Search results for "Spawning"

Ticket to spawn: Combining economic and genetic data to evaluate the effect of climate and demographic structure on spawning distribution in Atlantic…

2019

Abstract Climate warming and harvesting affect the dynamics of species across the globe through a multitude of mechanisms, including distribution changes. In fish, migrations to and distribution on spawning grounds are likely influenced by both climate warming and harvesting. The Northeast Arctic (NEA) cod (Gadus morhua) performs seasonal migrations from its feeding grounds in the Barents Sea to spawning grounds along the Norwegian coast. The distribution of cod between the spawning grounds has historically changed at decadal scales, mainly due to variable use of the northern and southern margins of the spawning area. Based on historical landing records, two major hypotheses have been put f…

Communal pair spawning behaviour of vendace (Coregonus albula) in the dark

2018

Mating in nature is rarely random, and most fish species have refined mating systems. The vendace (Coregonus albula) is a short‐lived, small‐sized, cold‐water‐adapted pelagic schooling species that is known to spawn in groups, but the actual mating system of this species, like many other group‐spawning fishes, has not been described in detail. Vendace typically spawn in the littoral or sublittoral zones of lakes in late autumn, and the hatching of larvae occurs close to icebreak in the following spring. In our large study lake, vendace larvae were caught in 93% of 1,149 random sampling locations lake‐wide. We examined the courtship and mating of vendace under experimental conditions by noni…

Movement pattern of spawners of white seabream, Diplodus sargus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the gulf of Castellammare (NW Sicily)

2011

Selection of spawning substratum by European river lampreys (Lampetra fluviatilis) in experimental tanks

2014

The selection of spawning substratum by the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) was studied in two experimental tanks with different flow conditions. In both tanks, four gravel sizes mixed with 15% sand were available to the test animals. In the tank with the lower current speed, lampreys selected in favour of the finest (2–8 mm) gravel size available against gravel sizes 4–20 mm and 8–40 mm. Selection was also significantly different in the tank with higher current speed where selection against the medium-sized substratum (4–20 mm) was evident, but there were no differences between selection for gravel sizes 2–8 mm, 2–40 mm and 8–40 mm relative to availability. Substratum selection and ob…

Sex and sexual ornamentation associated with survival of the cyprinid fish, Rutilus rutilus, under disease stress

2013

By conveying information of disease resistance, sexual signals may be used as cues for adaptive mate choice. Here we report observations on survival of laboratory-maintained, wild-collected, sexually mature, ready-to-spawn cyprinid fish, Rutilus rutilus (roach), under accidental epidemic attributed to Flavobacterium psychrophilum, diagnosed using species-specific PCR. The fish were maintained in a single tank. During the 27 days observation period, both the proportion of fish surviving the infection as well as the length-adjusted mean survival time of the fish that died was the highest among the high-ornamented males with large breeding tubercles, intermediary among the low-ornamented males…

Dispersion of vendace eggs and larvae around potential nursery areas reveals their reproductive strategy

2019

Depending on their reproductive strategy, different fish species aim to aggregate or disperse eggs and larvae in their reproductive habitat. Many pelagic species disperse their eggs widely around the potential nursery areas. Larval dispersion or aggregation affects population sub‐structuring, which has important implications in fisheries management and conservation of the natural spatial diversity in populations. The dispersion of larval vendace (Coregonus albula) was quantified in two oligotrophic Finnish lakes, and effects of density and environmental variables on the inter‐annual variation in the larval distribution were examined by analysing spatial abundance data from the lakes from 19…

Connections between microhabitat factors and dimensions of brown trout (Salmo trutta) redds

2017

This study is part of a process of habitat restoration and management of Finnish and Swedish rivers. This study was conducted to analyse detailed and generalised data regarding microhabitat factors and dimensions of spawning redd of brown trout (salmo trutta). The objectives of this study were to analyse connections between redd dimensions, connections between redd length and microhabitat factors and to analyse the variability of redd length and microhabitat factors among catchments in order to understand spawning habitat selectivity of brown trout (salmo trutta). The study shows that the redd dimensions are positively and strongly correlated. Redd length is weakly correlated to microhabita…

Fine-Scale Population Differences in Atlantic Cod Reproductive Success: A Potential Mechanism for Ecological Speciation in a Marine Fish

2018

Abstract Successful resource‐management and conservation outcomes ideally depend on matching the spatial scales of population demography, local adaptation, and threat mitigation. For marine fish with high dispersal capabilities, this remains a fundamental challenge. Based on daily parentage assignments of more than 4,000 offspring, we document fine‐scaled temporal differences in individual reproductive success for two spatially adjacent (<10 km) populations of a broadcast‐spawning marine fish. Distinguished by differences in genetics and life history, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from inner‐ and outer‐fjord populations were allowed to compete for mating and reproductive opportunities. After …

Natural recruitment contributes to high densities of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844) in Western Europe

2015

Introductions of grass carp, well known for their potentially negative ecosystem effects, have been performed in several countries around the world. As the species was considered unable to reproduce naturally under non-native environmental conditions, little attention was initially given to its invasive potential. We studied an area in northern-Italy where, contrary to expectations, introductions that were performed in the early 80s still exert a considerable pressure on aquatic macrophytes. In order to reveal whether the observed population dynamics are the result of natural events or stocking we analysed the density, age- and size-structure of the grass carp population and the migration p…

Multiple‐batch spawning as a bet‐hedging strategy in highly stochastic environments: An exploratory analysis of Atlantic cod

2021

Stochastic environments shape life‐history traits and can promote selection for risk‐spreading strategies, such as bet‐hedging. Although the strategy has often been hypothesised to exist for various species, empirical tests providing firm evidence have been rare, mainly due to the challenge in tracking fitness across generations. Here, we take a ‘proof of principle’ approach to explore whether the reproductive strategy of multiple‐batch spawning constitutes a bet‐hedging. We used Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) as the study species and parameterised an eco‐evolutionary model, using empirical data on size‐related reproductive and survival traits. To evaluate the fitness benefits of multiple‐batc…