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Dryad

Data from: Partial migration: growth varies between resident and migratory fish

Cite this dataset

Gillanders, Bronwyn M.; Izzo, Christopher; Doubleday, Zoë A.; Ye, Qifeng (2015). Data from: Partial migration: growth varies between resident and migratory fish [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.885sn

Abstract

Partial migration occurs in many taxa and ecosystems and may confer survival benefits. Here, we use otolith chemistry data to determine whether fish from a large estuarine system were resident or migratory, and then examine whether contingents display differences in modelled growth based on changes in width of otolith growth increments. Sixty-three per cent of fish were resident based on Ba : Ca of otoliths, with the remainder categorized as migratory, with both contingents distributed across most age/size classes and both sexes, suggesting population-level bet hedging. Migrant fish were in slightly better condition than resident fish based on Fulton's K condition index. Migration type (resident versus migratory) was 56 times more likely to explain variation in growth than a model just incorporating year- and age-related growth trends. While average growth only varied slightly between resident and migratory fish, year-to-year variation was significant. Such dynamism in growth rates likely drives persistence of both life-history types. The complex relationships in growth between contingents suggest that management of species exhibiting partial migration is challenging, especially in a world subject to a changing climate.

Usage notes

Location

Coorong estuary
Australia
South Australia