Stream size, temperature, and density explain body sizes of freshwater salmonids across a range of climate conditions

Robert K. Al-Chokhachy; Benjamin Letcher; Clint C. Muhlfeld; Jason Dunham; Timothy Joseph Cline; Nathaniel P. Hitt; James J. Roberts; David Schmetterling

doi:10.1139/cjfas-2021-0343

USGS · 70238968

Stream size, temperature, and density explain body sizes of freshwater salmonids across a range of climate conditions

Robert K. Al-Chokhachy·Benjamin Letcher·Clint C. Muhlfeld·Jason Dunham·Timothy Joseph Cline·Nathaniel P. Hitt·James J. Roberts·David Schmetterling

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Abstract

Climate change and anthropogenic activities are altering the body sizes of fishes, yet our understanding of factors influencing body size for many taxa remains incomplete. We evaluated the relationships between climate, environmental, and landscape attributes and the body size of different taxa of freshwater trout (Salmonidae) in the USA. Hierarchical spatial modeling across a gradient of habitats (5221 sites) illustrated the importance of watershed effects, which explained 17%–45% of the of the variation in body size across taxa. Stream size had a strong, positive relationship with body size, yet there was approximately tenfold difference in the strength of the relationship across taxa. Trout body size consistently declined with increasing density across taxa. Despite reliance on cold water, we found positive relationships between summer stream temperature and trout body size across most taxa. Our results highlight how providing trout access to larger, productive rivers for the expression of growth and life-history variation would promote body size diversity within and across populations.

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Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 34.462384162667675° to 49.13074583950319° latitude; -122.4760307772334° to -72.4000782338564° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Benjamin Letcher, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Jason Dunham, Timothy Joseph Cline, Nathaniel P. Hitt, James J. Roberts, David Schmetterling. 2022. Stream size, temperature, and density explain body sizes of freshwater salmonids across a range of climate conditions. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2021-0343

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