Aquatic Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Long-term diatom response to anthropogenic stressors in a Neotropical lake","authors":"M. Caballero,&nbsp;G. Vázquez,&nbsp;C. Quiñones,&nbsp;J. Von Thaden,&nbsp;D. Lithgow,&nbsp;B. Ortega-Guerrero","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01362-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01362-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding tropical lake ecosystem responses to anthropogenic disturbance over long timescales is critical for assessing resistance, resilience, and regime shifts; however, such perspectives are rare in the Neotropics. We combined paleolimnological, limnological, and remote-sensing approaches to evaluate the response of a shallow tropical maar lake in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas (eastern Mexico) to deforestation-driven disturbance over the last ~200 years, with emphasis on ecosystem trajectories following peak impact in the late twentieth century. Forest-cover changes were reconstructed from remote images (1976, 2000, 2024), while lake condition was assessed using limnological measurements and diatom assemblages from the water column (2000–2024) and sediments (~1808–2025). Sedimentary magnetic susceptibility and diatoms documented a major state shift during the 1970s–1980s, coincident with peak deforestation and erosion, characterized by high species turnover and the dominance of disturbance-tolerant taxa (<i>Achnanthidium minutissimum</i>–<i>Fragilaria capucina</i>). This transition contrasts with gradual and elastic responses observed during earlier periods. Despite partial reforestation and landscape stabilization since the 1990s, limnological variables indicate persistent eutrophic to hypereutrophic conditions. However, sedimentary and water-column diatoms revealed ongoing ecological changes, marked by declines in disturbance taxa and increasing abundances of baseline planktonic species (<i>Aulacoseira</i> spp.), indicating an elastic recovery trajectory toward pre-disturbance conditions. Comparisons with an earlier disturbance between AD 100–800 (Classic Mesoamerican period) highlight the importance of disturbance duration and climatic context in determining ecosystem resilience. Our results demonstrate long-term resilience in a tropical lake following intense anthropogenic disturbance, underscoring the value of paleolimnological records for evaluating ecosystem recovery.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00027-026-01362-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148986598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Temperature-driven oxygen consumption in Loxoconcha elliptica (Ostracoda: Podocopida), with limited differences among sexes and late ontogenetic stages","authors":"Ximena A. Altonar-Gómez,&nbsp;Alexandre Mestre,&nbsp;Raquel Ortells,&nbsp;Francesc Mesquita-Joanes,&nbsp;Ferran Palero","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01356-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01356-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Ostracods are ecologically important indicators of aquatic ecosystem conditions because of their broad distribution and sensitivity to environmental change. As ectotherms, they are especially responsive to temperature variation, and climate-driven warming may alter their metabolic dynamics in aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) is a widely used proxy for metabolic demand, yet few studies have examined the combined effects of temperature, sex, and ontogenetic stage in ostracods. Here, we provide the first estimates of OCR for the euryhaline ostracod <i>Loxoconcha elliptica</i>, and assess its thermal response at 10, 20, and 30 °C in three groups: adult females, adult males, and subadults. Individuals were collected from Font Salada, a coastal spring pond in Valencia (Spain), and OCR was quantified using optical respirometry. Oxygen consumption increased with temperature in all groups, reaching maximum values at 30 °C. Subadults tended to show higher mass-specific OCR and greater thermal sensitivity than adults; however, generalized linear models (GLMs) identified temperature as the only significant predictor. Our findings establish the first physiological baseline for <i>L. elliptica</i> and contribute to understanding the sensitivity of euryhaline ostracods under future warming scenarios.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00027-026-01356-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal variation in nutrient enrichment drives multitrophic community assembly mechanisms and functional redundancy in a shallow lake","authors":"Yajun Qiao,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Song,&nbsp;Hao Wang,&nbsp;Jinrui Zhang,&nbsp;Mingyu Jiang,&nbsp;Yiming Liu,&nbsp;Chunhui Zhang,&nbsp;Xuwang Yin","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01359-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01359-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nutrient enrichment threatens freshwater biodiversity by altering community assembly, reducing taxonomic diversity, and affecting functional redundancy, thereby undermining ecosystem stability. However, how seasonal nutrient dynamics impact multitrophic biodiversity and functional redundancy is unclear. Using environmental DNA (fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton) and environmental data from a shallow lake in China’s North Temperate Zone during dry and rainy seasons, we investigated these effects. Nutrient enrichment (Trophic Level Index) was higher in the rainy season, coinciding with significant variation in multitrophic community structure, particularly plankton spatial heterogeneity. Nutrient enrichment increased taxonomic and functional diversity across trophic levels, with higher values in the rainy season, which enhanced plankton functional redundancy. Moreover, seasonal nutrient variation shifted community assembly from deterministic to stochastic processes under higher enrichment for all groups but fish. Our findings highlight seasonal nutrient enrichment as a key driver of multitrophic aquatic biodiversity, assembly mechanisms, and functional redundancy.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mitochondrial population structure and descriptive RNA-seq observations in fiddler and allied crabs: a systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Ilias Ahmed","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01358-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01358-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fiddler and allied crabs are keystone bioturbators of mangrove and mudflat ecosystems, yet genetic and transcriptomic resources remain fragmented across studies and repositories. We conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review and evidence synthesis that formally meta-analyzed population-scale mitochondrial DNA structure using Fisher’s <i>Z</i>-transformed <i>Φ</i>_ST/<i>F</i>_ST values and separately summarized RNA-seq evidence as descriptive study-level observations. Phylogeographic meta-analyses revealed strong trans-basin structure in the tropical West Atlantic; for example, <i>Leptuca thayeri</i> and <i>Uca maracoani</i> showed pooled <i>Φ</i>_ST ≈ 0.78–0.89 with low heterogeneity, contrasting with weak within-estuary differentiation in <i>Uca</i> (<i>Minuca</i>) <i>minax</i> (pooled <i>Φ</i>_ST ≈ 0.03) and negligible inside- vs outside-basin contrast for <i>Uca sindensis</i>. Independent RNA-seq studies reported recurring functional categories associated with chaperone-mediated stress response, oxidative defense, detoxification, ion regulation, apoptosis/autophagy, and reproduction across species-, tissue-, and stressor-specific contexts. Because the RNA-seq datasets differed in species, tissues, exposure regimes, comparison designs, annotation depth, and differential-expression workflows, reported transcriptomic values were treated as descriptive observations rather than pooled estimates or common transcriptomic effect sizes. Reproductive observations were summarized as tissue- and study-specific records involving sex differentiation, vitellogenesis, and ovarian regulation, while stress-related observations were summarized as context-dependent pathway categories rather than evidence of a single conserved transcriptional program. Funnel diagnostics and leave-one-out checks were restricted to the mtDNA population structure meta-analysis, where they were used to assess robustness and possible small-study effects among <i>Φ</i>_ST/<i>F</i>_ST contrasts. Taken together, the mtDNA and RNA-seq findings are best interpreted as parallel evidence streams: mitochondrial markers support scale-dependent population differentiation and historical connectivity, whereas RNA-seq studies provide descriptive, hypothesis-generating observations on functional pathway categories. These findings may inform conservation unit delineation, aquaculture biomonitoring, and One Health aligned coastal governance. Key gaps include sparse public nuclear genomes and uneven metadata; future work should pair genome-wide markers with common garden challenges to dissect plasticity vs heritable adaptation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phytoplankton assemblage characteristics and driving factors in Baiyangdian Lake under strong anthropogenic disturbance","authors":"Qiuying Chen,&nbsp;Yang Yang,&nbsp;Rui Xue,&nbsp;Xiuzhong Li,&nbsp;Youli Qiu,&nbsp;Ruoshuo Cao","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01357-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01357-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Despite being widely used as indicators of lake ecosystem health, the responses of phytoplankton assemblages to intensive anthropogenic disturbances remain poorly understood. Species identification, biodiversity assessment, Pearson correlation, redundancy analysis (RDA), and hierarchical clustering were integrated to disentangle the drivers structuring phytoplankton assemblages in Baiyangdian Lake under intensive anthropogenic disturbance. The results showed that 141 species of phytoplankton belonging to seven phyla were detected in Baiyangdian Lake. <i>Bacillariophyta</i> (35.5%) and <i>Chlorophyta</i> (33.57%) dominated the whole lake. The average Shannon–Wiener index (<i>H</i>) of the whole lake reached 2.77, and the average Margalef richness index (<i>dM</i>) was 4.19, indicating overall ecological recovery. Significant spatial heterogeneity existed across three dredging areas: the proportion of <i>Bacillariophyta</i> reached 51.9% in intensive dredging areas, much higher than 43.5% in light dredging areas and 38.7% in nondredging areas, whereas <i>Chlorophyta</i> exhibited an opposite distribution pattern. RDA results showed total nitrogen (TN), dissolved oxygen (DO), and permanganate chemical oxygen demand (COD_Mn) were core driving factors, jointly explaining 44.76% of total community variation. TN exerted dual threshold effects on phytoplankton diversity: moderate TN concentrations increase Shannon–Wiener diversity, whereas excessive TN levels reduce species richness. Low DO selectively stimulates the proliferation of diatoms, while COD_Mn boosts algal growth via carbon source provision. Ecological dredging reshaped sediment nutrient gradients and accelerated community succession toward diatom-green algae codominance. Short-term increases in turbidity suppressed algal density, while long-term reductions in internal nutrient release stabilized assemblage structure. This study quantifies combined effects of water quality and dredging on autumn phytoplankton (results are autumn-specific), providing new insights into algal succession across dredging gradients in disturbed northern shallow macrophyte lakes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148928013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecological impacts of calcium enrichment and sediment sterilization on algal bloom dynamics and microbial communities in the Three Gorges Reservoir","authors":"Muhammad Waqas Yonas,&nbsp;Amechi S. Nwankwegu,&nbsp;Yemei Kong,&nbsp;Oluwafemi A. Adeyeye,&nbsp;Zenghui Song,&nbsp;Xuexing Yao,&nbsp;Guoxin Bai,&nbsp;Guanglang Yang,&nbsp;Abdelrahman M. Hassan,&nbsp;Jingsong Guo,&nbsp;Shuai Wang,&nbsp;Lei Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01351-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01351-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Sediment-targeted interventions may affect algal blooms by altering nutrient availability associated with microbial communities. We tested this hypothesis using an in situ mesocosm experiment in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, with an experiment composed of unaltered control, sterilized sediment, and calcium (Ca²⁺) enrichment at 100 mg L⁻¹ and 300 mg L⁻¹, respectively. Phytoplankton were examined microscopically, and bacterial and microeukaryotic communities were characterized by 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Phytoplankton composition shifted from early Cryptophyta dominance toward persistent dominance by the dinoflagellate <i>Ceratium hirundinella</i>. Ca²⁺ enrichment increased TN:TP ratios, consistent with reduced phosphorus availability and increased bacterial richness, while favoring decomposer-associated taxa. Sediment sterilization reduced microbial diversity and promoted opportunistic bacterial and fungal taxa. These results indicate that sediment modification can redirect, rather than suppress, bloom development through concurrent changes in nutrient availability and algal–microbial community structure. Bloom management strategies should therefore account for indirect microbial feedbacks and the potential replacement of one dominant community by another.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148928110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short-term effects on water quality from fish stockings with planktivorous, omnivorous, and benthivorous fish species within the Black Sea coast shallow lakes","authors":"Dimitar Doychev","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01355-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01355-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fish stocking is identified as the main pressure on Eastern Continental lakes, with well-documented negative effects. However, I hypothesize that stocking planktivorous, omnivorous, and benthivorous fish species could have short-term positive impacts on water quality, thus enhancing opportunities to achieve good ecological status. The effects on more than 25 water quality parameters in two water bodies of a common lake type were studied between 2020 and 2023. Stocking began after a year, allowing for analysis of water quality immediately after an increase in fish biomass and a comparison of key variables 1 year before stocking and during the 20 months of continuous increase in fish biomass to identify persistent changes. In both areas of Dourankoulak Lake, the color decreased as the number of fish increased, reducing brownification and making the ecosystem less vulnerable to climate change and heat waves. Furthermore, the turbidity in the main water mirror of Dourankoulak Lake decreased by 37%, supporting better macrophyte conditions. In the Shabla–Ezerets lake complex, total suspended solids decreased by 27.5% after stocking, which could lead to improved phytoplankton conditions due to its eventual reduced quantity, while nitrite levels increased, creating worsening nutrient conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148837885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecology of the copepods in Ganges estuary of India","authors":"Sourav Paul","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01353-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01353-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Estuarine plankton studies on often consider the estuary a single continuous habitat. The author hypothesized that a statistical analysis which captures ecological variabilities within a specific stretch of the estuary is more likely to yield statistically significant associations (both spatial and temporal) between copepods and physicochemical gradients than the same  analysis targeted to analyze data when an estuary is considered as a single continuous habitat. Copepod assemblages and water were sampled monthly from November 2021 to October 2023 from the three contrasting stretches of the Ganges estuary, each having distinct physicochemical gradients and ecological communities. Copepod diversity was the highest near the estuary mouth, followed by mesohaline and oligohaline stretches.   Results suggested Ganges is a Phosphate limited estuary which has significant seasonal variations of Nitrate. Copepod abundance peaked in postmonsoon, but seasonal variability of total abundance was not significant. <i>Bestiolina similis</i> was the most abundant; however, in certain stretches and seasons, <i>Acartiella tortaniformis</i> and <i>Paracalanus aculeatus</i> were the most abundant species. Multivariate analysis could establish the relations between physicochemical gradients and species distribution only to a limited extent. Many temporal associations between copepod abundance,diversity indices with physicochemical gradients could only be established within certain stretches of the estuary but not when the estuary was taken as a single continuous habitat. Suggesting existence of microhabitats within the estuary, which may limit realised niches of certain copepod species. Under a resource limited condition, author recommends monitoring of the transitional zones of Ganges estuary during seasonal change and after any stochastic perturbation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Co-occurring Spirogyra sp. and enrofloxacin stressors interact to alter macrophyte interactions: evidence from a freshwater mesocosm experiment","authors":"Yuqing Tian,&nbsp;Cheng Lin,&nbsp;Xu Zhang,&nbsp;Hui Yang,&nbsp;Hongzhi Mao,&nbsp;Heyin Wang,&nbsp;Jiali Chen,&nbsp;Donghai Zhang,&nbsp;Jiangtao Hu,&nbsp;Xusheng Gong,&nbsp;Junyan Wu,&nbsp;Yuying Li,&nbsp;Zhongqiang Li","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01354-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01354-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In freshwater ecosystems, biotic and abiotic factors interactively affect macrophyte communities. Although numerous studies have examined the combined effects of multiple biotic and abiotic stressors in aquatic ecosystems, how algal competition and antibiotic pollution jointly influence the growth, physiological responses, and competitive interactions of submerged macrophytes remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed a mesocosm experiment to examine how biotic (the algae <i>Spirogyra</i> sp.) and abiotic (the antibiotic enrofloxacin) stressors jointly affect growth, physiology, and interspecific interactions of <i>Hydrilla verticillata</i> and <i>Vallisneria natans</i>. The results showed that <i>Spirogyra</i> alone differentially affected the growth of the two macrophytes and induced species-specific physiological responses. Enrofloxacin induced species-specific changes in growth and physiological traits of the two submerged macrophytes, while combined exposure resulted in antagonistic, additive, and synergistic interactions, with antagonistic responses predominating across most measured traits. Furthermore, our study indicated that biotic and abiotic factors, as well as their combined stressors, shaped the competitive responses of aquatic plants through different mechanisms and pathways. Macrophytes displayed species-specific responses to individual and combined stressors, reflecting differences in ecological strategies and physiological regulation. These findings provide experimental insights into how co-occurring biological and chemical stressors influence macrophyte performance and interspecific interactions under elevated exposure conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spawning habitat selection and behavioural repeatability of stocked Walleye (Sander vitreus) in Hamilton Harbour","authors":"Paul A. Bzonek,&nbsp;Melanie V. Croft-White,&nbsp;David T. Reddick,&nbsp;Nicole A. Turner,&nbsp;M. Cole MacLeod,&nbsp;Steven J. Cooke,&nbsp;Jill L. Brooks,&nbsp;Caleb T. Hasler,&nbsp;Jonathan D. Midwood","doi":"10.1007/s00027-026-01344-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00027-026-01344-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Efforts to re‑establish a self‑sustaining Walleye (<i>Sander vitreus</i>) population in Hamilton Harbour have occurred against a backdrop of extensive habitat degradation and uncertain spawning behaviour. We paired shoreline habitat surveys (2021) with electrofishing spawning surveys (2022–2024) and acoustic telemetry data (2016–2023) to describe the habitat associations and repeatability of spawning behaviour for stocked Walleye within Hamilton Harbour, a degraded embayment of Lake Ontario. Random forest models revealed that spawning occurrence in electro-fished Walleye was most strongly associated with gentle shoreline slopes, high substrate diversity, and the presence of cobble substrates. For telemetry-tracked individuals, presumed spawning was inferred from detections indicating nocturnal, shallow-water (&lt; 2 m) residency at nearshore stations in April, sustained for ≥20 min and accompanied by multiple sequential detections. Walleye displayed no repeatability in total spawning duration (<i>R</i> = 0.08 ± 0.11), marginal repeatability in station-level specialization (degree of spawning focused on a preferred receiver; <i>R</i> = 0.29 ± 0.16), and significant repeatability in station count (number of receivers where presumed spawning occurred; <i>R</i> = 0.41 ± 0.12), station ratio (proportion of encountered receivers used for spawning; <i>R</i> = 0.32 ± 0.11), and spawning depth (average depth during spawning; <i>R</i> = 0.47 ± 0.15). Fish generally concentrated spawning activity at a small subset of nearshore receivers, demonstrating local site fidelity within the embayment across years. Together, these results identify the habitat features selected by stocked Walleye and show that individuals express consistent spatial spawning strategies, which may influence how they encounter and use restored habitat. These findings inform ongoing efforts to support natural Walleye recruitment in Hamilton Harbour.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55489,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Sciences","volume":"88 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148751757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}