Body size, diet and growth of landlocked brown trout, Salmo trutta, in the subarctic River Laxá, North-East Iceland

Stefán Óli Steingrímsson; Gísli M. Gíslason

doi:10.1023/A:1014976612970

Body size, diet and growth of landlocked brown trout, Salmo trutta, in the subarctic River Laxá, North-East Iceland

University of Iceland, Holar University College, Other Icelandic Research Institutions

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Studies on diet preferences of stream-dwelling salmonids have mostly been limited to a relatively small range in body size. This study examined the influence of salmonid body size on prey size and diet composition, and its consequences for growth, in landlocked stream-resident brown trout, Salmo trutta (2.5-61.3 cm) in the Laxá River, N-E Iceland. The most common prey of the 1622 trout sampled, were blackflies, Simulium vittatum, chironomid midges and the freshwater snail, Lymnaea peregra, which represented 56.3%, 21.8%, 10.8% of the stomach content volume, respectively. In general, the Laxá trout showed a consistent, but moderate, shift towards larger prey with increased body size. The relatively stable growth and the large body size attained were probably due to the high production of small benthic invertebrates and only secondarily to the ontogenetic shift towards larger prey.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	417-426
Number of pages	10
Journal	Environmental Biology of Fishes
Volume	63
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014976612970
Publication status	Published - 2002

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: We thank Á. Einarsson at the Lake My´vatn Research Station for his help and the logistical support; H. Jónsdóttir, E. Ásgeirsdóttir and S. Jónsdóttir for collecting samples from the anglers; Á. Guðmundsson and E. Einarsdóttir for processing stomach samples; J.S. Ólafsson for his help in identifying prey items; G. Guðbergsson for advice on aging and back-calculating growth from fish scales; and Á. Einarsson, A. Garðarsson, I. Girard, J.W.A. Grant, I. Imre and two anonymous reviewers for comments. This work was funded by The Science Foundation of Iceland, The University of Iceland Research Fund, The Icelandic Aluminium Co. Ltd. and The Lake My´vatn Research Station. While writing the paper, S.Ó. Steingrímsson was supported by a Concordia University Graduate Fellowship and an NSERC grant to J.W.A. Grant. All sampling of brown trout was conducted in accordance with Icelandic laws, i.e. the Act of salmon, trout, and char fisheries no. 76/1970.

Other keywords

Benthic production
Prey size
Salmonids
Stomach contents
Streams

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10.1023/A:1014976612970

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@article{5a3bf20d6b284685b0f5adac1690dfce,

title = "Body size, diet and growth of landlocked brown trout, Salmo trutta, in the subarctic River Lax{\'a}, North-East Iceland",

abstract = "Studies on diet preferences of stream-dwelling salmonids have mostly been limited to a relatively small range in body size. This study examined the influence of salmonid body size on prey size and diet composition, and its consequences for growth, in landlocked stream-resident brown trout, Salmo trutta (2.5-61.3 cm) in the Lax{\'a} River, N-E Iceland. The most common prey of the 1622 trout sampled, were blackflies, Simulium vittatum, chironomid midges and the freshwater snail, Lymnaea peregra, which represented 56.3\%, 21.8\%, 10.8\% of the stomach content volume, respectively. In general, the Lax{\'a} trout showed a consistent, but moderate, shift towards larger prey with increased body size. The relatively stable growth and the large body size attained were probably due to the high production of small benthic invertebrates and only secondarily to the ontogenetic shift towards larger prey.",

keywords = "Benthic production, Prey size, Salmonids, Stomach contents, Streams",

author = "Steingr{\'i}msson, \{Stef{\'a}n {\'O}li\} and G{\'i}slason, \{G{\'i}sli M.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank {\'A}. Einarsson at the Lake My´vatn Research Station for his help and the logistical support; H. J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir, E. {\'A}sgeirsd{\'o}ttir and S. J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir for collecting samples from the anglers; {\'A}. Gu{\dh}mundsson and E. Einarsd{\'o}ttir for processing stomach samples; J.S. {\'O}lafsson for his help in identifying prey items; G. Gu{\dh}bergsson for advice on aging and back-calculating growth from fish scales; and {\'A}. Einarsson, A. Gar{\dh}arsson, I. Girard, J.W.A. Grant, I. Imre and two anonymous reviewers for comments. This work was funded by The Science Foundation of Iceland, The University of Iceland Research Fund, The Icelandic Aluminium Co. Ltd. and The Lake My´vatn Research Station. While writing the paper, S.{\'O}. Steingr{\'i}msson was supported by a Concordia University Graduate Fellowship and an NSERC grant to J.W.A. Grant. All sampling of brown trout was conducted in accordance with Icelandic laws, i.e. the Act of salmon, trout, and char fisheries no. 76/1970.",

year = "2002",

doi = "10.1023/A:1014976612970",

language = "English",

volume = "63",

pages = "417--426",

journal = "Environmental Biology of Fishes",

issn = "0378-1909",

publisher = "Springer Science and Business Media B.V.",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Body size, diet and growth of landlocked brown trout, Salmo trutta, in the subarctic River Laxá, North-East Iceland

AU - Steingrímsson, Stefán Óli

AU - Gíslason, Gísli M.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Á. Einarsson at the Lake My´vatn Research Station for his help and the logistical support; H. Jónsdóttir, E. Ásgeirsdóttir and S. Jónsdóttir for collecting samples from the anglers; Á. Guðmundsson and E. Einarsdóttir for processing stomach samples; J.S. Ólafsson for his help in identifying prey items; G. Guðbergsson for advice on aging and back-calculating growth from fish scales; and Á. Einarsson, A. Garðarsson, I. Girard, J.W.A. Grant, I. Imre and two anonymous reviewers for comments. This work was funded by The Science Foundation of Iceland, The University of Iceland Research Fund, The Icelandic Aluminium Co. Ltd. and The Lake My´vatn Research Station. While writing the paper, S.Ó. Steingrímsson was supported by a Concordia University Graduate Fellowship and an NSERC grant to J.W.A. Grant. All sampling of brown trout was conducted in accordance with Icelandic laws, i.e. the Act of salmon, trout, and char fisheries no. 76/1970.

PY - 2002

Y1 - 2002

N2 - Studies on diet preferences of stream-dwelling salmonids have mostly been limited to a relatively small range in body size. This study examined the influence of salmonid body size on prey size and diet composition, and its consequences for growth, in landlocked stream-resident brown trout, Salmo trutta (2.5-61.3 cm) in the Laxá River, N-E Iceland. The most common prey of the 1622 trout sampled, were blackflies, Simulium vittatum, chironomid midges and the freshwater snail, Lymnaea peregra, which represented 56.3%, 21.8%, 10.8% of the stomach content volume, respectively. In general, the Laxá trout showed a consistent, but moderate, shift towards larger prey with increased body size. The relatively stable growth and the large body size attained were probably due to the high production of small benthic invertebrates and only secondarily to the ontogenetic shift towards larger prey.

AB - Studies on diet preferences of stream-dwelling salmonids have mostly been limited to a relatively small range in body size. This study examined the influence of salmonid body size on prey size and diet composition, and its consequences for growth, in landlocked stream-resident brown trout, Salmo trutta (2.5-61.3 cm) in the Laxá River, N-E Iceland. The most common prey of the 1622 trout sampled, were blackflies, Simulium vittatum, chironomid midges and the freshwater snail, Lymnaea peregra, which represented 56.3%, 21.8%, 10.8% of the stomach content volume, respectively. In general, the Laxá trout showed a consistent, but moderate, shift towards larger prey with increased body size. The relatively stable growth and the large body size attained were probably due to the high production of small benthic invertebrates and only secondarily to the ontogenetic shift towards larger prey.

KW - Benthic production

KW - Prey size

KW - Salmonids

KW - Stomach contents

KW - Streams

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/0036238695

U2 - 10.1023/A:1014976612970

DO - 10.1023/A:1014976612970

M3 - Article

SN - 0378-1909

VL - 63

SP - 417

EP - 426

JO - Environmental Biology of Fishes

JF - Environmental Biology of Fishes

IS - 4

ER -

Body size, diet and growth of landlocked brown trout, Salmo trutta, in the subarctic River Laxá, North-East Iceland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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