Transferability of habitat preference criteria for larval European grayling (Thymallus thymallus)

We examined the transferability of habitat preference criteria for larval European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) to two rivers in Finland by testing whether there were significant positive rank correlations between local fish densities (shoals per square metre) and preference indices for depth, velocity, substrate, and vegetation cover or selected combinations. Two sets of preference curves, one obtained from literature for the River Pollon, France, and another for the River Kuusinkijoki, Finland, were tested. All transferability tests for water velocity criteria were successful, correlation coefficients between local fish densities and preference indices ranging from 0.83 to 0.92. Criteria for depth and substrate transferred inconsistently, and criteria for vegetation cover failed to transfer to either target site. Combined indices predicted fish microdistributions inconsistently and they never performed better than the best univariate index for each site. Our results suggest that universal preference c...

[1]  Donald J. Orth,et al.  Evaluation of the Incremental Methodology for Recommending Instream Flows for Fishes , 1982 .

[2]  A. Scott.  Distribution, Growth, and Feeding of Postemergent Grayling Thymallus thymallus in an English River , 1985 .

[3]  Donald J. Orth,et al.  ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF INSTREAM FLOW-HABITAT MODELS , 1987 .

[4]  J. Heggenes.  Comparisons of habitat availability and habitat use by an allopatric cohort of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar under conditions of low competition in a Norwegian stream , 1991 .

[5]  A. Bardonnet,et al.  Microhabitats and diel downstream migration of young grayling (Thymallus thymallm L.) , 1991 .

[6]  Ken D. Bovee,et al.  Application and testing of a procedure to evaluate transferability of habitat suitability criteria , 1993 .

[7]  H. Beecher,et al.  Predicting Microdistributions of Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Parr from Depth and Velocity Preference Criteria: Test of an Assumption of the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology , 1993 .

[8]  A. Eklöv,et al.  The effect of depth on the interaction between perch (Perca fluviatilis) and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) , 1994 .

[9]  B. L. Lamb,et al.  The Instream Flow Incremental Methodology: A Primer for IFIM. , 1995 .

[10]  P. Gaudin,et al.  Etablissement de courbes de préférences d'habitat pour les frayères et les jeunes stades d'ombre commun (Thymallus thymallus, L.) , 1995 .

[11]  P. Gaudin,et al.  Habitat selection by grayling—I. Spawning habitats , 1995 .

[12]  P. Gaudin,et al.  Habitat selection by grayling. II: Preliminary results on larval and juvenile daytime habitats , 1995 .

[13]  P. Gaudin,et al.  Size-related changes in diel distribution of young grayling (Thymallus thymallus) , 1995 .

[14]  P. Gaudin,et al.  Size-related shift in feeding strategy and prey-size selection in young grayling (Thymallus thymallus) , 1996 .

[15]  Nassir El-Jabi,et al.  A Spatial and Temporal Evaluation of PHABSIM in Relation to Measured Density of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon in a Small Stream , 1996 .

[16]  J. Heggenes,et al.  HABITAT SELECTION BY BROWN TROUT (SALMO TRUTTA) AND YOUNG ATLANTIC SALMON (S. SALAR) IN STREAMS: STATIC AND DYNAMIC HYDRAULIC MODELLING , 1996 .

[17]  M. Freeman,et al.  Transferability of Habitat Suitability Criteria for Fishes in Warmwater Streams , 1997 .

[18]  B. L. Lamb,et al.  Stream habitat analysis using the instream flow incremental methodology , 1998 .

[19]  L. Greenberg.  Effects of predation and discharge on habitat use by brown trout, Salmo trutta, and grayling, Thymallus thymallus, in artificial streams , 1999 .

[20]  Pierre Legendre,et al.  Development and validation of numerical habitat models for juveniles of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) , 2000 .

[21]  Panayiotis Diplas,et al.  Using two-dimensional hydrodynamic models at scales of ecological importance , 2000 .

[22]  Piotr Parasiewicz,et al.  Physical habitat modelling for fish - a developing approach , 2001 .

[23]  A. Huusko,et al.  Size-related changes in habitat selection by larval grayling (Thymallus thymallus L.) , 2003 .