Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Size and growth relationships in juvenile steelhead: The advantage of large relative size diminishes with increasing water temperatures

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In territorial stream salmonids, asymmetric competition can perpetuate individual size differences over time, but the extent to which this is manifested can be environmentally mediated. Here we study the variation in juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth rates to identify the conditions (population density and water temperature) under which an individual’s size relative to its conspecifics conferred an advantage. Among steelhead rearing in the same stream section we found that relatively larger individuals on average grew faster than smaller conspecifics. However, comparing across stream sections there was a negative interaction between relative size and water temperature. The effect of an individual’s relative size on its growth rate decreased as temperatures were increasing, indicating that the advantages of being large diminished during periods of high temperatures or in locations with relatively higher temperatures. Compared to temperature, the effects of population density on the growth rate were less substantial. The results suggest that larger individuals on average acquire more resources than smaller individuals, and demonstrate that water temperature exerts an important, modulating control over growth performance in heterogeneous environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbott JC, Dill LM (1989) The relative growth of dominant and subordinate juvenile steelhead trout (Salmo Gairdneri) fed equal rations. Behaviour 108:104–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akaike H (1973) Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In: Petrov BN, Csaki F (eds) Second international symposium on information theory. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, Hungary, pp 267–281

    Google Scholar 

  • Bærum KM, Haugen TO, Kiffney P et al (2013) Interacting effects of temperature and density on individual growth performance in a wild population of brown trout. Freshw Biol 58:1329–1339. doi:10.1111/fwb.12130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begon M, Townsend CR, Harper JL (2006) Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems, 4th edn. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Massachussets

    Google Scholar 

  • Benjamin JR, Connolly PJ, Romine JG, Perry RW (2013) Potential Effects of Changes in Temperature and Food Resources on Life History Trajectories of Juvenile. Trans Am Fish Soc 142(1):208–220

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Carle FL, Strub MR (1978) A new method for estimating population size from removal data. Biometrics 34:621–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crozier LG, Zabel RW, Hockersmith EE, Achord S (2010) Interacting effects of density and temperature on body size in multiple populations of Chinook salmon. J Anim Ecol 79:342–349

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeAngelis DL, Mooij WM (2005) Individual-based modeling of ecological and evolutionary processes. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 36:147–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeAngelis DL, Rose KA, Crowder LB et al (1993) Fish cohort dynamics: application of complementary modeling approaches. Am Nat 142:604–622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeRoos AM, Persson L, McCauley E (2003) The influence of size-dependent life-history traits on the structure and dynamics of populations and communities. Ecol Lett 6:473–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diana JS (2003) Biology and ecology of fishes, 2nd edn. Cooper Publishing Group, Traverse City, Michigan

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebenman B, Persson L (1988) Size-structured populations: ecology and evolution. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara M, Kendall BE, Nisbet RM (2004) Growth autocorrelation and animal size variation. Ecol Lett 7:106–113. doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00556.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gårdmark A, Dieckmann U, Lundberg P (2003) Life-history evolution in harvested populations: the role of natural predation. Evol Ecol Res 5:239–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartson RB, Kennedy BP (2015) Competitive release modifies the impacts of hydrologic alteration for a partially migratory stream predator. Ecol Freshw Fish 24(2):276–292

  • Höjesjö J, Johnsson J, Bohlin T (2002) Can laboratory studies on dominance predict fitness of young brown trout in the wild? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 52:102–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Höjesjö J, Johnsson J, Bohlin T (2004) Habitat complexity reduces the growth of aggressive and dominant brown trout (Salmo trutta) relative to subordinates. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 56:286–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeley ER (2001) Demographic responses to food and space competition by juvenile steelhead trout. Ecology 82:1247–1259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall NW, McMillan JR, Sloat MR, Buehrens TW, Quinn TP, Pess GR, Kuzishchin KV, McClure MM, Zabel RW, Bradford M (2015) Anadromy and residency in steelhead and rainbow trout (): a review of the processes and patterns. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 72(3):319–342

  • Kenward MG, Roger JH (1997) Small sample inference for fixed effects from restricted maximum likelihood. Biometrics 53:983–997

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lomnicki A (1999) Individual-based models and the individual-based approach to population ecology. Ecol Model 115:191–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin-Smith KM, Armstrong JD (2002) Growth rates of wild stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon correlate with activity and sex but not dominance. J Anim Ecol 71:413–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGrath CL, Woods JA, Omernik JM, et al (2002) Ecoregions of Idaho (map scale 1:1,350,000)

  • Metcalfe NB (1998) The interaction between behavior and physiology in determining life history patterns in Atlantic salmon (Salmo Salar). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:93–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myrvold KM, Kennedy BP (2015a) Density dependence and its impact on individual growth rates in an age-structured stream salmonid population. Ecosphere 6:281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myrvold KM, Kennedy BP (2015b) Local habitat conditions explain the variation in the strength of self-thinning in a stream salmonid. Ecol Evol 5:3231–3242. doi:10.1002/ece3.1591

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Myrvold KM, Kennedy BP (2015c) Variation in juvenile steelhead density in relation to intream habitat and watershed characteristics. Trans Am Fish Soc 144:577–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myrvold KM, Kennedy BP (2015d) Interactions between body mass and water temperature cause energetic bottlenecks in juvenile steelhead. Ecol Freshw Fish 24:373–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano S (1995) Individual differences in resource use, growth and emigration under the influence of a dominance hierarchy in fluvial red-spotted masu salmon in a natural habitat. J Anim Ecol 64:75–84. doi:10.2307/5828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano S, Kachi T, Nagoshi M (1991) Individual growth variation of red-spotted masu salmon, Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus, in a mountain stream. Japanese J Ichthyol 38:263–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicieza AG, Metcalfe NB (1999) Costs of rapid growth: the risk of aggression is higher for fast-growing salmon. Funct Ecol 13:793–800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NMFS (2010) Endangered species act - section 7 formal consultation biological opinion and Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation act essential fish habitat consultation for the operation and maintenance of the Lewiston orchards project. National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohlberger J, Otero J, Edeline E et al (2013) Biotic and abiotic effects on cohort size distributions in fish. Oikos 122:835–844. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2012.19858.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parra I, Almodovar A, Ayllon D et al (2012) Unravelling the effects of water temperature and density dependence on the spatial variation of brown trout (Salmo trutta) body size. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 69:821–832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peacor SD, Pfister CA (2006) Experimental and model analyses of the effects of competition on individual size variation in wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles. J Anim Ecol 75:990–999. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01119.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peacor SD, Bence JR, Pfister CA (2007a) The effect of size-dependent growth and environmental factors on animal size variability. Theor Popul Biol 71:80–94. doi:10.1016/j.tpb.2006.08.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peacor SD, Schiesari L, Werner EE (2007b) Mechanisms of nonlethal predator effect on cohort size variation: ecological and evolutionary implications. Ecology 88:1536–1547

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, CA (2003) Some consequences of size variability in juvenile prickly sculpin, Cottus asper. Env Bio Fishes 66:383–390

  • Pfister CA, Stevens FR (2002) The genesis of size variability in plants and animals. Ecology 83:59–72. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0059:TGOSVI]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillis CC, Moore JW, Buoro M, Hayes SA, Garza JC, Pearse DE (2016) Shifting Thresholds: Rapid Evolution of Migratory Life Histories in Steelhead/Rainbow Trout. J Hered 107(1):51–60

  • Quinn TP, Peterson NP (1996) The influence of habitat complexity and fish size on over-winter survival and growth of individually marked juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in big beef creek, Washington. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 53:1555–1564

    Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush SW, Bryk AS (2002) Hierarchical linear models, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid D, Armstrong JD, Metcalfe NB (2011) Estimated standard metabolic rate interacts with territory quality and density to determine the growth rates of juvenile Atlantic salmon. Funct Ecol 25:1360–1367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid D, Armstrong JD, Metcalfe NB (2012) The performance advantage of a high resting metabolic rate in juvenile salmon is habitat dependent. J Anim Ecol 81:868–875

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker WE (1958) Handbook of computations for biological statistics of fish populations. Fish Res Board Canada Bull 119

  • Rose KA, Cowan JH, Winemiller KO, Myers RA, Hilborn R (2001) Compensatory density dependence in fish populations: importance, controversy, understanding and prognosis. Fish Fish 2(4):293–327

  • Rubenstein DI (1981) Individual variation and competition in the Everglades pygmy sunfish. J Anim Ecol 50:337–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satterthwaite WH, Beakes MP, Collins EM et al (2010) State-dependent life history models in a changing (and regulated) environment: steelhead in the California Central Valley. Evol Appl 3:221–243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sloat MR, Reeves GH (2014) Individual condition, standard metabolic rate, and rearing temperature influence steelhead and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) life histories. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 71:491–501. doi:10.1139/cjfas-2013-0366

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sloat MR, Fraser DJ, Dunham JB et al (2014) Ecological and evolutionary patterns of freshwater maturation in Pacific and Atlantic salmonines. Rev Fish Biol Fish 24:689–707. doi:10.1007/s11160-014-9344-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JN, Beauchamp DA (2016) Growth of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss under size-selective pressure limited by seasonal bioenergetic and environmental constraints. J Fish Biol 89:1720–1739. doi:10.1111/jfb.13078

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uchmański J (1999) What promotes persistence of a single population: an individual-based model. Ecol Model 115:227–241. doi:10.1016/S0304-3800(98)00179-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vøllestad LA, Quinn TP (2003) Trade-off between growth rate and aggression in juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch. Anim Behav 66(3):561–568

  • Werner EE, Gilliam JF (1984) The ontogenetic niche and species interactions in size-structured populations. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 15:393–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial support from the United States Bureau of Reclamation, the University of Idaho Waters of the West Program, and United States Geological Survey. Thanks go to technicians E. Benson, N. Chuang, R. Hartson, and K. Pilcher and NSF-REU students J. Caisman, T. Kuzan, A. Merchant, J. Nifosi and T. Taylor for tremendous help obtaining the field data, and the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District, Nez Perce Tribe, and private landowners for granting us access to their properties.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Knut Marius Myrvold

    Present address: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Lillehammer, Norway

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-1136, USA

    Knut Marius Myrvold & Brian Patrick Kennedy

  2. Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-1136, USA

    Brian Patrick Kennedy

Authors
  1. Knut Marius Myrvold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brian Patrick Kennedy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Knut Marius Myrvold.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

All sampling and handling procedures were permitted as part of the Section 7 consultation for the Lewiston Orchards Biological Opinion (NMFS 2010), and reviewed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the University of Idaho Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 801 kb)

ESM 2

(DOCX 14 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Myrvold, K.M., Kennedy, B.P. Size and growth relationships in juvenile steelhead: The advantage of large relative size diminishes with increasing water temperatures. Environ Biol Fish 100, 1373–1382 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0649-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0649-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation