River after restoration to a nearby undammed subbasin. We also compared summer densities of juvenile coho and Chinook salmon, and mountain whitefish above the dam measured a decade after restoration to undammed reference systems. Anadromous salmon and nonanadromous mountain whitefish populations increased linearly or nonlinearly following restoration. The positive, asymptotic response represented by adult Chinook salmon counts indicates a slowing in population recovery rate, plateauing a decade after restoration. In contrast, annual abundance of adult coho salmon increased at a constant rate, indicating additional capacity 15 years post-restoration. Salmonid compositional diversity, driven largely by juvenile coho salmon, also increased nonlinearly, plateauing in a decade. We observed substantial spatial variation in the temporal response, as juvenile coho salmon and mountain whitefish population expansion slowed linearly with upstream distance from the restoration site. There was evidence that some of the annual variation in salmonid biomass in summer was a result of discharge variability in winter and spring, with biomass declining as flow variability increased. Species reintroduction and establishment had no discernible effect on stream-rearing salmonids living above

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Abundance, Production, and Tissue Composition of Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a Central Idaho Wilderness Stream

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

Spatio-temporal variability in movement, age, and growth of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a river network based upon PIT tagging and otolith chemistry

Spatio-temporal variability in movement, age, and growth of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a river network based upon PIT tagging and otolith chemistry

Polymorphic mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a coastal riverscape: size class assemblages, distribution, and habitat associations

Colonization of a temperate river by mobile fish following habitat reconnection

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