Winter ecology of specialist and generalist morphs of European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, in subarctic northern Europe.
J Fish Biol
; 101(2): 389-399, 2022 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35142375
ABSTRACT
European whitefish is a model species for adaptive radiation of fishes in temperate and subarctic lakes. In northern Europe the most commonly observed morphotypes are a generalist (LSR) morph and a pelagic specialist (DR) morph. The evolution of a pelagic specialist morph is something of an enigma, however, as this region is characterized by long, dark winters with pelagic primary production limited to a brief window in late summer. We conducted the first winter-based study of polymorphic whitefish populations to determine the winter ecology of both morphs, and we combined seasonal diet and stable isotope analysis with several proxies of condition in three polymorphic whitefish populations. The generalist LSR morph fed on benthic and pelagic prey in summer but was solely reliant on benthic prey in winter. This was associated with a noticeable but moderate reduction in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in winter relative to summer. In contrast, the DR whitefish occupied a strict pelagic niche in both seasons. A significant reduction in pelagic prey during winter resulted in severe decrease in condition, lipid content and stomach fullness in DR whitefish in winter relative to summer, with the pelagic morph apparently approaching starvation in winter. We suggest that this divergent approach to seasonal foraging is associated with the divergent life-history traits of both morphs.
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Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Salmonidae
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article