The Influence of Habitat Characteristics on the Longitudinal Distribution of Brook, Brown, and Rainbow Trout in a Small Midwestern Stream

Abstract

Previous research describing the distribution of sympatric native and non-native trout have centered on mountain stream habitats where gradient and elevation are more pronounced. To determine if this pattern is similar in other stream habitats, we described the distribution of sympatric brook (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown (Salmo 3, and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a low gradient, low elevation, spring-fed Minnesota stream, and used canonical correspondence analysis to evaluate the relationship between trout distribution and physical habitat variables. Brook, brown, and rainbow trout exhibited a longitudinal gradient in Valley Creek, Minnesota, similar to other trout distribution studies in mountain streams. Temperature and gradient were not strongly correlated with trout abundance in Valley Creek, however elevation explained a substantial amount of variation. Our analysis suggests that brook and rainbow trout were utilizing habitat with similar physical characteristics, but were separated by elevation. Brown trout were correIated with different habitat characteristics than brook and rainbow trout. Although habitat variables explain a substantial amount of variation in the densities of syrnpatric species of trout, they do not provide an explanation into the causal relationships for the redistribution of native trout.

Evaluating the Trade‐Offs between Invasion and Isolation for Native Brook Trout and Nonnative Brown Trout in Pennsylvania Streams

“…Many previous studies have noted a longitudinal pattern of zonation, with Brook Trout being concentrated in headwater reaches and Brown Trout dominating downstream (Figure ; Magoulick and Wilzbach ; Weigel and Sorensen ; Korsu et al. ; Ohlund et al.…”

Brown trout and food web interactions in a Minnesota stream

“…The fish community in Valley Creek consisted of introduced and naturally reproducing brown and rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum), native brook trout and slimy sculpin (Weigel & Sorensen, 2001). Brown trout were the predominant trout species over most of the length of the stream (Weigel & Sorensen, 2001), and slimy sculpin were the most numerically abundant fish species (Petrosky & Waters, 1975; Ruetz, Newman & Vondracek, 2002). Density of trout (≥9.0 cm) was estimated to be 0.5–0.6 m −2 (Weigel & Sorensen, 2001), with highest mean trout density estimated at 0.7 m −2 (Waters, 1999).…”

“…Brown trout were the predominant trout species over most of the length of the stream (Weigel & Sorensen, 2001), and slimy sculpin were the most numerically abundant fish species (Petrosky & Waters, 1975; Ruetz, Newman & Vondracek, 2002). Density of trout (≥9.0 cm) was estimated to be 0.5–0.6 m −2 (Weigel & Sorensen, 2001), with highest mean trout density estimated at 0.7 m −2 (Waters, 1999). Juvenile trout are usually found in riffles in Valley Creek, and densities of these young fish are often higher than estimates of mean trout density.…”

Climate change, forests, fire, water, and fish: Building resilient landscapes, streams, and managers

“…An important element that may be facilitating coexistence at higher latitudes is that brown trout tend to be found in larger streams at lower elevations and do not occupy many tributaries used by cutthroat trout for spawning, reducing interactions between brown trout and juvenile cutthroat trout. This downstream-upstream partitioning of stream habitats by brown trout and other salmonids (Weigel and Sorensen 2001) and their absence from small, high-elevation streams in the central Rocky Mountains (Bozek and Hubert 1992;Rahel and Nibbelink 1999) is thought to be related to their poor recruitment at low water temperatures (Jensen and Johnsen 1999;. Because brown trout eggs and fry are also vulnerable to high flows during the latter part of incubation through the early stages of emergence (Lobón-Cerviá and Mortensen 2005), the timing of peak discharge in these environments may also present an obstacle to more-upstream invasions.…”