Movement rules for juvenile steelhead: dynamic linking of movement behaviour to habitat and density

Authored by Daniel B Hayes, Bradley E Thompson

Date Published: 2014

DOI: 10.1111/eff.12111

Sponsors: Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division Great Lakes Fishery Commission U.S. Department of Agriculture

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

We incorporated explanatory factors including stream habitat type and fish density into individual-based models with dynamic connections among adjacent habitat units to infer dispersal behaviour of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in a Great Lakes watershed. We used mark-recapture data and an inverse modelling approach to estimate daily probability of steelhead moving out of a habitat unit, P(move), according to four competing models. The models used included (i) a null model where all fish had equal movement probability; (ii) a habitat-dependent model where P(move) depended on the habitat type; (iii) a density-dependent model of P(move); and (iv) a model where P(move) depended on both density and habitat type. The habitat-dependent model provided the most parsimonious fit to the observed data according to Akaike's information criteria (AICc). In the null model, P(move) averaged 0.70, whereas P(move) averaged 0.75 in pools, 0.68 in riffles and 0.73 in runs in the habitat-dependent model.

Tags

Population-dynamics Large woody debris Brook trout Trout oncorhynchus-clarki Restricted movement Cutthroat trout Stream salmonids Resident stream Chinook salmon Fish behavior