Lifelong divergence of growth patterns in Arctic charr life history strategies: implications for sustainable fisheries in a changing climate

Abstract

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus Linnaeus, 1758) are phenotypically variable with multiple life history strategies including anadromous and freshwater resident individuals. The mechanism determining life history is believed to be set early in life. Anadromous individuals show greater seasonality in growth and feeding after the first seaward migration relative to resident conspecifics. We used otolith growth increment measurements to estimate lifelong growth patterns for 355 individuals with anadromous or resident life history from four populations within Cumberland Sound, Nunavut. Using a general and a generalized linear model, we discovered a linear increase (estimate = 0.006) in growth for both Arctic charr life histories between 1990 and 2016. Resident Arctic charr have lower annual growth (estimate = −0.176) and show a decrease in the annual proportion of summer growth as they age (estimate = −0.042), whereas their anadromous counterparts maintain a higher seasonality in their growth patterns with age. This suggests that growth is indeed important in life history trajectory for Arctic charr and that seasonal growth patterns differ among life histories. The results highlight the importance of improving our understanding of mechanisms influencing life history trajectory in Arctic charr to ensure sustainability of harvested Arctic charr populations in a changing climate.