Summer use of a small stream by fish and crayfish and exchanges with adjacent lentic macrohabitats

Abstract

Summary1. Movements between a stream reach and two adjacent lentic macrohabitats, a beaver pond and a lake, were followed for the Appalachian crayfish and two fish species, brook charr and brown bullhead, over an 85‐d period from early June to late August, and were analysed in relation to water level, maximum water temperature, photoperiod length, lunar luminosity, and age, by use of time‐series regressions.2. Brook charr showed strong net immigration to the stream reach for underyearling (age class 0+) fish but net emigration for 1+ fish. Both immigration and emigration were positively related to water level and temperature; migratory responses to temperature were age‐specific.3. Brown bullhead used the stream primarily as a corridor for downstream migration from the beaver pond to the lake. As with brook charr, water level and temperature had a positive effect on movement and responses were stronger in younger individuals.4. Crayfish emigrated from the stream during the summer. Movements were positively related to increases in water level and temperature, with responses of 1+ crayfish much stronger than those of older individuals.5. The results indicate that the stream tributary played different roles for brook charr (nursery), brown bullhead (dispersal corridor) and Appalachian crayfish (early summer refuge), and suggest that variation in water level or temperature resulting from climatic change or local anthropogenic activities might modify connectivity between macrohabitats, particularly for younger individuals.