Synopsis
Literature on colour dimorphism in walleye has concerned only the blue form, Sander vitreus glaucum (formerly Stizostedion vitreum glaucum), historically found in lakes Erie and Ontario and considered to be extinct from the fish fauna since the 1960s. In this paper, we report unusual observations of a blue form of walleye living in sympatry with the yellow form, Sander vitreus (formerly Stizostedion vitreum), in five lakes of the Canadian Shield, northern Québec. We compared head morphology, diet, and growth of the two forms to determine if there are any variations in characteristics other than colour and to examine the potential adaptive value of the two phenotypes. The blue form has a significantly longer head than the yellow form but does not differ in diet; the blue form also exhibits slower growth. The existence of a blue form of walleye in lakes of the Canadian Shield provides new insights into percid polymorphism and gives important information about their occurrence outside the Great Lakes area.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C.E. Adams D. Fraser F.A. Huntingford R.B. Greer C.M. Askew A.F. Walker (1998) ArticleTitleTrophic polymorphism amongst Artic charr from Loch Rannoch, Scotland J. Fish Biol. 52 1259–1271
F.B. Adamstone (1922) ArticleTitleRates of growth of the blue and yellow pike perch (Stizostedion vitreum) in Lake Erie University of Toronto Studies Publications of the Ontario Fisheries Research Laboratory 5 77–86
Babaluk, J.A., J.F. Craig & J.S. Campbell. 1993. Age and growth estimation of walleye, Stizostedion vitreum, using opercula. Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2183 pp.
R.R. Campbell (1987) ArticleTitleStatus of the Blue Walleye, Stizostedion vitreum glaucum, in Canada Can. Field Nat. 101 245–252
R. Carignan P. D’Arcy S. Lamontagne (2000) ArticleTitleComparative impacts of fire and forest harvesting on water quality in Boreal Shield lakes Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 57 105–117 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXnvV2nt78%3D
J.F. Craig (2000) Percid Fishes: Systematics, Ecology and Exploitation Fish and Aquatic Resources series 3 Oxford 368
H.J. Deason (1933) ArticleTitlePreliminary report on the growth rate, dominance, and maturity of the pike-perches (Stizostedion) of Lake Erie Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 63 348–360
J. Dynes P. Magnan L. Bernatchez M.A. Rodríguez (1999) ArticleTitleGenetic and morphological variation between two forms of lacustrine brook charr J. Fish Biol. 54 955–972
I.A. Fleming B. Jonsson M.R. Gross (1994) ArticleTitlePhenotypic divergence of sea-ranched, farmed, and wild salmon Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51 2808–2824
R.I.C.C. Francis (1990) ArticleTitleBack-calculation of fish length: a critical review J. Fish Biol. 36 883–902 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb05636.x
R. Fujii (1993) Colouration and chromatophores D.H. Evans (Eds) The Physiology of Fishes CRC Marine Science Series Florida 535–562
J.J.A. Gatz (1981) ArticleTitleMorphologically inferred niche differentiation in stream fishes Am. Midland Nat. 106 10–21 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2425131
C.L. Hubbs K.F. Lagler (1964) Fishes of the Great Lakes region EditionNumber2 University of Michigan Michigan
E.J. Hyslop (1980) ArticleTitleStomach contents analysis-a review of methods and their application J. Fish Biol. 17 411–429 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb02775.x
B. Kuhry L.F. Marcus (1977) ArticleTitleBivariate linear models in biometry Syst. Zool. 26 201–209 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2412842
P. Legendre L. Legendre (1998) Numerical ecology, second edition Developments in Environmental Modelling Elsevier Amsterdam 853
B.R. Murphy D.W. Willis (1996) Fisheries Techniques Second Edition American Fisheries Society Maryland 732
Y. Paradis (2004) ArticleTitleBlue walleye in our lakes: a fisherman’s story or scientific reality? Fisheries (Bethesda) 29 IssueID10 39
C.L. Pierce J.B. Rasmussen W.C. Leggett (1996) ArticleTitleBack-calculation of fish length from scales: empirical comparison of proportional methods Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 125 889–898 Occurrence Handle10.1577/1548-8659(1996)125<0889:BCOFLF>2.3.CO;2
R. Proulx P. Magnan (2002) ArticleTitlePhysiological performance of two forms of lacustrine brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis, in the open-water habitat Environ. Biol. Fishes 64 127–136
J.D. Reist (1986) ArticleTitleAn empirical evaluation of coefficients used in residual and allometric adjustment of size covariation Can. J. Zool. 64 1363–1368
B.W. Robinson D.S. Wilson (1994) ArticleTitleCharacter release and displacement in fishes: a neglected literature Am. Nat. 144 596–627
B.W. Robinson D.S. Wilson A.S. Margosian (2000) ArticleTitleA pluralistic analyses of character release in pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis Gibbosus) Evolution 81 2799–2812
D. Schluter (1995) ArticleTitleAdaptive radiation in sticklebacks: trade-offs in feeding performance and growth Ecology 76 82–90
D. Schluter J.D. McPhail (1993) ArticleTitleCharacter displacement and replicate adaptive radiation Trends Ecol. Evol. 8 197–200 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BC3M7itVyktA%3D%3D Occurrence Handle21236147
W.B. Scott E.J. Crossman (1973) Freshwater Fishes of Canada Bulletin 184 Fisheries Research Board of Canada 966
S. Skúlason T.B. Smith (1995) ArticleTitleResource polymorphisms in vertebrates Trends Ecol. Evol. 10 366–370 Occurrence Handle21237070
S. Skúlason S.S. Snorrason D.L.G. Noakes M.M. Ferguson H.J. Malmquist (1989) ArticleTitleSegregation in spawning and early life history among polymorphic Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, in Thingvallavatn, Iceland J. Fish Biol. 35 225–232
Stone, F.L. 1948. A study on the taxonomy of the blue and yellow pike-perch (Stizostedion) of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Ph. D. thesis. University of Rochester, Rochester, 164 pp.
R. Svanbäck P. Eklöv (2002) ArticleTitleEffects of habitat and food resources on morphology and ontogenetic growth trajectories in perch Oecologia 131 61–70 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00442-001-0861-9 Occurrence Handle28547511
J.F. Wing D.J. Glazier (1991) ArticleTitleCycles in Lake Erie populations of the Blue Walleye, Stizostedion vitreum glaucum, for the years 1915–1959 Ohio J. Sci. 91 75
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
1 Morrison, C. L. & T. L. King. 2003. Taxonomic status of blue pike Stizostedion vitreum glaucum: a molecular systematic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA regions. Pages 59 In Percis III, The Third International Percid Fish Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Paradis, Y., Magnan, P. Phenotypic variation of walleye, Sander vitreus, in Canadian Shield lakes: New insights on percid polymorphism. Environ Biol Fish 73, 357–366 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-005-2261-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-005-2261-1