Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Survival Of Trout Strains As Affected By Limnological Parameters, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Timothy Modde, Chris Luecke, Cheryl Courtney

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. (ca. 80 mm S.L.) stocked into mid-elevation reservoirs in Utah are vulnerable to predation from piscivorous fish and birds. I determined how effectively juvenile trout used cover to avoid these predators by using direct observations (snorkel transects) on habitat selection in two reservoirs. Observations of juvenile trout were conducted within five weeks of stocking in 1988 and 1989. During the day juvenile trout were abundant in complex inshore habitats. Juvenile trout actively fed during the day but the time of peak feeding was variable. Large Daphnia made of > 95% of the diet of juvenile trout. …