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Relations between On‐Site and Aerial Measurements of Streamside Features and Cover for Trout in Alluvial Valley Streams in Wyoming
Author(s) -
Covington J. Scott,
Hubert Wayne A.
Publication year - 2000
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(2000)020<0627:rbosaa>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - streams , riparian zone , trout , salmo , brown trout , hydrology (agriculture) , habitat , alluvium , environmental science , aerial survey , vegetation (pathology) , land cover , vegetation cover , tamarix , fishery , ecology , geography , geology , land use , fish <actinopterygii> , geomorphology , biology , remote sensing , medicine , computer network , geotechnical engineering , pathology , computer science
We assessed relations between measurements of streamside features on site and from aerial photographs for determining the amount of cover available to brown trout Salmo trutta and other salmonids Oncorhynchus spp. in alluvial valley streams in Wyoming. We found that a riparian vegetation index (RVI) measured from aerial photographs accounted for much of the variation in cover among 36 study reaches. When the RVI model was tested with independent data collected on site from 16 stream reaches, cover estimates were highly correlated. Fisheries managers may be able to reduce field work and alleviate problems with land access and budget constraints by using aerial photographs to assess habitat conditions for trout in streams.