In the cold waters of Alaska’s Arctic swims a mysterious fish
with large, silvery scales and a strong tapered body.
With its mouth turned down slightly, the fish is adapted to
feeding on its prey from above. Moving between marine and
freshwater habitats, it covers great distances while using shallow
lakes and flooded marshes to gorge on a diverse array of prey. Broad Whitefish Coregonus nasus, the whitefish species un-
der study here, is widely distributed in Arctic and boreal basins of
North America and Eurasia. These fish are known to travel great
distances between habitat types (e.g., summer foraging, spawn-
ing, and overwintering areas) within a single year, sometimes
traveling hundreds of kilometers.
Jason Leppi, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK; The Wilderness Society, Anchorage, AK. E-mail: jcleppi@alaska.edu
Michael Lunde, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.
Mark Wipfli, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.
Dan Rinella, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, Anchorage, AK.
