Environmental Biology of Fishes

, Volume 12, Issue 3, pp 219–229 | Cite as

Quantitative field investigations of feeding and territorial behaviour of young-of-the-year brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis

  • Richard E. McNicol
  • Eberhard Scherer
  • Elaine J. Murkin
Full paper
Received:
Accepted:

Synopsis

Direct observations of young-of-the-year brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis, in a second-order woodland stream indicated that most of their feeding effort was directed toward sub-surface, drifting prey (83% of feeding time). Feeding from the substrate and water surface was much less frequent (17% of feeding time). Comparisons of gut contents to drift net and substrate fauna samples corroborated that the most commonly consumed prey (chironomid and trichopteran larvae, ostracods, and ephemeropteran nymphs) were captured primarily from sub-surface, invertebrate drift. The disproportionate numbers of some prey species in the guts of several fish indicate that some prey selection occurred. Territories appeared to be cardioid-shaped, and were often contiguous, with dominance hierarchies evident among the residents. Agonistic interactions were frequent. Charges and chases predominated (91% of interactions) while lateral displays were infrequent (9% of interactions). Overall, these fish spent most of the daylight hours station-holding (77%) and feeding (18%). While only 3% of total time was spent in aggression, this amounted to 14% of the time a fish spent away from its station. There was some indication that territories were defended at a cost of feeding time.

Keywords

Aggression Drift Field behaviour Prey-selection Time budget Fish Salmonidae 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References cited

  1. Allan, J.D. 1981. Determinants of diet of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in a mountain stream. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38: 184–192.Google Scholar
  2. Bisson, P.A. 1978. Diel food selection by two sizes of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in an experimental stream. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 35: 971–975.Google Scholar
  3. Bryan, J.E. & P.A. Larkin. 1972. Food specialization by individual trout. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 29: 1615–1624.Google Scholar
  4. Buckley, D.J., B.D. Frazer & G.St. Amour. 1979. An inexpensive, portable, printing event recorder for behaviour studies. Behav. Res. Methods Instrum. 11: 561–563.Google Scholar
  5. Burton, W. & J.F. Flannagan. 1976. An improved river drift sampler. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 641. 8 pp.Google Scholar
  6. Chapman, D.W. 1966. Food and space as regulators of salmonid populations in streams. Amer. Nat. 100: 347–357.Google Scholar
  7. Dill, L.M., R.C. Ydenberg & A.H. Frazer. 1981. Food abundance and territory size in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Can. J. Zool. 59: 1801–1809.Google Scholar
  8. Drummond, R.A., W.A. Spoor & G.F. Olson. 1973. Some short-term indicators of sublethal effects of copper on brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 30: 698–701.Google Scholar
  9. Elliott, J.M. 1972. Rates of gastric evacuation in brown trout, Salmo trutta L. Freshwater Biol. 2: 1–18.Google Scholar
  10. Elliott, J.M. 1973. The food of brown and rainbow trout (Salmo trutta and S. gairdneri) in relation to the abundance of drifting invertebrates in a mountain stream. Oecologia 12: 329–347.Google Scholar
  11. Fahy, E. 1980. Prey selection by young trout fry (Salmo trutta). J. Zool. 190 27–37.Google Scholar
  12. Griffith, J.S. 1974. Comparative behavior and habitat utilization of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) in small streams in northern Idaho. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 29: 265–273.Google Scholar
  13. Irvine, J.R. & T.G. Northcote. 1982. Significance of sequential feeding patterns of juvenile rainbow trout in a large lake-fed river. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 111: 446–452.Google Scholar
  14. Jenkins, T.M. 1969. Social structure, position choice and microdistribution of two trout species. Anim. Behav. Monogr. 2: 57–181.Google Scholar
  15. Johnson, J.H. & N.H. Ringler. 1980. Diets of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) relative to prey availability. Can. J. Zool. 58: 553–558.Google Scholar
  16. Kalleberg, H. 1958. Observations in a stream tank of territoriality and competition in juvenile salmon and trout (Salmo salar L. and S. trutta L.). Rep. Inst. Freshwater Res. Drottningholm 39: 55–98.Google Scholar
  17. Keenleyside, M.H.A. 1962. Skin-diving observations of Atlantic salmon and brook trout in the Miramichi River, New Brunwick. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 19: 625–634.Google Scholar
  18. Keenleyside, M.H.A. & F.T. Yamamoto. 1962. Territorial behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Behaviour 19: 139–169.Google Scholar
  19. LeCren, E.D. 1965. Some factors regulating the size of populations of freshwater fish. Mitt. Int. Ver. theor. angew. Limnol. 13: 88–105.Google Scholar
  20. LeCren, E.D. 1972. The population dynamics of young trout (Salmo trutta) in relation to density and territorial behaviour. Rapp. P.V. Reun. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer 164: 241–246.Google Scholar
  21. Lillehammer, A. 1973. An investigation of the food of oneto-four-month-old salmon fry (Salmo salar L.) in the River Suldalslagen, West Norway. Norw. J. Zool. 21: 25–28.Google Scholar
  22. Mason, J.C. 1976. Response of underyearling coho salmon to supplemental feeding in a natural stream. J. Wildl. Manage. 40: 775–788.Google Scholar
  23. McNicol, R.E. 1979. Territorial defense among juvenile brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in an artificial stream channel. M.Sc. thesis, University of Guelph, Guelph. 119 pp.Google Scholar
  24. McNicol, R.E. & D.L.G. Noakes. 1981. Territories and territorial defense in juvenile brook chart, Salvelinus fontinalis (Pisces: Salmonidae). Can. J. Zool. 59: 22–28.Google Scholar
  25. McNicol, R.E. & D.L.G. Noakes. 1984. Environmental influences on territoriality of juvenile brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis, in a stream environment. Env. Biol. Fish. 10: 29–42.Google Scholar
  26. Noakes, D.L.G. & R.E. McNicol. 1982. Geometry for the eccentric territory. Can. J. Zool. 60: 1776–1779.Google Scholar
  27. Peterson, R.H. 1974. Influence of fenitrothion on swimming velocities of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31: 1757–1762.Google Scholar
  28. Scherer, E., R.E. McNicol & E. Murkin. 1984. Observations on habitat selection and partitioning by brook chart, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill), in the South Duck River, a Manitoba woodland stream. Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1788: iv + 8.Google Scholar
  29. Schoener, T.W. 1971. Theory of feeding strategies. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2: 369–404.Google Scholar
  30. Siegel, S. 1956Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciencesMcGraw-HillNew York312Google Scholar
  31. Steel, R.G.D., Torrie, J.H. 1960Principles and procedures of statisticsMcGraw-HillNew York481Google Scholar
  32. Siegel, S. 1956. Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. McGraw-Hill, New York. 312 pp Steel, R.G.D. & J.H. Torrie. 1960. Principles and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill, New York. 481 pp Symons, P.E.K. 1974. Territorial behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon reduced predation by brook trout. Can. J. Zool. 52: 677–679.Google Scholar
  33. Tippets, W.E. & P.B. Moyle. 1978. Epibenthic feeding by rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in the McCloud River. California. J. Anim. Ecol. 47: 549–559.Google Scholar
  34. Vascotto, G.H. & J.E. Morrow. 1973. Behavior of the Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus, in McManus Creek, Alaska. Biol. Pap. Univ. Alaska 13: 29–30.Google Scholar
  35. Wankowski, J.W.J. 1979. Morphological limitations, prey size selectivity, and growth response of juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. J. Fish Biol. 14: 89–100.Google Scholar
  36. Wankowski, J.W.J. 1981. Behavioural aspects of predation by juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) on particulate, drifting prey. Anim. Behav. 29: 557–571.Google Scholar
  37. Wankowski, J.W.J. & J.E. Thorpe. 1979. Spacial distribution and feeding in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. juveniles. J. Fish Biol. 14: 239–247.Google Scholar
  38. Williams, D.D. 1981. The first diets of postemergent brook trout (Salvelinus fonlinalis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) alevins in a Quebec river. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38: 765–771.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Dr W. Junk Publishers 1985

Authors and Affiliations

  • Richard E. McNicol
    • 1
  • Eberhard Scherer
    • 1
  • Elaine J. Murkin
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Fisheries and OceansFreshwater InstituteWinnipegCanada

Personalised recommendations