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Lake charr Salvelinus namaycush spawning behaviour: new field observations and a review of current knowledge

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Abstract

In this paper, we (1) describe field observations of lake charr (trout) reproductive behaviour, focusing on two morphs from Great Bear Lake, N.T; (2) review and synthesize observations from the literature; and (3) summarize uncertainties and pose hypotheses regarding lake trout spawning behaviour. Our description is set within the context of an existing conceptual model that included three sequential stages to spawning behaviour—traveling, sinking, and gamete release. Spawning morphs did not overlap in time and space. Strong onshore winds seemed to trigger lake trout movement toward shoals in mid- to late-August where males outnumbered and seemed to precede female arrival at the shoals. A new behaviour termed finning was observed and interpreted as display courtship. Finning was observed at all spawning sites in Great Bear Lake and involved two or more fish that were either stationary or moving slowly just beneath the water surface with a partially erect dorsal fin, adipose fin, and only occasionally the dorsal lobe of the caudal fin breaking the water surface. On the basis of our observations and review of the literature, we propose to modify the Esteve et al. model to add (1) pre-courtship and spawning behaviour and (2) display courtship behaviour as occurring prior to traveling, sinking, and gamete release. Potential future research questions are described to address uncertainties regarding how spawning lake trout relate to their physical habitat, environmental cues to spawning, factors driving assortative mating among morphs, and the role of olfactory cues in spawning.

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Acknowledgments

We especially thank Chummy Plummer, Shane Jonker, Larry Zurloff, and the rest of the staff of Plummer’s Arctic Fishing Lodges for supporting our research and facilitating sampling, via air, ground, and water support. Special thanks to the Weese brothers (Dylan and Bryn) for assisting with sampling. This work was first presented at the 6th International Charr Symposium, June 2009, Stirling, Scotland. Funding for this work was provided by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and by a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council northern internship award to C.T.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    A. M. Muir

  2. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 2100 Commonwealth Blvd., Suite 100, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA

    A. M. Muir & C. C. Krueger

  3. Biology Department, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford St., Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada

    C. T. Blackie

  4. The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, 308D Aiken Center, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    J. E. Marsden

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  1. A. M. Muir
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  2. C. T. Blackie
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  4. C. C. Krueger
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Correspondence to A. M. Muir.

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Online Resource 1. A video showing a large group of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush aggregated on a spawning shoal in Lake Champlain, VT (44°35′N; 73°22W). Note that these lake trout were aggregated near the bottom during midday and were schooling, behaviours not know to occur in this species. No apparent aggression occurred, not even toward the group of yellow perch Perca flavescens that were eating their eggs. The fish shown in the video are stocked fish that were hatchery reared and their behaviour appears to differ from that described for wild fish

Online Resource 2. A video of what appears to be a group of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush spawning on a shoal in Lake Champlain, VT (44°35′N; 73°22W). Note that gamete release was not confirmed for this group of fish and that the characteristic quivering, arching of the body, upward-pointing caudal fin, and gaping jaws, characteristic of gamete release in salmonines (Esteve 2005; Esteve et al 2008), did not occur in these fish. The fish shown in the video are stocked fish that were hatchery reared and that their behaviour appears to differ from that described for wild fish

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Muir, A.M., Blackie, C.T., Marsden, J.E. et al. Lake charr Salvelinus namaycush spawning behaviour: new field observations and a review of current knowledge. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 22, 575–593 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-012-9258-6

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