T. Forseth

Effects of discharge and local density on the growth of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

The study explored the combined effects of density, physical habitat and different discharge levels on the growth of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in artificial streams, by manipulating flow during both summer and winter conditions. Growth was high during all four summer trials and increased linearly with discharge and mean velocity. Differences in fish densities (fish m(-3)) due to differences in stream volume explained a similar proportion of the variation in mean growth among discharge treatments. Within streams, the fish aggregated in areas of larger sediment size, where shelters were probably abundant, while growth decreased with increasing densities. Fish appeared to favour the availability of shelter over maximization of growth. Mean growth was negative during all winter trials and did not vary among discharge treatments. These results suggest that increased fish densities are a major cause of reduced summer growth at low discharge, and that habitat-mediated density differences explain the majority of the growth variation across habitat conditions both during summer and winter.

Pre-winter lipid stores in young-of-year Atlantic salmon along a north-south gradient.

The pre-winter lipid stores of young-of-the-year (YOY, age 0 year) Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were analysed along a north-south gradient from c. 71 to 58 degrees N, with winter conditions ranging from >200 days of ice cover to no ice. The rivers sampled in Northern Norway represent some of the most northerly S. salar rivers. There was an increase in lipid content with increasing latitude, and mean lipid content (size adjusted to common mass) for YOY in northern rivers were almost three times higher: 0.035 g compared to 0.013 g in southern rivers. The relationship was not sensitive to variation in sampling time or variation in YOY body size. The lipid stores, however, varied markedly between rivers and also between neighbouring rivers, indicating different strategies or opportunities for pre-winter lipid storage both at latitudinal and local scales.

Spatial distribution correspondence of a juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar cohort from age 0+ to 1+ years

The spatial distribution of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar young-of-the-year (0+) and 1 year old parr (1+) from the 2006 spawning cohort in a 5125 m reach of the River Skauga in central Norway was documented. A high degree of similarity was found between the distribution of 0+ and 1+ parr based on catches at 205 transects sampled in both years. Cross-correlations and partial cross-correlations (correcting for habitat variables) confirmed significant positive association between the two distributions on a small spatial scale (within 100 m) and a clear pattern of decreasing correlation with distance.