Temperature Requirements in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), and Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Hatching to Initial Feeding Compared with Geographic Distribution

Abstract

Development time at different temperatures from hatching to 50% feeding was studied in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) alevins. Live animals were used as food. In both species the development time decreased with increasing temperature, and these relationships were described by power curves. The results were compared with similar data for Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). At temperatures above about 8 °C, the development time to 50% feeding was the same for all three species. However, at lower temperatures Atlantic salmon alevins needed more time to reach the stage of initial feeding than did Arctic char. Brown trout were intermediate. These results are in accordance with the known optimum temperature ranges for the three species and their geographic distribution.