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Summer Habitat Use by Young Salmonids and Their Responses to Cover and Predators in a Small Southeast Alaska Stream
Author(s) -
Bugert R. M.,
Bjornn T. C.,
Meehan W. R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1991)120<0474:shubys>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - predation , habitat , riparian zone , water column , fishery , oncorhynchus , salvelinus , environmental science , streams , ecology , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , trout , computer network , computer science
We observed young coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch , steelhead O. mykiss , and Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma in a second‐order stream on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, to assess differences between species in habitat use and response to cover and predators. Habitat use by subyearlings of the three species differed primarily in depth of water and position in the water column. Coho salmon selected the relatively deep areas of the small stream; steelhead were more evenly spread across the bottom, regardless of depth; and Dolly Varden were close to the bottom in water less than 20 cm deep. All three species selected lower positions in the water column in pools without cover than in pools with riparian or instream cover. We detected no shift in habitat use in response to fish predators.