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Population, Habitat, and Genetic Characteristics of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout in Wilderness and Nonwilderness Stream Sections in the Uinta Mountains of Utah and Wyoming
Author(s) -
Kershner Jeffrey L.,
Bischoff Catherine M.,
Horan Dona L.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1997)017<1134:phagco>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - trout , wilderness , streams , habitat , range (aeronautics) , wilderness area , ecology , oncorhynchus , environmental science , stocking , electrofishing , fishery , geography , hydrology (agriculture) , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , geology , computer network , materials science , geotechnical engineering , computer science , composite material
Colorado River cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus , once common in the upper Green River and Colorado River watersheds, are currently limited to less than 1% of their former range and exist in isolated subdrainages in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, We compared stream populations, habitat, and genetic features of Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT) in wilderness and nonwilderness areas of the Uinta mountains, Utah–Wyoming. Densities of adult CRCT were significantly higher in wilderness reaches than in nonwilderness reaches, while densities ofjuvenile fish showed no difference. Lengths and weights ofjuvenile and adult CRCT were significantly higher in wilderness reaches than in the nonwilderness reaches. Adult habitat quality, as measured by the percent pool habitat, percent undercut bank, mean particle size, and mean stream depth, was significantly higher in wilderness reaches, Large woody debris and the hydraulic retention of the stream were positively related to juvenile abundance and were both higher in nonwilderness reaches, Hybridization indices were considered low in all streams on the north slope of the Uinta mountains, The highest numbers of hybrids between rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and cutthroat trout were found in streams that were most recently exposed to stocking, Streams within a designated wilderness in the Uinta mountains represent some of the highest quality habitat for CRCT and exhibit minimal anthropogenic fragmentation. Wilderness areas may represent some of the last, best opportunities for managing this subspecies within relatively large, intact blocks of habitat.