2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/26/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | EVALUATION OF BROOK TROUT DISPERSAL AND SPAWNING ACTIVITY FOLLOWING CULVERT REMOVAL | Virtual Platform

EVALUATION OF BROOK TROUT DISPERSAL AND SPAWNING ACTIVITY FOLLOWING CULVERT REMOVAL

Culvert replacements are a high conservation priority for reducing stream fragmentation, yet post-replacement monitoring of fish populations rarely occurs. To address this shortcoming, we are tracking brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) movements following five culvert replacements that occurred in August 2020 in Bobby Run, Cameron County, Pennsylvania. Movements are being tracked using a mark-recapture approach with PIT and elastomer tags. We are also monitoring movements in a nearby control stream without passage barriers. Three months after initial tagging, we recaptured 27.3% of marked fish (102/373) in Bobby Run and 21.5% (92/427) in the control stream. Overall, 13.7% of fish moved from their original location in Bobby Run and 10.9% in the control. Of the recaptured fish, 8.8% moved upstream past culvert replacement sites in Bobby Run, similar to upstream movement at the control stream (8.7%). These results indicate that trout in Bobby Run rapidly returned to baseline (similar to the control) movement patterns after culvert replacement. Overall, the information generated by our study will improve understanding of the benefits of habitat connectivity, which we anticipate will lead to more concrete justification for future stream restoration efforts.

Monitoring
Connectivity
Vertebrates

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Presenters/Authors

Nicholas Christensen (), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, wtnv@iup.edu;