Characterizing Seasonal Habitat Use and Diel Vertical Activity of Lake Whitefish in Clear Lake, Maine, as Determined with Acoustic Telemetry

Abstract

Seasonal and daily vertical activity of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis was studied in Clear Lake, Maine (253 ha), using acoustic telemetry from November 2004 to June 2009. Twenty adult lake whitefish were tagged with acoustic tags that had either a depth sensor or both depth and temperature sensors to assess vertical habitat use at a seasonal and daily resolution. Vertical habitat selection varied seasonally and was strongly influenced by temperature. Between December and April, when the lake was covered with ice, surface temperature was below 2°C and tagged individuals occupied deep areas of the lake (∼15 m). After ice‐out, fish ascended into shallow waters (∼5 m), responding to increased water temperature and possibly to greater foraging opportunity. When surface water temperatures exceeded 20°C, fish descended below the developing thermocline (∼9 m), where they remained until surface temperatures fell below 20°C; fish then ascended into shallower depths, presumably for feeding and spawning. Through the winter, fish remained in thermal habitats that were warmer than the surface temperatures; in the summer, they selected depths with thermal habitats below 15°C. Though the amplitude varied greatly across seasons, lake whitefish displayed a strong diurnal pattern of activity as measured by vertical velocities. Fish were twofold more active during spring, summer, and fall than during winter. Lake whitefish exhibited diel vertical migrations, rising in the water column during nighttime and occupying deeper waters during the day. This pattern was more pronounced in the spring and fall and far less prominent during winter and summer. The strong linkage between temperature and habitat use may limit the current range of lake whitefish and may be directly impacted by climatic change.

Does habitat occupancy by lake trout and lake whitefish in large lakes match published thermal habitat envelopes?

“…The two species differ in their reported preferred temperature ranges and presumably use different habitats in lakes. Lake whitefish have a consistent preferred thermal range in lakes (10-14°C; Christie & Regier, 1988;10-15°C;Gorsky, Zydlewski, & Basley, 2012), which should place lake whitefish habitat at or just below the summer thermocline depth. No additional research appears to have been conducted addressing the utility of the thermal habitat envelope defined by Christie and Regier (1988).…”

Interpreting vertical movement behavior with holistic examination of depth distribution: a novel method reveals cryptic diel activity patterns of Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea

“…Transmitters and data loggers can provide data on the horizontal movements of animals, and also their depth distributions and vertical movements, yielding many insights into their behavior. Analysis of vertical movement data may reveal that a species' depth distribution is influenced by factors including temperature [1,2], oxygen [3], the former two in concert [4], light level [5,6], predation risk [7], prey movements [8,9], and foraging efficiency [10,11]. Consequently, vertical distributions often vary with the seasons and diel periods [12,13].…”

Adaptation and acclimation of aerobic exercise physiology in Lake Whitefish ecotypes (Coregonus clupeaformis)

“…These are conditions that dwarf fish may experience while foraging in the warmer limnetic zone in the summer (Gorsky et al. ; Evans et al. ).…”

“…Alternatively, found that dwarf fish have more cathodic hemoglobins, which aid in oxygen uptake during hypoxia, at high temperatures (which can induce hypoxia), and with metabolic acidosis (Mairbãurl and Weber 2012). These are conditions that dwarf fish may experience while foraging in the warmer limnetic zone in the summer (Gorsky et al 2012;Evans et al 2014). Together, these data hint that differences in oxygen transport cascade-related traits in Lake Whitefish ecotypes may be the product of multiple interacting selective pressures, including activity levels, environmental oxygen content, and temperature.…”