A comparison of trends in population size and life history features of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and anadromous and non-anadromous Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a single catchment over 116 years

Adams, C. E. , Honkanen, H. M., Bryson, E., Moore, I. E., MacCormick, M. and Dodd, J. A. (2022) A comparison of trends in population size and life history features of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and anadromous and non-anadromous Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a single catchment over 116 years. Hydrobiologia, 849(4), pp. 945-965. (doi: 10.1007/s10750-021-04751-2)

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Abstract

We use a long time series of catch abundance from a recreational fishery over 116 years to look for population trends in Atlantic salmon, and anadromous (sea trout) and non-anadromous (brown) trout for a single catchment, Loch Lomond, west central Scotland. Year strongly predicted variation in catches but catch effort did not meaningfully increase explained variation. Salmon showed periods of increasing and decreasing trends, for sea trout and brown trout there was an overall declining trend. Since 1952, Lomond salmon population trends differed from both wider Scotland and southern Europe, indicating that the Lomond population is partially buffered from drivers of change in salmon populations more widely. In contrast Lomond sea trout showed a similar declining trend to that of populations from the wider west of Scotland over this period. The Lomond populations showed some evidence of shorter-term cycling patterns; the drivers for which are unknown. Body size in salmon and sea trout declined but increased in brown trout; salmon returned to freshwater later, and the relative proportion of all caught trout that were anadromous increased across the time series. This study shows a long and protracted period of fundamental change to populations of these two species over 116 years.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was supported by the SeaMonitor project supported by EU award IVA5060 from the Interreg 5A programme.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Honkanen, Dr Hannele and Adams, Professor Colin and Dodd, Dr Jennifer and Moore, Isabel
Authors: Adams, C. E., Honkanen, H. M., Bryson, E., Moore, I. E., MacCormick, M., and Dodd, J. A.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Hydrobiologia
Publisher:Springer
ISSN:0018-8158
ISSN (Online):1573-5117
Published Online:27 November 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in Hydrobiologia 849(4): 945-965
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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