EBTJV

Assessment and predictive model for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population status in the eastern United States: Over the last 200 years, brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) have been subjected to numerous anthropogenic physical, chemical, and biological perturbations that threaten the long term viability of brook trout throughout their historic native range. The historic and current decline in brook trout populations and the threat of further habitat degradation have led to a desire to develop a large scale conservation strategy to protect and rehabilitate brook trout populations and habitat. Understanding both the current distribution of brook trout and the relationships between the brook trout population status and perturbations is essential to developing meaningful conservation strategies and tactics.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications
Distribution, Status, and Land Use Characteristics of Subwatersheds within the Native Range of Brook Trout in the Eastern United States: We examined and summarized existing knowledge regarding the distribution and status of self- sustaining populations of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis at the subwatershed scale cross their native range in the eastern USA. This region represents approximately 25% of the species’ entire native range and 70% of the U.S. portion of the native range. This assessment resulted in an updated and detailed range map of historical and current brook trout distribution in the study area.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications
Guidelines for the Design of Stream Road Crossings for Passage of Aquatic Organisms in Vermont: Stream Crossing Guidelines for Vermont
Located in Science and Data / Aquatic Organism Passage I&A and state design guidelines / State Sream Crossing Guidelines
Individual behaviour and resource use of thermally stressed brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis portend the conservation potential of thermal refugia: Individual aggression and thermal refuge use were monitored in brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis in a controlled laboratory to determine how fish size and personality influence time spent in forage and thermal habitat patches during periods of thermal stress. On average, larger and more exploratory fish initiated more aggressive interactions and across all fish there was decreased aggression at warmer temperatures. Individual personality did not explain changes in aggression or habitat use with increased temperature; however, larger individuals initiated comparatively fewer aggressive interactions at warmer temperatures. Occupancy of forage patches generally declined as ambient stream temperatures approached critical maximum and fish increased thermal refuge use, with a steeper decline in forage patch occupancy observed in larger fish. These findings suggest that larger individuals may be more vulnerable to stream temperature rise. Importantly, even at thermally stressful temperatures, all fish periodically left the thermal refuge to forage. This indicates that the success of refugia at increasing population survival during periods of stream temperature rise may depend on the location of thermal refugia relative to forage locations within the larger habitat mosaic. These results provide insights into the potential for thermal refugia to improve population survival and can be used to inform predictions of population vulnerability to climate change.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications
Metabolic rates of embryos and alevin from a cold-adapted salmonid differ with temperature, population and family of origin: implications for coping with climate change: Early developmental stages of cold-adapted ectotherms such as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are at higher risk of mortality with increasing water temperatures. To determine the amount of variation present in early life, which may allow for potential adaptation to increasing temperature, we examined the routine metabolic rates (RMR) of wild-origin brook trout embryos and alevins reared at normal (5°C) and elevated (9°C) temperatures. The experiment was structured to examine variation in RMR within and among several levels of biological organization (family, population and ancestral type (native vs. mixed ancestry)). As expected, family and temperature variables were most important for predicting RMR and body mass, although population-level differences also existed when family was excluded for more detailed analysis. Additionally, body mass strongly influenced RMR at all life stages except for eyed embryos. When family identity was removed from the analysis, population became the most significant variable. Variation in RMR and mass within and among populations may indicate existing adaptive potential within and among brook trout populations to respond to predicted warming under climate change scenarios.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications
Seasonal streamflow extremes are key drivers of Brook Trout young-of-the-year abundance: Based on counts of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) collected over 28 yr at 115 sites in Shenandoah National Park, we developed mixed-effects models to (1) assess how well extreme streamflow, as compared to mean flows and total precipitation, can explain young-of-the-year (YOY) abundance, (2) identify potential nonlinear relationships between seasonal environmental covariates and abundance using nonlinear generalized additive mixed models, and (3) explore likely impacts of expected future weather and streamflow conditions.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications
When are Genetic Methods Useful for Estimating Contemporary Abundance and Detecting Population Trends - Tallmon et al. 2010: This study assessed the ability of a linkage disequilibrium estimator of effective population size and a simple capture-recapture estimator of abundance to quantify the size and trend of stable or declining populations, using simulated Wright-Fisher populations.
Located in Science and Data / Brook Trout Related Publications / Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Management Strategy-References

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