Arctic char enter the marine environment before annual ice breakup in the high Arctic

Hammer, Lars J.; Hussey, Nigel E.; Marcoux, Marianne; Pettitt‐Wade, Harri; Hedges, Kevin J.; Tallman, Ross F.; Furey, Nathan B.

doi:10.1007/s10641-021-01099-3

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…While temperature as a proximate cue for the clearing of migratory routes of sea-ice is an intuitive explanation for this pattern, one Arctic char exhibited an extended residency at KUJ for ∼17 days after entering the ocean, departing the KUJ Section 15 days after all other tagged fish. This indicates that the initiation of the marine dispersal migration of Arctic char may not be closely linked to ice-off as suggested by Hammer et al (2021) for Arctic char movements in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut. Further work is required to monitor surface temperatures at known migration initiation points coupled with movement data to further test this hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Anadromous Arctic char migration begins in the freshwater environment as individuals disperse from their overwintering sites and begin directed movements towards the marine environment via connecting river systems. Initial behaviour of Arctic char as they enter the marine environment is typically dispersive as they move towards patches of high summer productivity where foraging occurs (Moore et al 2016;Hammer et al 2021). Once these high-productivity regions are encountered, Arctic char habitat-use becomes focused with limited dispersal (Moore et al 2016), although re-cursive transitions between coastal sites can occur (Spares et al 2015), before returning to their overwintering freshwater habitat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resources exploited by Arctic char in the marine environment are ephemeral, with prey such as copepods declining in abundance following the cessation of the summer phytoplankton bloom (Darnis and Fortier 2014). As such, the initiation of the marine dispersal stage of migration is likely determined by factors that influence the time required to reach optimal foraging sites, such as the total migration distance, and (or) the rate that routes become clear of sea-ice, to ensure Arctic char arrival coincides with prey presence (Gyselman 1984;Dempson and Green 1985;Gilbert et al 2016; but see Hammer et al 2021). Where Arctic char converge on shared marine foraging grounds from distinct overwintering sites (Moore et al 2016;Hammer et al 2022), those travelling a greater distance may therefore be expected to enter the marine environment and disperse towards foraging grounds earlier than conspecifics arriving from closer overwintering sites (Hammer et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinct freshwater migratory pathways in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) coincide with separate patterns of marine spatial habitat-use across a large coastal landscape

Hollins

Pettitt‐Wade

Gallagher

et al. 2022

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Understanding variability in distributions and habitat-use among populations of anadromous salmonids is essential for their sustainable management. Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is an important cultural and socioeconomic species, however, knowledge of their spatio-temporal habitat-use during the marine phase is limited. Here, a large-scale acoustic telemetry array was used to determine intraspecific variation in Arctic char summer marine habitat-use tied to overwintering lake occurrence in the Amundsen Gulf. Arctic char tagged in the ocean migrated to two main overwintering lakes, corresponding to distinct migration corridors and separate patterns of marine habitat-use, with one individual exhibiting among the longest recorded char marine migration to date (~330km). Arctic char that undertook longer migration distances initiated travel in the ocean towards freshwater 11 days earlier than those completing shorter migration distances; mean departure days (±SD) 2nd August (±8.1 days) and 13th August (±6.8 days), corresponding to migration distances of 252 and 131 km respectively. These findings identify that Arctic char from different populations can occupy distinct marine foraging grounds within a region, with consequences for variable interactions with fisheries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinct freshwater migratory pathways in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) coincide with separate patterns of marine spatial habitat-use across a large coastal landscape

Hollins

Pettitt‐Wade

Gallagher

et al. 2022

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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“…There are two other documented locations where Arctic char used the marine environment under sea ice (Bégout Anras et al ., 1999; Hammer et al ., 2021). In both locations, under‐ice travel was observed after (Bégout Anras et al ., 1999) or likely after (Hammer et al ., 2021) river break‐up in late spring. In contrast, the authors observed Arctic char using the marine environment in winter, while both the Coppermine River and Coronation Gulf remained ice covered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overwintering ecology and movement of anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in a large, ice‐covered river in the Canadian Arctic

Smith

Hitkolok²,

Loewen

et al. 2022

Journal of Fish Biology

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Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is a facultatively anadromous fish species that is critically important to many Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. Plasticity in life history has allowed the species to persist in a diversity of challenging Holarctic environments. Despite their ecological and cultural importance and their presence in aquatic ecosystems that are ice-covered for much of the year, few under-ice studies of Arctic char have been conducted. Most winter studies of adult Arctic char have focused on lakes, where they typically overwinter. Several populations of Arctic char, however, overwinter in large river systems, and subsistence fishers have reported that Arctic char overwinter in the lower reaches of the Coppermine River. The Coppermine River is a large Arctic river that flows into Coronation Gulf near Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada. The authors used acoustic telemetry to investigate the overwintering ecology of Arctic char in the region. Consistent with local knowledge, they detected Arctic char overwintering within the fluvial environment of the Coppermine River from 2018 to 2020. Unlike other fluvial environments known to be used by overwintering Arctic char, the lower reaches of the Coppermine River are completely ice-covered throughout the winter, are of moderate depths (3.8-14.1 m) and have no known groundwater inputs. Acoustic telemetry observations indicated long-distance movement (7-8 km) within the river in early winter (October) in response to dynamicice formation. Under-ice movement generally declined 2 weeks after river freeze-up but continued throughout winter in the lower 5 km of the river, where there were fewer under-ice disturbances. Migration into the marine environment before river ice break-up (June), as well as winter (November-May) movements into and within the marine environment, was unexpectedly observed for some fish. Under-ice use of the marine environment is unusual for Arctic char at the distances observed (up to 18 km) and has not previously been documented at the temperatures (fish body temperatures from À0.76 to 1.90 C) observed. Results allow further understanding of the diverse life-history tactics employed by Arctic char and lay a foundation for

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“…2016; Hammer et al. in press), may be altered under future climatic conditions (e.g., Falardeau et al. 2022).…”

Section: Fishery Year Fishing Dates Harvest (Kg) Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic Telemetry Reveals the Complex Nature ofMixed‐StockFishing in Canada's Largest Arctic Char Commercial Fishery

Harris

Yurkowski

Malley

et al. 2022

N American J Fish Manag

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Climate change is having a myriad of effects on Arctic ecosystems, yet understanding how these changes will influence the spatiotemporal dynamics of harvest in northern commercial fisheries remains unclear. Furthermore, stock mixing continues to complicate fisheries management in Arctic Canada, especially for anadromous stocks, but data on the extent and degree of stock mixing for the majority of northern fisheries are scarce. Here, we used a multiyear (2015–2019) acoustic telemetry data set to test the utility of acoustic telemetry as a potential tool for inferring stock mixing in the Arctic Char Salvelinus alpinus commercial fishery in Cambridge Bay (Nunavut). We also assessed the effect of annual variation in environmental variables (river breakup and marine ice conditions) on the potential contribution of discrete stocks to commercial harvest at several fisheries. We found that stock mixing during the commercial harvest is common in both marine and freshwater fisheries during the summer/open‐water season, with virtually all stocks potentially being susceptible to harvest at any given commercial fishery. Additionally, in some fisheries, the vulnerability of different stocks to harvest was influenced by annual differences in marine ice and river breakup conditions. We discuss options for fisheries management, including a potential quota‐transfer system, and highlight how changing environmental and climatic conditions may have an effect on the commercial harvest of Arctic Char in the region. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate the utility of acoustic telemetry for informing mixed‐stock fisheries while highlighting the complex and pervasive nature of stock mixing in Canada's largest Arctic Char commercial fishery.

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Arctic char enter the marine environment before annual ice breakup in the high Arctic

Cited by 13 publications

References 36 publications

Distinct freshwater migratory pathways in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) coincide with separate patterns of marine spatial habitat-use across a large coastal landscape

Distinct freshwater migratory pathways in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) coincide with separate patterns of marine spatial habitat-use across a large coastal landscape

Overwintering ecology and movement of anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in a large, ice‐covered river in the Canadian Arctic

Acoustic Telemetry Reveals the Complex Nature ofMixed‐StockFishing in Canada's Largest Arctic Char Commercial Fishery

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