Species and Habitat Outlines

Dolly Varden Char
TAXONOMY

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae

ECOLOGICAL DATA

Distribution: spawn in coastal drainages, but more abundant in northern areas.

Habitat: remain close to shore near river mouths; spawn in gravelly areas of freshwater streams and rivers during fall; migrate from nearshore from Jul to mid-Sep as spawners and immatures; overwinter in lakes and streams; outmigration of adults from mid-Mar to mid-May, and smolts during May to mid-Jun; feed in nearshore marine water and estuaries for 3-8 months.

Tidal elevation: smolts and adults feed and migrate in shallow nearshore and estuaries.

Food: smolts in shallow nearshore prey on crustaceans (e.g. amphipods, isopods and euphausiids) and small fish; subadults and adults, usually in outer estuary and deeper water feed primarily on fish (e.g. sand lance, capelin, herring, pink and chum fry), and some crustaceans.

Predators: fishes, such as salmon and cutthroat, birds and bears.

GROWTH RATE

Rapid growth in ocean, up to 45 mm for adults over 157 d and 74 mm for smolts over 107 d; maximum size is about 550 mm and 3 kg.

FISHERY

Sport (i.e. fly and bait) fishery exists, including unique beach fisheries.

REFERENCES

Armstrong, R.H. 1970. Age, food, and migration of Dolly Varden smolts in southeastern Alaska. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 27: 991-1004.

Armstrong, R.H. 1974. Migration of anadromous Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) in southeastern Alaska. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31: 435-444.

Armstrong, R.H. 1984. Migration of anadromous Dolly Varden charr in southeastern Alaska - a manager's nightmare, p. 559-570. In L. Johnson and B.L. Burns [ed.] Biology of the Arctic charr, Proc. Int. Symp. Arctic Charr, May 1981, Univ. Manitoba, Winnipeg

Lagler, K.F., and A.T. Wright. 1962. Predation of the Dolly Varden, Salvelinus malma, on young salmons, Oncorhynchus spp., in an estuary of southeastern Alaska. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 91: 90-93.

Narver, D.W., and M.L. Dahlberg. 1965. Estuarine food of Dolly Varden at Chignik, Alaska. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 94: 405-408.

Roos, J.E. 1959. Feeding habitats of the Dolly Varden, Salvelinus malma (Walbaum), at Chignik, Alaska. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 88: 253-260.

Smith, H.A., and P.A. Slaney. 1980. Age growth, survival and habitat of anadromous Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) in the Keogh River, British Columbia. B.C. Min. Environ. Fish. Manage. Rep. 76: 50 p.

 

For more information on Dolly Varden habitat utilization and life cycles - click here

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