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Spatial Variation in Spawning Habitat of Cutthroat Trout in a Sediment

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Spatial Variation in Spawning Habitat of Cutthroat Trout in a Sediment Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 125:768-779. 1996 © Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 1996 Spatial Variatio Spawninn i g Habita f Cutthroato t Troua n ti Sediment-Rich Stream Basin JAMES P. MAGEE' AND THOMAS E. McMAHON2 Biology Department, FishWildlifeand Program Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717,USA RUSSELL E THUROW U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station 316 East Myrtle Street. Boise, Idaho 83702,USA Abstract.—We examined distributio habitad nan t characteristic f spawnino s g site f cutthroaso t trout Oncorhynchus clarki t varioua s spatial scale asseso st s effect f sedimentatioso n withi nlarga e basin in Montana. Redd density varied widely across the basin; nearly all (99%) of the 362 redds observed occurred in two high-elevation headwater tributaries. Redd density at the reach scale s positivelwa y correlate 0.001= 0.72= 2 P ,d(r ) with abundanc f spawnino e g gravels. Other habitat variables, such as gradient, width, depth, embeddedness, bank stability, and percent riffle, were not significantly correlated to redd density. Taylor Fork redds contained some of the highest proportions of fine sediments (<6.35 mm, mean = 41.6%; <0.85 mm, 17.9%) observed in egg pocket salmonif so d Rocke reddth n si y Mountain region. Cache Creek highl,a y disturbed subbasin, d significantlha y greater proportion f fino s e sediments smaller tha reddn i n 0.8m s m 5tha e nth undisturbed Wapiti Creek subbasin. High fine-sediment level vero reddestimaten t w i s d ylo sle d embryo survival (mean, 8.5%) t sedimentatiobu , t appeano limid o t r di n t recruitment r datOu a. suggest that compensatory juvenile survival and high embryo survival in the small proportion of redds with good substrate quality may buffer the effects of the high sediment levels in the basin. Predictin effecte gth f sedimentatioso n resulting 1987). Dominant geological formatione th n i s from lan activitiee dus s beesha researcna h pri- range of cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki in orit r fisheryfo y biologist e pas 0 yearth 6 tr fo s Montana include highly erosive granitic serief o s (Chapman 1988). e researcMuc- th fo f s ho ha h the Idaho Batholith, cobble-producing Belt series, cused on effects of fine sediment on emergence varioud an s fine silt-producing volcani sedd can - succes f salmonio s y (e.g.fr d , Chapman 1988; imentary series (AlHyndmad an t n 1986). Much Young et al. 1991; Weaver and Fraley 1993). In of the research on sediment effects on salmonids their review of sediment studies, Everest et al. Rocke inth y Mountain regio focuses nha gran do - (1987) concluded that studies of population-level nitic soils and sand-sized particles of the Idaho effect needee ar s examino dt sedimentatiow eho n Batholith (Bjorn . 1977al t ne ; Platt. 1989)al t e s . affects fish populations within entire drainage ba- To evaluate the effects of smaller sediment parti- sins. However foune publishe,w w dfe d studies that cles, we sampled streams draining sedimentary ge- have adopted this approach. Exception studiee sar s ology. by Shepar . (1984a)al t e d , Cederhol Reid man d Recent studies indicate that spawning habitat of (1987) Scrivened an , Brownled an r e (1989) that Downloaded by [Montana State University Bozeman] at 11:50 01 July 2013 stream-dwelling salmonids may be more spatially assessed population effect f sedimentatioo s y nb variable across drainag y plae basinma ya d an s combining data on numbers of recruits, relations larger rol determininn ei g pattern f distributioso n between fine sediment d egg-to-fran s y survival, of juveniles and adults than previously thought d amounan f fino t e sediments within redds con- (Bear Carlind dan e 1991; Boze Rahed kan l 1991). tributed by land use activities. To properly characterize such high spatial vari- Geologic characteristic drainaga f so e basi- nex abilit documenhabitad n yi an e tus t populatio- nef strona t er g influenc degren eo f sedimentatioeo n fects of habitat change, sampling designs that em- and sensitivit lano yt d disturbance (Everes. al t e t ploy a hierarchial series of spatial scales ranging froe entirmth e watershe o microhabitatt d e ar s needed (Frissell et al. 1986). 1 Present address: Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, 0 Nort73 h Montana Avenue, Dillon, Montana 59725, The objectives of our study were to (1) char- USA. acterize spawning habitats of cutthroat trout across 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. larga e sediment-rich drainage basin examin) (2 , e 768 CUTTHROAT TROUT SPAWNING HABITAT 769 D5 LEGEND Traps Thermographs Reach Boundaries 2km FIGURE I.—Location f spawninso g reaches (stipple coded dan d areas), weirs thermographd an , Taylon si r Fork basin, Montana. factors influencing redd distribution at different drainage. Headwater sections (above 2,300 m) of Downloaded by [Montana State University Bozeman] at 11:50 01 July 2013 spatial scales (basin, subbasin ) reach)d (3 an , d an , the major third-order tributaries (Cache, Wapiti, evaluate effects of sedimentation on redd substrate and Lightning creeks) meander through alpine compositio estimated nan d emergence successe .W meadows. Midelevation sections (2,100-2,300 m) use the data to address the question, Is fine sedi- have steeper gradients, more constrained valley ment limiting recruitmen e cutthroath f o t t trout floors, and are bordered by coniferous forest. Low- populatio Tayloe th n ni r Fork basin? er sections (below 2,100 m) and the main-stem Taylor Fork drain wide valley floors vegetated by Study Area sagebrush Artemisia spp. and willow Salix spp. Taylor Fork is a fourth-order tributary to the Taylor Fork drains sedimentary soils predomi- upper Gallatin River in southwest Montana (Figure nantly consisting of fine silt (Snyder et al. 1978). 1). The drainage encompasses 161 km2 and con- This material is highly erosive and produces large tains abou strea0 10 t m kilometers. Peak flow- oc s quantities of fine sediment; many of the stream- cur from snowmelt during late May to mid-June. bankbasie th n i s were rated unstabl Snydey eb r Three major elevational land types exist in th . (1978)e al t e . Habitat condition basie th nn si range 770 MAGE. AL T EE TABLE 1.—Genetic statu f Tayloso r Fork cutthroat trout morphology, or the presence of a tributary junction s determinea proteiy db n electrophoresi . Learys(R , Uni- (Frissell et al. 1986). In 1992 we counted redds in versity of Montana, personal communication). eac July1 h o t reac. y h Ma frod ever5 m2 4 y3- Percent genetic compositio: nof We counted a redd only if we observed fish spawn- Westslope Yellowslone ing; cleaned gravel sites reliabl e coulb t dno y iden- cutthroat Rainbow cutthroat tifie s redda d s becaus f theieo r small size, lacf ko Location trout trout trout periphyton hige th hd fine-sedimenan , te loath n di Cache Creek 87 11 2 stream e markeW . d individual redd y placinb s g Upper Wapiti Creek 57 43 numbered stakes on the streambank and mapped Deadhorse Creek 85 10 5 Upper Taylor Fork0 93 2 5 probable egg pocket locations by observing where a fish spawned. Redd densit- ex r reacs pe y wa h Near Lightning Creek. pressed as number of redds/100 m2 of wetted stream area. Thermographs recorded hourly tem- from pristin highlo et y altered. Splash dams were peratur t fivea e location basie th n si (Figure 1). operate late th e n main-stede 1800i th n so m Taylor We also employed weirs in the lower (Little Fork to transport logs downstream (Snyder et al. Wapiti Creek), middle (Deadhorse Creek)- up d an , 1978). Livestock graze allotment uppen si r Cache per (Cache Creek) portions of the basin (Figure 1) and middle Wapiti creeks, and areas of the Cache to assess whed wheran n e spawning occurred. Creek drainage have been recently logged. In the Weirs spanne e streath d m channe d capturean l d Cache Creek subbasin, there is a predominance of upstream and downstream migrants. Weirs were bare, unstable banks and the incised channels and checked twice dail yJul1 fro yo t m 1992y 19Ma . encroachmen sagebrusf to h characteristi heavif co - Fish were weighed, measured for fork length, and ly grazed riparian zones (Snyder et al. 1978). In tagged with a visible implant tag behind the left contrast, upper Wapiti Creek, whic s similahi n i r eye. Species, sex, and spawning condition were size, elevation d geomorphologan , o t uppey r also noted. Cache Creek, has no known history of logging, Spawning habitat.—Habitat features were mea- grazing r roao , d building. sured in 11 of the 17 spawning reaches to evaluate remaininw e basife Th e n th contain f go e on s potential physical factors associated with variation populations of westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki in redd density. We were unable to measure habitat lewisi in the Gallatin River drainage (Liknes 1984). feature e othe th spawninx si n ri s g reachea s a s Other fishes inhabiting the basin include mountain resul f earl o te cover ic y . Sampled reaches repre- whitefish Prosopium williamsoni, mottled sculpin sente fule dth l rang observef eo d habitat conditions Cottus bairdi, nonnative rainbow trout O. mykiss, and redd densities. We measured habitat according brown trout Salmo trutta, d Yellowstonan e cut- to the procedure of Overton et al. (in press), a throat trout O.
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