Individual-based analyses reveal high repeatability in timing and location of reproduction in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Abstract

Few studies have quantified the repeatability of reproductive decisions by individuals or assessed their relationship with environmental variables over multiple seasons for long-lived iteroparous fish species. Using individual-based data collected for 678 lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) over 8 consecutive years, we evaluated hypotheses regarding spawning periodicity and repeatability of spawning location, spawning time, and environmental cues associated with spawning. At our study site (Upper Black River, northern Michigan, USA), interspawning interval differed between males (2.3 ± 0.08 years) and females (3.7 ± 0.16 years), but was not significantly related to age. Individual spawning behavior was highly repeatable with respect to spawning time (relative day within the spawning season) for both sexes regardless of size or age, but was less repeatable, though still significant, relative to water temperature, river discharge, and lunar phase. Breeding area was also repeatable, with individuals spawning earlier in the season selecting locations further upstream than those spawning later. Repeatability in spawning times and locations suggest that subpopulation differentiation may develop among different spawning groups, even within small and spatially contiguous areas.

Effects of changes in alternative prey densities on predation of drifting lake sturgeon larvae (Acipenser fulvescens)

“…The UBR is a wadeable stream with an average discharge rate of 8.3 m 3 s ¡1 during the lake sturgeon spawning season (Forsythe et al 2012). The spawning grounds are composed primarily of cobble and gravel substrate.…”

“…One river kilometre below the spawning grounds, UBR downstream elevational changes decrease and substrate transitions to sand and silt (Waraniak 2017). Water depth can be highly variable, but is typically <1.5 m (Forsythe et al 2012). This study was conducted in spring 2016 at the Black River Streamside Rearing Facility (BR-SRF) near Kleber Dam.…”

Breeding Return Times and Abundance in Capture–Recapture Models

“…The lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) population in Black Lake, Michigan, USA has been the subject of ongoing study since 1997 (Baker and Borgeson, 1999;Smith and Baker, 2005;Forsythe et al, 2012). The population is closed to immigration by dams.…”

Consistency in the behaviour types of the Atlantic cod: repeatability, timing of migration and geo-location

“…Due to the development of promising tracking methods, migration studies have been flourishing in recent decades, with particular emphasis on multiple year patterns (Egevang et al 2010, Matthews et al 2011, Olifiers et al 2011, Vardanis et al 2011, Forsythe et al 2012. In this context, data storage tags (DSTs) allow the investigation of thermo-bathymetric migration patterns of fish, and the variability of individual migrations, using relatively long-term storage DSTs (Neat et al 2006).…”