Estimation of salmonid habitat growth potential through measurements of invertebrate food abundance and temperature
Authored by Nicholas Weber, Nicolaas Bouwes, Chris E Jordan
Date Published: 2014
DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2013-0390
Sponsors:
United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Criteria used to characterize lotic salmonid habitat suitability are
often based on correlations between physical habitat characteristics and
salmonid abundance. Focusing on physical habitat features ignores other
habitat components, such as an adequate food supply, that limit the
amount of energy available for growth and survival. We tested the degree
that food availability and temperature influence lotic salmonid
consumption and growth rates and outline an approach for assessing
habitat quality based on measurements of these features. We collected
benthic and drifting invertebrate abundances, stream temperatures, and
juvenile steelhead - rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss gairdneri)
summer growth rates among nine stream segments in central Oregon. Stream
temperatures and growth rates were used in bioenergetics model
simulations to estimate O. mykiss consumption rates. The variation in O.
mykiss consumption rates was explained by measurements of total drift
biomass along a type II predator response curve (R-2 = 0.71). This
simplified foraging relationship between food abundance and consumption
is then used to estimate the consumption component of the bioenergetics
model to allow estimation of salmonid growth potential. Validation of
the growth potential model produced reasonably accurate estimates of
fish growth rates at reaches within the study area and precise but
biased estimates in novel systems. While additional reach-level habitat
information may be required to make the model more generalizable, the
assessment of invertebrate food availability offers a simple yet
powerful approach for describing the growth potential of stream habitat.
Tags
Individual-based model
Brown trout
Cutthroat trout
Stream salmonids
Trout oncorhynchus-mykiss
Drift-feeding salmonids
Juvenile
rainbow-trout
Coho salmon
Terrestrial invertebrates
Territory
size