Jwa. Grant et al., Implications of territory size for the measurement and prediction of salmonid abundance in streams, CAN J FISH, 55, 1998, pp. 181-190
Citations number
76
Categorie Soggetti
Aquatic Sciences
Journal title
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES
Information about territory size is useful for both the measurement and pre
diction of salmonid abundance. Percent habitat saturation (PHS), the percen
tage of the stream area occupied by the territories of salmonid fishes, is
a better measure of abundance than population density because the former in
tegrates the effects of (a) several age-classes or species in a stream, and
(b) variation in growth rate or sampling date. "Effective density" or "eff
ective PHS," calculated by weighting crude density (no.m(-2)) or PHS by the
number of organisms in the sampling unit, more accurately reflects density
from the organism's point of view than does crude density or PHS. Effectiv
e density and PHS of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Catamaran Brook, New
Brunswick, increased by 0.4 fish per m(2) and 4%, respectively, for each or
der of magnitude decrease in the area of the sampling unit. Literature data
suggested that territory size is inversely related to food abundance and c
an be used to predict changes in salmonid abundance that accompany changes
in food abundance. The allometry of territory size was a better predictor o
f the decline in density of a cohort of Atlantic salmon in Catamaran Brook
than the allometry of metabolic requirements.