Interannual growth variation in fish and tree rings

Interannual growth variations were compared among neighbouring populations of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and white spruce (Picea glauca), wh ite pine (Pinus strobus), and red pine (Pinus resinosa). Measures of growth were obtained by removing long-term trends from widths of rings in the har d tissues of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms and assembling these me asures into growth chronologies. Interannual growth variations were negativ ely correlated (r) between sturgeon and nearby tree population chronologies for those fish populations that displayed strong interseries correlation ( (r) over bar). The three sturgeon population chronologies developed from in dividuals that displayed the lowest interseries correlation coefficients fa iled to display significant correlation with tree growth. The results of th is investigation indicate that the negative relationships between fish and tree growth may be related to annual fluctuations in air temperature. In ge neral, fish population chronologies displayed positive correlation with mea sures of air temperature during the current season of growth, while tree po pulation chronologies displayed negative correlation with air temperatures from either the current or the previous season of growth.