Mortality rates of Whitefish in an Arctic Lake

Wohlschlag DE. 1954. Mortality rates of Whitefish in an Arctic Lake. Ecology. 35(3):388-396

In unexploited Ikroavik Lake near Point Barrow, Alaska, summertime mortality rates of Leucichthys sardinella and Coregonus nasus were determined by mark-and-recapture methods described by Leslie and Chitty (1951) and Bailey (1951). The application of these techniques is discussed in detail and it is concluded that they are feasible if sampling can be carried out on a sufficiently large scale, particularly in conjunction with other studies involving mark-and-recapture operations. Catch-curve data suggest that the older L. sardinella die at greater rates than do middle-aged fish. All available evidence indicates that the L. sardinella die at greater rates during the summer than during the remainder of the year when the population is confined to very little water under a thick ice cover. No explanation of the reason why the C. nasus population is so small appears to be evident from the limited mortality data available.

Type
Journal Article
Authors
Wohlschlag, Donald
Units
ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
Keywords
Arctic, Barrow, Fish, Ikroavik Lake, Mark-Recapture, Mortality, North Slope, Whitefish

Series

Browse the catalog