Stream acidification and mortality of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in response to timber harvest in Catskill Mountain watersheds, New York, USA

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1168-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry P Baldigo ◽  
Peter S Murdoch ◽  
Douglas A Burns
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Stream Acidification ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Mountain Watersheds ◽  
Background Mortality ◽  
A Site

Effects of clear-cut and timber-stand improvement (TSI) harvests on water chemistry and mortality of caged brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were evaluated in a study of three Catskill Mountain streams, 1994–2000. Harvests removed 73% of tree basal area (BA) from a clearcut subbasin, 5% BA from a TSI subbasin, and 14% BA at a site below the confluence of both streams. A fourth nonharvested site served as a control. Water quality and trout mortality were affected only in the clearcut stream. Acidity and concentrations of nitrate and inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim) increased sharply during high flows after the first growing season (fall 1997). Acid–Alim episodes were severe during this period and decreased steadily in magnitude and duration thereafter. All trout at this site died within 7 days during spring 1998 and 85% died during spring 1999. Only background mortality was observed in other years at this site and at the other three sites during all tests. The absence of mortality in TSI watersheds indicates that limited harvests should not harm brook trout populations in acid-sensitive streams. Effects of tree harvests on fish communities are of concern, however, because many stream-dwelling species are more sensitive to acidified waters than brook trout.

Performance of Indigenous, Exotic, and Hybrid Strains of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Waters of the Adirondack Mountains, New York

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1701-1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight A. Webster ◽  
William A. Flick
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Hybrid Vigor ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Adirondack Mountains ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Wild Trout

Eleven year-classes of wild, domestic, and wild × domestic hybrid strains of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were stocked in a 0.19-ha Adirondack pond. Comparative survival and growth were assessed upon drainage in early fall. Rearing native wild strains to maturity in a hatchery, or domestic strains in a natural environment, did not consistently or materially affect survival of progeny, suggesting that superior performance of wild strains was largely inherent. Interstrain hybrids of wild × domestic showed survivals equivalent to the wild parents, but hybrids of two Canadian strains gave evidence of heterosis in both survival and net yield. Supplementary observations in other waters also indicated that one strain (Assinica) may be less adaptable to Adirondack conditions than the other (Temiscamie).Key words: brook trout, wild trout, domesticated trout, interstrain hybrid trout, survival, growth, heterosis, hybrid vigor

Production of Wild, Domestic, and Interstrain Hybrids of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Natural Ponds

1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1525-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Flick ◽  
Dwight A. Webster
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
James Bay ◽  
Natural Lakes ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Adirondack Mountain

Hatchery-reared wild and domestic strains of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were released in natural lakes, and survival and growth estimated at semiannual intervals throughout the life span. Angling was restricted. Four experiments with two year-classes involved three different Adirondack Mountain (New York) wild strains and two domestic strains, a fifth experiment included two wild strains from James Bay, Quebec and a hybrid between one of these (Assinica Lake) and a New York domestic strain. Wild and hybrid strains consistently exhibited greater longevity (5–7 yr) compared with domestic (few recovered after 3 yr). Climax sizes were not much different, except the Domestic × Assinica hybrid that was substantially larger than either of the two parents. Gross production and yield to angling of any given strain cohort was correlated (r = 0.93) and life-span gross production was 50% greater for wild and hybrid groups per unit fish stocked. Biomass stocked per recruit was much larger for domestic strains, and taking this into account, the ratio of gross production to weight stocked was about 6 times greater. Increased costs of rearing nondomesticated strains, if any, must be taken into consideration in an economic evaluation, but use of wild and/or hybrid strains of trout offers significant benefits under management conditions of these experiments.

Response of Limnetic Insect Populations of Two Acidic, Fishless Lakes to Liming and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Evans
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Rapid Reduction ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Fishless Lakes ◽  
Lower Sign ◽  
Insect Populations ◽  
Seasonal Population

Seasonal population density estimates of limnetic insects in two Adirondack (New York) lakes were obtained from horizontal and vertical net tows and benthic sweep net samples over a 3-yr period; 1 yr while the lakes were acidic and fishless, and 2 yr following addition of (calcium carbonate) CaCO3 and the introduction of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Before treatment, the limnetic insect assemblages in the study lakes resembled those reported from acidic and/or fishless lakes in Sweden and Canada. Maximum densities of dominant taxa were: Notonectidae; 1.5∙m−3; Corixidae; 1.1∙m−3, Graphoderus (Dytiscidae) larvae; 0.27∙m−3; and Chaoborus americanus; 400∙m−3. Within 3 mo after treatment, all limnetic populations were near or below the detection limit (0.01∙m−3). Limnetic densities of notonectids, corixids, and C. americanus were significantly lower (Mann–Whitney U-tests), and benthic densities of Hemiptera and Coleoptera tended to be lower (sign tests) the summer after treatment than the previous summer. Calculated trout predation levels on Hemiptera and C. americanus, and evidence from the literature, strongly suggest that predation was the major cause of reduced limnetic insect populations. The rapid reduction or elimination of these populations indicates considerable instability of the predator–prey relationships of acidic lakes which have been recently limed and stocked with fish.

Effects of Neutralization and Addition of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) on the Limnetic Zooplankton Communities of Two Acidic

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Schaffner
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Cyclopoid Copepod ◽  
Population Responses ◽  
Woods Lake ◽  
Daphnia Catawba ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Zooplankton Communities ◽  
Positive Effect

The zooplankton communities in two acidified lakes in the Adirondack region of New York changed considerably following liming and the reintroduction of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Most rotifer taxa were greatly reduced in numbers within a week following base addition. Keratella taurocephala declined by orders of magnitude in both lakes. Rotifer species that replaced K. taurocephala were far less abundant. The crustacean communities were also affected by liming. Diaptomus minutus, the dominant in both lakes, declined following base addition. Longer-term population responses appeared to be related to the dynamics of the individual populations, and changes in predation pressure. Four additional crustacean species became prominent in the lakes after liming: the caldocerans Bosmina longirostris and Daphnia catawba in Cranberry Pond, and D. catawba and the cyclopoid copepod Cyclops scutifer in Woods Lake. Over the longer-term liming and the introduction of brook trout tended to have an overall positive effect on the zooplankton communities in the two lakes.

scholarly journals Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) throughout western New York State

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
pp. 7455-7479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Dowell Beer ◽  
Scott Cornett ◽  
Peter Austerman ◽  
Betsy Trometer ◽  
Thomas Hoffman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
New York State ◽  
York State

A topographic index approach for identifying groundwater habitat of young-of-year brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the land–lake ecotone

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Borwick ◽  
Jim Buttle ◽  
Mark S Ridgway
Keyword(s):  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Unit Length ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Lake Surface ◽  
Topographic Index ◽  
Groundwater Seepage ◽  
Index Approach ◽  
A Site ◽  
Provincial Park

We used a topographic index (TI) approach to link the presence of young-of-year (YOY) brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) at groundwater seepage and stream sites in the land–lake ecotone with subwatershed topography surrounding a set of 21 lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. A lakeshore site's TI value was positively related to the temperature difference between the substrate and lake surface, indicating higher TI values were associated with greater groundwater input. YOY brook trout tended to occupy lakeshore sites with relatively large TI values. Groundwater habitat available to YOY brook trout was relatively rare, with only a few sites used consistently on an annual basis. Larger lakes had fewer groundwater habitat sites per unit length of shoreline than smaller lakes. Logistic regression analysis and model selection (via Akaike's Information Criterion) indicated the odds of finding YOY brook trout increased significantly when a site was a stream and, in the summer, when there was a large difference in temperature between lake substrate and lake surface. Most of the stream sites used by brook trout were not on the Ontario base map system but were revealed by the TI approach.

Effect of stream acidification and inorganic aluminum on mortality of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the Catskill Mountains, New York

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
B P Baldigo ◽  
P S Murdoch
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Chloride Concentration ◽  
Fish Mortality ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Specific Chemical

Juvenile brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed in cages to fluctuating chemical conditions in four Catskill Mountain streams during the spring and fall of 1989 and the spring of 1990. Specific chemical constituents and characteristics of acidic episodes that correlated with increased fish mortality were identified. Mortality increased during acidic episodes in one poorly buffered stream when inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim) concentrations increased; mortality was low in three other streams during acidic episodes of shorter duration and smaller magnitude than measured in the poorly buffered stream. Variation in mortality was attributed primarily to differences in concentrations of both Alim and dissolved organic carbon. Linear and logistic regression analyses indicate that either mean or median Alim concentrations could account for 73-99% of the variability in mortality. Regression analyses suggest that mortality was highly related (in order of importance) to Alim, pH, dissolved organic carbon, calcium, and chloride concentration. Brook trout mortality was also highly related to durations of exposure above 0.225 and 0.250 mg/L Alim during test periods. Characteristics of acidic-Alim episodes that are critical to mortality of caged brook trout appear to be (i) Alim concentrations of at least 0.225 ± 0.025 mg/L and (ii) exposure to these toxic Alim concentrations for at least 2 days.

Production and Growth Efficiency of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Two Adirondack Mountain (New York) Lakes Following Liming

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl L. Schofield ◽  
Steven P. Gloss ◽  
Barbara Plonski ◽  
Robert Spateholts
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Food Limitation ◽  
Growth Efficiency ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
First Year ◽  
Adirondack Lakes

Yearling and spring fingerling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) stocked in two Adirondack lakes after liming in the spring of 1985 produced 10–14 kg∙ha−1yr−1 at average standing crops of 8–10 kg∙ha−1 during the first year after stocking. These values were similar to levels observed in other limed and circumneutral Adirondack lakes, which collectively support a limited range of biomass (10–20 kg∙ha−1) and production (7–16 kg∙ha−1) compared with more fertile waters in other regions. The estimated level of food consumption required to maintain initial production rates observed in the two limed lakes was 80–100 kg∙ha−1. This level of predation was sufficient to significantly alter the size structure and composition of the invertebrate prey community within a few months after stocking. However, mean production efficiency in these populations remained at levels of 20–25% and the development of adverse water quality conditions in the first year after liming appeared to be of greater significance than food limitation in regulating production and biomass of these stocked brook trout populations. Reacidification of one lake 5 mo after liming resulted in rapid declines in biomass and production as a result of both increased mortality and reduced growth.

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