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Does global warming threaten the dynamics of Arctic charr in Lake Geneva?

  • EUROPEAN LARGE LAKES II
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Abstract

In France, the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is native in only two lakes (Lakes Bourget and Geneva), in the most southerly part of its distribution area. It is a profundal morph living at depths of between 30 and 100 m in Lake Geneva. Following considerable stocking of Lake Geneva with juvenile Arctic charr and some good results during the 1980s, catches are currently declining. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this decrease, but the potential influence of warming of the lake in the 1990s has not been considered. This article studies the relationship between the strength of the cohorts and the temperature in Lake Geneva from 1992 to 2002, and discusses the various potential causes of the population collapse observed. The findings reveal close correlation between water temperature and the strength of the cohorts. It is concluded that the recent warming of Lake Geneva may have a significant direct or indirect impact on the Arctic charr population.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the commercial fishermen and the technicians of the hatchery who fish Arctic charr and collect the eggs and check all the fish during spawning time. I am indebted to our colleague Valérie Hamelet for the technical work on scales and the reading of them. I am also grateful to the CIPEL (International Commission for the Protection of Water in Geneva Lake) for its long-term stewardship of the environmental data on Lake Geneva.

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  1. INRA, Station d’Hydrobiologie Lacustre, BP 511, 74203, Thonon Cedex, France

    Daniel Gerdeaux

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  1. Daniel Gerdeaux
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Correspondence to Daniel Gerdeaux.

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Guest editors: T. Blenckner, T. Nöges, L. Tranvik, K. Pettersson, R. Naddafi / European Large Lakes II. Vulnerability of large lake ecosystems - Monitoring, management and measures

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Gerdeaux, D. Does global warming threaten the dynamics of Arctic charr in Lake Geneva?. Hydrobiologia 660, 69–78 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0412-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0412-7

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