Brown trout (Salmo truttaL.) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus(L.)) as predators on three sympatric whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus(L.)) forms in the subarctic Lake Muddusjärvi

Abstract

Abstract – Brown trout (Salmo truttaL.) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus(L.)) use whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus(L.)) as their main prey in the subarctic Lake Muddusjärvi. Brown trout dwelled in littoral and pelagic habitat, whereas Arctic charr lived only in epibenthic habitat. Both species shifted to whitefish predation at a length of 20–30 cm. At this size, brown trout fed on larger whitefish than Arctic charr. Whitefish occur in three sympatric forms, differing in their habitat, ecology and morphology. Both the predators preyed primarily upon the small‐sized, densely rakered whitefish form (DR), which was the most numerous whitefish form in the lake. DR used both epibenthic and pelagic habitat, whereas two sparsely rakered whitefish forms dwelled (LSR and SSR) only in epibenthic habitat: LSR in littoral and SSR in profundal areas. Sparsely rakered whitefish forms had minor importance in predator diet.