The results of the first hydroacoustic studies of the winter distribution of Coregonus migratorius in Lake Baikal

Abstract

We have obtained the first data on the distribution and behaviour of C. migratorius using thehydroacoustic recording of fish in the monostatic mode from the ice cover of Lake Baikal. The results of the studies have shown the nature of the winter distribution of C. migratorius, which also persists in the early spring. We assume that C. migratorius simultaneously executes three behavioural strategies. Observations of the C. migratorius behaviour in winter using the hydroacoustic method can be useful for the future studies of the characteristics of different behavioural and nutritional models as well as the age and size structure of populations inhabiting various zones of the lake. This approach, as a basis of the quantitative method of automatic recording of individual behavioural acts and changes in the fish aggregation, together with the use of hydrophysical equipment can show the response of fish to the changes in certain environmental parameters.