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Quantifying habitat-dependent mortality risk in lacustrine fishes by means of tethering trials and survival analyses

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Abstract

Habitat features influence the ecological interactions and spatial distribution of fish species. For example, water transparency and macrophyte cover, as well as their interaction, can strongly influence predation risk and mortality. Tethering trials were conducted in Lake St. Pierre (Quebec, Canada) to assess the effects of water transparency and macrophyte cover on the mortality risk of eight abundant fish species; Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus), Mooneye (Hiodon tergisus), Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides), Golden Shiner (Notropis crysoleucas), Blacknose Shiner (Notropis heterolepis), Spottail Shiner (Notropis hudsonius), Trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus), and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens). Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that mortality risk varied substantially among three groups of species having high, intermediate, or low survival rates. Species with spines appeared to have higher survival rates, consistent with the notion that spines deter predators. Cox regression models showed that mortality risk for six of the eight species was influenced by water transparency or an interaction of transparency with macrophyte cover. Mortality risk was generally greatest at low transparency. Variation in water transparency may generate spatial heterogeneity in fish abundance, either through direct effects, such as local reduction in prey numbers by predation, or indirect effects, such as behavioural avoidance of risky areas by prey.

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Acknowledgments

We thank D. Côté, M. Leveillé, and S. Theleme for field assistance. This study was funded by a team grant from le Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT) and Discovery Grants awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to M.A. Rodríguez and P. Magnan.

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  1. Département de chimie-biologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Kathy-Andrée Laplante-Albert, Marco A. Rodríguez & Pierre Magnan

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  1. Kathy-Andrée Laplante-Albert
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  2. Marco A. Rodríguez
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Correspondence to Marco A. Rodríguez.

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Laplante-Albert, KA., Rodríguez, M.A. & Magnan, P. Quantifying habitat-dependent mortality risk in lacustrine fishes by means of tethering trials and survival analyses. Environ Biol Fish 87, 263–273 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9595-z

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