Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Grant Haines, Bjarni Kristjánsson, Camille Leblanc
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Háskólinn á Hólum
Kynnir / Presenter: Grant Haines
At the individual level, body condition is a commonly used metric for assessing the health and evolutionary fitness of individual animals. However, it can also be used to understand changes in the relationship between a population and its environment. As part of a mark-recapture project conducted in small arctic charr populations in lava tube caves near Mývatn, we have collected body condition data from over a decade in 20 replicate populations. Here we present the relationship between body condition and recapture probability in these populations. Additionally, we present preliminary analyses of body condition through time across populations, and the temporal fluctuations of body condition as a function of individual length, which may be a consequence of environmental conditions favoring different size classes within a population or intraspecific competition. Finally, we discuss implications of body condition patterns for populations dynamics and evolution of these populations.