Subsequent to their introduction in the 1950s, Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus have been able to establish a self-sustaining population that has adapted to the unique conditions of the Kerguelen Islands in the sub-Antarctic. Here, 48 individuals (198-415 mm) were caught with gillnets and their basic biology and feeding ecology were examined using stable isotope analysis. The Lac des Fougères population split use of littoral and pelagic resources evenly, although larger fish relied more heavily on littoral production and appear to follow the size-dependent life-history habitat template seen in many Scandinavian lakes where smaller sized individuals occupy the pelagic zone and larger individuals dominate the littoral habitat. In Kerguelen Arctic charr mature at the same ages (5.6 years) as Arctic charr in both sub-Arctic and Arctic lakes. Whereas mortality was average in comparison to comparator sub-Arctic lakes, it was high in comparison to Arctic lakes. Maximal age (>7+) was at the lower end of the range typically seen in sub-Arctic lakes. Although they inhabit a resource poor environment, Kerguelen Arctic charr showed no evidence of cannibalism. Thus, while Arctic charr can survive and reproduce in the relatively unproductive Kerguelen lake environments, survival and growth nevertheless appear to be traded off against survival and longevity. The uniqueness of the population location and the recency of its introduction suggest that further monitoring of the population has the potential to yield valuable insights into both the adaptability of the species and its likely responses to ongoing large-scale environmental change as represented by climate change.

中文翻译：

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凯尔盖朗群岛北极红点鲑的生物学和摄食生态

在 1950 年代引入北极红点鲑后，北极红点鲑已经能够建立一个自给自足的种群，该种群已经适应了亚南极地区凯尔盖朗群岛的独特条件。在这里，48 只个体（198-415 毫米）被刺网捕获，并使用稳定同位素分析检查了它们的基本生物学和饲养生态学。Lac des Fougères 种群平均分配对沿海和中上层资源的使用，尽管较大的鱼类更依赖沿海生产，并且似乎遵循在许多斯堪的纳维亚湖泊中看到的依赖大小的生活史栖息地模板，其中较小的个体占据中上层区域和较大的个体在沿海栖息地占主导地位。在凯尔盖朗，北极红点鲑在亚北极和北极湖泊中与北极红点鲑的成熟年龄相同（5.6 年）。尽管与比较的亚北极湖泊相比，死亡率是平均水平，但与北极湖泊相比，死亡率却很高。最大年龄 (>7+) 处于亚北极湖泊中常见的范围的下限。尽管它们生活在资源贫乏的环境中，但凯尔盖朗北极夏尔没有自相残杀的迹象。因此，虽然北极红点鲑可以在相对低效的凯尔盖朗湖环境中生存和繁殖，但生存和生长似乎要与生存和长寿进行权衡。种群位置的独特性及其引入的新近表明，对种群的进一步监测有可能对物种的适应性及其对以气候变化为代表的持续大规模环境变化的可能反应产生有价值的见解。