Effekter av yttäckande is kontra ljusinsläpp på öringens (Salmo trutta) antipredationsbeteende under vinter

Sammanfattning: Previous studies have shown that ice cover has many positive effects on brown trout (Salmo trutta), including protection from endothermic predators. I tested whether it is the cover provided by the ice itself or the reduction in light that causes behavioral changes in juvenile brown trout. To distinguish between these two effects, behavioural observations were made with and without ice at the same light intensity (500 lux). An additional ice-free, high light (3000 lux) treatment was included to be able to measure brown trout’s response to light reduction. A mink model was used to simulate predation risk to be able to measure the fish’s anti-predator response under these three conditions. I found a significant treatment effect on body and eye coloruration. For eye colouration, I found that fish under ice had a paler eye colouration than fish that experienced high light, which in turn were paler than fish subjected to low light. For body colouration, fish under ice had paler body colouration than fish from the two ice-free treatments, which did not differ from each other. There was no effect of treatment on ventilation rate, time to initiate foraging, time to initiate activity or swimming activity, although both foraging and activity were lowest and swimming activity highest under ice. The changes in body and eye colouration indicate that trout are less stressed under ice, presumably because they perceive ice as a barrier against terrestrial predators. These results suggest that the ongoing climate change, which is leading to shorter periods of sustained ice cover, may have negative consequences for trout populations in the near future.