Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) otoliths as biochronological indicators of recent climate patterns in high Arctic lakes.

Project Description

High latitude ecosystems, such as Arctic Alaska, show increased effects of climate change. Due largely to costs and logistics associated with this region, long-term air temperature data only exists from a few locations. Lake temperature has only just begun to be more routinely monitored. Studies to obtain more spatially comprehensive data are needed. In terrestrial systems the use of tree-ring data and dendrochronolgy techniques are often used as a reliable proxy to reconstruct temperature regimes, however, most of Arctic Alaska is devoid of trees. These same dendrochronolgy techniques can be applied to growth-increment widths found in Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) otoliths. Lake trout are present across the Arctic landscape and are a long-lived fish, thus may provide a reliable mulitdecadal proxy to reconstruct temperature regimes across the region. This project will focus on the Fish Creek and Ikpikpuk Sand Sea/Teshekpuk Lake watersheds which are experiencing the impacts of climate change as well as large-scale changes in land use involving oil and gas development. This project will provide valuable information with respect to these challenges.

Project Funding

U.S. Geological Survey - Alaska Climate Science Center
Start Date: 0000-00-00
End Date: 0000-00-00

 

Publications and products

Torvinen, E., Falke, J., Arp, C., Whitman, M., Adams, J. and C. Zimmerman. (2015). "Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) otoliths as biochronological indicators of recent climate patterns in Arctic lakes". Alaska Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. November 4-6, 2015. Homer, AK.

 

Research Team

Jeffrey Falke

Principal Investigator

Specialties:

  • Freshwater fish ecology and conservation biology
  • Landscape and spatial ecology of freshwater systems
  • Ecology and evolutionary biology of salmonids
  • Climate change impacts on aquatic systems
  • Impacts of introducted species on native aquatic fauna

Research Staff

Eric Torvinen