THE BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG SALMON (SALMO SALAR L.) IN THE RIVER LIZHMA (LAKE ONEGO) IN THE SUMMER SEASON

Abstract

It was found that each age group of young salmon has its own daily foraging activity pattern, mainly regulated by illumination. At the latitude of the Lizhma River (62°22ʹ40ʺ N, 34°29ʹ57ʺ E), which drains to Lake Onego, the foraging activity duration in June and July is 16 h ± 30 min. In twilight hours and in the dark (below 200 lx) it was absent in all age groups. Young-of-the-year (0+) maintained a constant level of foraging activity during the day, making about 900 darts at food. Parr aged 1+ and 2+ foraged the most actively in the morning (18,000 lx), after which the activity declined until 15 h (70,000 lx)and remained low until 19 h (21,000 lx). Then it increased slightly until dusk. The number of darts at food was about 350 per day. For 3+ parr, the activity was the lowest in the morning hours, gradually growing afterwards to reach a peak at around 15 hours, after which a gradual decline was observed. During the day they make about 300 darts at food. The foraging intensity for 0+ fish averages 63 darts per hour. Fish aged 1+ make less than 30 darts/h; 2+ make about 40 darts/h; 3+ salmon make about 25 darts/h. Foraging activity can be reduced by dense clouds and competition. Young fish aged 0+ and 1+ cannot compete with larger parr and other predators for fodder-rich sites. 2+ and 3+ parr occupy the most advantageous feeding microsites, where they perform up to 88 % of all daily darts for food in less than 50 % active time, and thus satisfy their daily nutritive demand. As a result, 2+ and 3+ parr would be more often seen inactive in “shelter” microsites compared to 0+ and 1+ individuals.