The complete history of salmonid introductions in the Kerguelen Islands, Southern Ocean

• Published in: Polar biology Vol. 36; no. 4; pp. 457 - 475
• Main Authors: Lecomte, Frédéric, Beall, Edward, Chat, Joëlle, Davaine, Patrick, Gaudin, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-04-2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Analysis; Animal and plant ecology; Animal populations; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Archipelagoes; Biodiversity and Ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Colonies & territories; Ecology; Environmental Sciences; Fishes; Fontinalis; Fresh water; Freshwater; Freshwater fish; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Introduced species; Islands; Life Sciences; Local population; Marine biology; Microbiology; Ocean; Oceanography; Oncorhynchus mykiss; Particular ecosystems; Plant Sciences; Review; Salmo trutta; Salmon; Salvelinus namaycush; Sea water ecosystems; Synecology; Trout; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Watersheds; Zoology; Kerguelen Islands; Antarctic Ocean; Antarctic Islands; Antarctic region; Southern Ocean; PS, Antarctic Ocean; Kerguelen Is., Kerguelen I; Kerguelen Islands; Introductions; Colonization; Salmonidae; Marine environment; Vertebrata; Pisces; Oncorhynchus; Salvelinus; Salmo; kerguelen island; salmo; oncorhynchus; salvelinus; colonization; introduction
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-012-1281-5

Since the early 1950s, several species of salmonids have been introduced more or less successfully in the Kerguelen Islands, a 7,215 km² archipelago located in the Southern Ocean (49°S, 70°E) and previously devoid of any freshwater fish. The aim of this work was to establish a documented chronicle of these events from available archives, to better understand the causes of the colonization failure or success for the different species. The history that emerged from the analysis of the archives appeared much more complex than previously published. Stocks of various origins were used, and numerous attempts were made at different sites involving variable numbers of fish released at different life stages. Between 1951 and 1991, 22 importation attempts took place, involving about 2 million individuals. Of the 8 species introduced (
Salmo trutta
,
S. salar
,
Oncorhynchus mykiss
,
O. tshawytscha
,
O. kisutch
,
Salvelinus namaycush
,
S. fontinalis
and
S. alpinus
), only 3 failed to establish local populations (
O. mykiss
,
O. tshawytscha
and
S. namaycush
). Overall, 23 watersheds were stocked. At present, 45 watersheds are colonized by one or several species.
S. trutta
,
S. fontinalis
,
S. alpinus
and
O. kisutch
were capable of migrating toward new habitats. The brown trout (
S. trutta
) was the only species to colonize a large number of watersheds (32 in about 10 generations). Its success can be explained by the diversity of origins, the number and importance of introduction and transfer attempts, the diversity of release sites and the peculiarities of its life cycle.