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Possible Seasonal Population Bottlenecks In Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Central Appalachian Headwater Streams

ABSTRACT Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the Appalachian Mountains often inhabit low production streams that limit growth. Therefore, we examined seasonal changes in body composition of age-1 and older brook trout to identify critical periods of growth or depletion that may lead to mortality and determined if brook trout in headwater streams reached critical levels of resource depletion over winter. Six streams in the central Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia containing naturally reproducing brook trout were sampled from June 2003 to March 2004 to assess changes in brook trout populations and physiological status. Dry, protein, and fat weights were highest in early summer (June) and decreased through the November/December sampling period. To better understand trout compositional changes over winter, we starved 40 brook trout in experimental tanks simulating winter conditions and estimated body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis. We found low rates of fat and protein loss during simulated winter conditions. This, coupled with field estimates of fat and protein levels in wild fish, suggests that brook trout do not likely starve during winter or other times of the year.