Abstract
Human and industrial activities in Arctic areas are increasing, as are global water temperatures. Combined, these factors can result in altered conditions for species living in these, until recently, pristine areas. Of the anadromous salmonids, Arctic charr may be particularly vulnerable to these changes, as this species is adapted to cold waters and exploits restricted areas at sea. In order to test to what extent Arctic charr utilized coastal areas with anthropogenic interference versus more pristine waters, the marine area use of a population in northern Norway was documented over three consecutive years by use of acoustic telemetry. Their depth utilization, temperature preference and survival was also recorded. The tagged fish spent a minimum of half of their marine residency time within 5 km of the river outlet proximate to urbanized coastal areas. The fish also resided within a narrow temperature and depth range and spent a very limited period at sea. The marine habitat available to Arctic charr should be carefully considered in coastal development and management plans, as human activities and coastal water temperatures increase in the Arctic regions. The current study illustrates the importance of species and population-specific knowledge during development of management strategies for anadromous salmonids.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Tor Harry Bjørn, Terje Johansen and other people providing technical assistance in the field, and Lois Harwood and an Anonymous Reviewer for comments on the manuscript. Financial support was provided by the County Governor in Finnmark, Statoil ASA, Vest-Finnmark Jeger- og Fiskerforening, FRAM-High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Hammerfest Municipality, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and Akvaplan-niva. The study was conducted in accordance with national animal care guidelines and was approved by the Norwegian National Animal Research Authority.
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Guest editors: M. Power, R. Knudsen, C. Adams, M. J. Hansen, J. B. Dempson, M. Jobling & M. Ferguson / Advances in Charr Ecology and Evolution
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Jensen, J.L.A., Christensen, G.N., Hawley, K.H. et al. Arctic charr exploit restricted urbanized coastal areas during marine migration: Could they be in harm’s way?. Hydrobiologia 783, 335–345 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2787-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2787-6