Daily temperature experience and selection by adfluvial bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)

Environmental Biology of Fishes volume 100, pages1167–1180(2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are a thermally sensitive cold-water species with a threatened conservation status across much of North America. To improve our understanding of bull trout thermal ecology, we tagged more than 150 adults with temperature-sensing acoustic biotelemetry transmitters and monitored the animals in a British Columbia reservoir for two years. Thermal resource selection was estimated in open water from the summer to autumn as the system transitioned to isothermal conditions. On average, bull trout thermal history tracked seasonal changes and remained close to the optimum temperatures for growth and metabolism. As summer progressed, bull trout increasingly selected temperatures of 11–15 °C as they became less available within the water column. Selection indicated the movement to shallower waters where 11–15 °C temperatures existed. The results show that bull trout mainly occupy a narrow range of temperatures which suggests the importance of cold-water refuge for the species.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Sean Landsman, Jason Thiem, Jeff Nitychoruk, Mark Taylor, Juan Molina, Taylor Nettles and Karen Bray. Thanks to our boat driver and friend Jamie Tippe. We would also like to thank Rick Chartraw for his hospitality. We thank the BC Ministry of Environment for issuing the necessary permits to carry out this study. This work was supported by BC Hydro, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (through NSERC HydroNet, grant number CRDPJ 387271-09 and NSERC DGs to Cooke and Power) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (through the Centre of Expertise on Hydropower Impacts of Fish). Cooke is further supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program. All tagging procedures were approved by the Carleton University Animal Care Committee. Fish were obtained under the scientific collection permits issues by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment (Permit No. CB-PG10-61414).

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Affiliations

  1. Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    L. F. G. Gutowsky, E. G. Martins & S. J. Cooke

  2. Aquatic Resource and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, ON, K9L 1Z8, Canada

    L. F. G. Gutowsky

  3. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    P. M. Harrison & M. Power

  4. Environmental Risk Management, BC Hydro, 6911 Southpoint Dr., Burnaby, BC, V3N 4X8, Canada

    A. Leake

  5. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Cooperative Resource Management Institute, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

    D. A. Patterson

  6. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, 9105 116th Street, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2W2, Canada

    D. Z. Zhu

  7. Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    S. J. Cooke

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  1. L. F. G. Gutowsky
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  2. P. M. Harrison
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  3. E. G. Martins
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  4. A. Leake
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  5. D. A. Patterson
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  6. D. Z. Zhu
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  7. M. Power
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  8. S. J. Cooke
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Contributions

LFGG and PMH conceived and designed the study. LFGG, PMH, EGM, DAP and SJC performed field work. LFGG and EGM performed the analyses. LFGG and SJC wrote the manuscript; all other authors contributed editorial advice.

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Correspondence to L. F. G. Gutowsky.

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Gutowsky, L.F.G., Harrison, P.M., Martins, E.G. et al. Daily temperature experience and selection by adfluvial bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Environ Biol Fish 100, 1167–1180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0634-x

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Keywords

  • Charr
  • Resource selection function
  • Habitat selection
  • Thermal history