Newton, M. and Barry, J. and Dodd, J.A. and Lucas, M.C. and Boylan, P. and Adams, C.E. (2016) 'Does size matter? A test of size-specific mortality in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts tagged with acoustic transmitters.', Journal of fish biology., 89 (3). pp. 1641-1650.
Abstract
Mortality rates of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts implanted with acoustic transmitters were assessed to determine if mortality was size dependent. The routinely accepted, but widely debated, ‘2% transmitter mass: body mass’ rule in biotelemetry was tested by extending the transmitter burden up to 12·7% of body mass in small [mean fork length (LF) 138·3 mm, range 115–168 mm] downstream migrating S. salar smolts. Over the short timescale of emigration (range 11·9–44·5 days) through the lower river and estuary, mortality was not related to S. salar size, nor was a relationship found between mortality probability and transmitter mass: body mass or transmitter length: LF ratios. This study provides further evidence that smolt migration studies can deviate from the ‘2% rule’ of thumb, to more appropriate study-specific measures, which enables the use of fishes representative of the body size in natural populations without undue effects.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Full text: | (AM) Accepted Manuscript Download PDF (432Kb) |
Status: | Peer-reviewed |
Publisher Web site: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13066 |
Publisher statement: | This is the accepted version of the following article: Newton, M., Barry, J., Dodd, J. A., Lucas, M. C., Boylan, P. and Adams, C. E. (2016), Does size matter? A test of size-specific mortality in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts tagged with acoustic transmitters. Journal of Fish Biology, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13066. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving. |
Date accepted: | 23 May 2016 |
Date deposited: | 23 August 2016 |
Date of first online publication: | 28 June 2016 |
Date first made open access: | 28 June 2017 |
Save or Share this output
Export: | |
Look up in GoogleScholar |