Interactive effects of sex and body size on the movement ecology of adfluvial bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Animal movement occurs as a function of many factors including changing environmental conditions (e.g., seasonality) and the internal state (e.g., phenotypic traits) of the focal organism. Identifying how these factors interact can reveal behavioral patterns that would otherwise go undiscovered. Given a large sample size of individuals (n = 187), we used acoustic biotelemetry to examine the spatial ecology of adfluvial bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus (Suckley, 1859)) in a large hydropower reservoir in British Columbia, Canada. Dependent variables, including home-range size and lateral movement, were analysed as a function of interactive relationships among seasons (over a 2-year period) and phenotypic traits. Mixed models indicated relationships between home-range size and season, whereas variation in lateral movement was explained by month and a two-way interaction between sex and body size. Large females (765 mm total length) were estimated to move laterally up to five times greater than females half their length, whereas movements between large and small males were not significantly different. This study shows how body size and sex can have a profound and possible interactive effect on animal movement. In addition, the results offer new information on the spatial ecology and conservation of adfluvial bull trout.
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology
Authors: L.F.G. Gutowsky, P.M. Harrison, E.G. Martins, A. Leake, D.A. Patterson, M. Power, S.J. Cooke
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2193692002