Hierarchical analysis of relationships between brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) density and stream habitat features

We used hierarchical linear regression to examine relationships between brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) density and habitat features nested at three levels: sections within reaches, reaches within streams, and streams within a basin. Brook trout density and environmental variables were quantified at 600 stream sections distributed among 120 reaches and 22 streams in the Cascapedia River basin, Quebec, Canada. Decomposition of variance showed that variation in density among streams was small relative to that among sections or reaches and not statistically significant. Density was influenced by habitat variables at both the section (current velocity, woody debris, cover) and reach (subbasin area, height increment at flood, valley width) levels. A cross-level interaction between current velocity and subbasin area pointed to a "contextual" effect: density showed stronger decline with current velocity in larger subbasins than in smaller subbasins. This result suggests that there was no single "best scale" for examining fish–environment relationships. Accounting for contextual effects by use of hierarchical models can enhance our understanding of how habitat features influence fish densities at multiple spatial scales.

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Long-Term Effects of Large Woody Debris Addition on Stream Habitat and Brook Trout Populations

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management ◽

10.3996/012010-jfwm-002 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 146-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John A. Sweka ◽

Kyle J. Hartman ◽

Jonathan M. Niles

Keyword(s):

Brook Trout ◽

Habitat Complexity ◽

Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Large Woody Debris ◽

Stream Habitat ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Habitat Manipulation ◽

Central Appalachians

Abstract In this study, we resurveyed stream habitat and sampled brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis populations 6 y after large woody debris additions to determine long-term changes in habitat and brook trout populations. In a previous study, we added large woody debris to eight streams in the central Appalachians of West Virginia to determine whether stream habitat could be enhanced and brook trout populations increased following habitat manipulation. The large woody debris additions had no overall effect on stream habitat and brook trout populations by 6 y after the additions. The assumption that a lack of large woody debris is limiting stream habitat and brook trout populations was not supported by our results. In high-gradient streams, habitat complexity may be governed more by the abundance of boulders and large woody debris may have a lesser influence on trout populations.

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Ontogenetic and diel variation in stream habitat use by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in a headwater stream

Journal of Freshwater Ecology ◽

10.1080/02705060.2011.553948 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 143-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

James H. Johnson ◽

Robert M. Ross ◽

David S. Dropkin ◽

Lori A. Redell

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Brook Trout ◽

Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽

Headwater Stream ◽

Stream Habitat ◽

Diel Variation

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Phenotypic Variation in Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill) at Broad Spatial Scales Makes Morphology an Insufficient Basis for Taxonomic Reclassification of the Species

Ichthyology & Herpetology ◽

10.1643/i2020154 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 109 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Shannon L. White ◽

David C. Kazyak ◽

Richard C. Harrington ◽

Matt A. Kulp ◽

Jacob M. Rash ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Variation ◽

Brook Trout ◽

Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽

Spatial Scales

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Effects of Large Woody Debris Addition on Stream Habitat and Brook Trout Populations in Appalachian Streams

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/s10750-005-9117-8 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 559 (1) ◽

pp. 363-378 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

John A. Sweka ◽

Kyle J. Hartman

Keyword(s):

Brook Trout ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Large Woody Debris ◽

Stream Habitat ◽

Appalachian Streams

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Effect of food availability and habitat on the distribution of platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) foraging activity

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo00089 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 263 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

M. Serena ◽

M. Worley ◽

M. Swinnerton ◽

G. A. Williams

Keyword(s):

Woody Debris ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Foraging Activity ◽

Habitat Amount ◽

Habitat Features ◽

Ornithorhynchus Anatinus ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Wide Range ◽

Effect Of Food ◽

Habitat Variables

While the diet of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is known to include a wide range of benthic macro-invertebrates, little is known about how the animals distribute their feeding behaviour along a waterway. This radio-tracking study aimed to determine whether the spatial distribution of platypus foraging activity varied in relation to habitat attributes and/or the amount of food present along a southern Victorian stream. Five O. anatinus were tracked nocturnally for a total of nearly 95 h in March and April 2000. Attributes of the channel and bank were described both in the area used by the animals and adjoining unused sections of stream, and macro-invertebrates were sampled quantitatively in six substrates that varied in abundance in the used and unused areas. Eleven habitat variables showed a significant positive relationship with the occurrence of platypus activity (including the number of medium and large Eucalyptus, Acacia and Populus trees growing along the bank; presence of gravel, pebbles, cobbles, large rocks and coarse particulate organic matter in the channel substrate; amount of riffle habitat; amount of large woody debris in the channel; and amount of undercut banks). Six habitat variables showed a significant negative relationship with platypus activity (including the number of medium and large Salix trees growing along the bank; the presence of silt, solid clay and Salix roots in the channel substrate; the amount of pool habitat; and the maximum channel depth). Substrates that were relatively abundant in the area used by O. anatinus (gravel/pebbles, Eucalyptus litter, Populus litter) did not consistently support more macro-invertebrates than substrates that dominated the unused area (silt, Salix roots, Salix litter). This may reflect the fact that the platypus population was not food-limited (and hence not under pressure to optimise foraging) at the time of the study, that platypus feeding patterns were influenced by habitat features that were not considered in relation to invertebrate abundance, or that the choice of foraging areas by O. anatinus may be influenced by factors other than the total abundance of food items, e.g. the nutritional quality and/or accessibility of prey.

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Assessing the effects of fish density, habitat complexity, and current velocity on interference competition between bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in an artificial stream

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2013-0044 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (9) ◽

pp. 619-625 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Will G. Warnock ◽

Joseph B. Rasmussen

Keyword(s):

Current Velocity ◽

Brook Trout ◽

Habitat Complexity ◽

Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽

Interference Competition ◽

Foraging Strategies ◽

Fish Density ◽

Stream Velocity ◽

Bull Trout ◽

Salvelinus Confluentus

In this experiment, competition was observed among native bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus (Suckley, 1859)) and non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill, 1814)) in artificial streams. In intraspecific competitions, brook trout engaged in territorial interference foraging strategies, and their foraging success was correlated with occupancy of the lead position in the stream. No correlation was apparent for bull trout, most of which engaged in nonterritorial scramble foraging tactics. In interspecific competitions, four stream environments were constructed in which fish density, habitat complexity, and current velocity were altered. Bull trout outcompeted brook trout for food in simple pool habitat devoid of cover when competition was head-to-head (density = 3 fish·m−2) between the species. When competitor number was doubled in this habitat, the two became equal competitors. At this higher density, bull trout again outcompeted brook trout for food when the habitat was changed to a complex riffle with substrate cover. Brook trout were more aggressive towards bull trout than vice versa, and interspecific aggression was decreased by low density, cover, and high stream velocity. Territorial brook trout aggressively interfere with their competitor for access to resources, but the success and intensity of this tactic against bull trout may be mitigated by environmental factors.

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Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) response to wood removal from high-gradient streams of the Adirondack Mountains (N.Y., U.S.A.)

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f03-031 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 60 (4) ◽

pp. 379-389 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Dana R Warren ◽

Clifford E Kraft

Keyword(s):

Brook Trout ◽

Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Second Order ◽

Adirondack Mountains ◽

Stream Order ◽

Third Order ◽

Order Stream ◽

First Order ◽

Linear Contrasts

A beforeafter, controlimpact study was conducted to evaluate brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) response to the removal of debris dams and woody debris from an ice-storm-impacted stream system in the eastern Adirondack Mountains in New York State. A total of 10 reach pairs were established on two first-order streams, two second-order streams, and one third-order stream, all within the same watershed. Analyses, conducted separately for each stream order, used linear contrasts to compare differences in trout abundance between reference (upstream) and removal (downstream) reaches 1 month and 1 year after the manipulation. We expected trout abundance to decrease in removal reaches relative to reference reaches; however, responses varied temporally and with respect to stream order. Trout abundance had not changed significantly 1 month after removal. One year after removal, relative trout abundance had increased in the third-order stream, decreased in the second-order streams, and exhibited no significant change in the first-order streams. In areas with abundant boulders and preexisting habitat complexity, accumulated woody debris may have limited influence on trout abundance.

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Segregation of resident trout in streams as predicted by three habitat dimensions

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z92-126 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 70 (5) ◽

pp. 886-890 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Michael A. Bozek ◽

Wayne A. Hubert

Keyword(s):

Rainbow Trout ◽

Brown Trout ◽

Rocky Mountains ◽

Brook Trout ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Cutthroat Trout ◽

Individual Species ◽

Habitat Features ◽

Central Rocky Mountains ◽

Habitat Variables

We assessed the relation of three measures of habitat to the distribution of four species of Salmonidae, cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), in streams of the central Rocky Mountains. We examined whether single measures of three habitat dimensions (climate, stream energy, and stream size) could account for current distribution patterns of four resident trout species in Wyoming. The three habitat dimensions were represented by three habitat variables: elevation, channel gradient, and wetted stream width. Considerable overlap in the ranges of elevation, gradient, and wetted width was observed among reaches where the four species were found, but differences in the mean values of these habitat features were observed among species. Using discriminant analysis, we categorized the presence and absence of individual species in stream reaches by the three habitat variables. We successfully predicted the presence of brook trout (87%), cutthroat trout (59%), brown trout (50%), and rainbow trout (39%) in streams, but the absence of each species was predicted more successfully (rainbow trout (94%), brown trout (94%), cutthroat trout (90%), and brook trout (57%)). The three habitat features were useful in describing the segregation of trout species in streams of the central Rocky Mountains.

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