University of Maine graduate Emily Miller holds a female Arctic charr from the Floods Pond field site in Otis, Maine, where she and other scientists will measure, genetically sample and tag the long-lived species with a microchip ID. (Bradley Erdman)

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By Kathryn Carley

February 28 2023   

Researchers are studying the feeding habits of Arctic charr to help predict how other fish species could adapt to a warming climate.

Arctic charr are considered glacial relics, once filling some of the deepest, coldest ponds of New England, but today, populate just a dozen lakes throughout Maine.

Michael Kinnison, director of the Maine Center for Genetics and the Environment at the University of Maine, calls the Arctic charr a “canary in the coal mine” for climate-change resilience.

“When we start having significant problems with Arctic charr, we can anticipate that sometime in the future, we could be facing some similar challenges for these other species,” Kinnison explained.

The other species include lake trout and landlocked salmon. Kinnison pointed out by studying the adaptability of Arctic charr living on the southernmost edge of their habitat range, they will gain insight into how a warming climate may affect other species further north in the decades to come.

Researchers will conduct extensive tracking of Arctic charr to better understand their food webs. Kinnison noted a rare, 20-year collection of Arctic charr genetic samples at the University of Maine will provide even greater insight into how the fish can alter their diets in order to survive.

“What this allows us to do is to also go back and ask, over the last couple decades, what have we seen climate doing to these populations?” Kinnison emphasized.

Kinnison added the research will inform biologists how introducing other species into Maine lakes could impact Arctic charr populations, or if they will ultimately need to be moved into special reserves to survive.

Researchers will also create lessons for grade-school students about how aquatic species may endure or perish in a warming world.

References:  

Arctic Charr Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 2023