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Movement behaviour of the small benthic Rhine sculpin Cottus rhenanus (Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005) as revealed by radio-telemetry and pit-tagging

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Abstract

From February 2006 to June 2007, we followed the movement patterns of the Rhine sculpin (Cottus rhenanus) by combining short-term radio-telemetry (n = 10 radio-tagged sculpin with a miniature 0.5-g transmitter) and long-term individual (PIT-tag) mark-recapture (n = 452 PIT-tagged sculpin during six removal electric fishing operations) studies in a small tributary of the River Meuse, Belgium. During a 25- to 27-day period, the radio-tracked sculpin displayed various mobility patterns, showing frequent movement from one day to another and longitudinal home ranges from 7 to 46 m, with cumulative distances up to 149 m. During the mark-recapture study, most (99%) recaptured PIT-tagged individuals moved from their original 5-m long site, subsequently using longitudinal home ranges between 5 and 435 m (mean, 50 m; median, 20 m). The most common movement behaviour was alternation between upstream and downstream movements (62%), followed by directional upstream (26%) and directional downstream (11%) movement. Using the latest available techniques, this study builds on the current knowledge on the Cottus genus and closes gaps in the comprehension of sculpin movement and home range at a scale that had not been investigated to date.

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Acknowledgements

This research is part of the “Obstruction to Fish Migration” project, which receives financial support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (D.G.R.N.E.) of Wallonia, Belgium, represented by F. Lambot and P. Orban. J.C. Philippart is a Research Associate from the Belgian “Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique”. The authors wish to thank Gilles Rimbaud, Yvan Neus, L. Jonlet, M. Darimont and A.M. Massin for field support. We also thank Alexander Kobler, Niels Jepsen and an anonymous referee for constructive comments and Linda Northrup (English Solutions) for the English-language editing of the manuscript.

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  1. University of Liège, Biology of Behaviour Unit, Laboratory of Fish Demography and Hydroecology, 10 Chemin de la Justice, 4500, Tihange, Belgium

    Michaël Ovidio, Aurélie Detaille, Charlotte Bontinck & Jean-Claude Philippart

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  1. Michaël Ovidio
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  2. Aurélie Detaille
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  3. Charlotte Bontinck
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  4. Jean-Claude Philippart
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Correspondence to Michaël Ovidio.

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Handling editor: J. A. Cambray

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Ovidio, M., Detaille, A., Bontinck, C. et al. Movement behaviour of the small benthic Rhine sculpin Cottus rhenanus (Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005) as revealed by radio-telemetry and pit-tagging. Hydrobiologia 636, 119–128 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9941-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9941-3

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