NOTES Are There Differences in Growth and Condition between Mobile and Resident Cutthroat Trout?

• Main Authors: Robert H. Hilderbrand, Jeffrey L. Kershner
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beaver Creek
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.513.4620; http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/files/norock/products/04hilderbrandmobilesedentary.pdf

Abstract.—There is evidence that actively moving sal-monids are of lower condition than the general popu-lation, and they are sometimes regarded as inferior to resident fish. However, little information exists on the permanence of this attribute. We used mark–recapture and two-way traps to determine whether there are dif-ferences in the condition and growth of mobile and res-ident Bonneville cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki utah in Beaver Creek, Idaho. Actively moving fish were significantly larger than the general population, and the largest of these mobile fish were in significantly lower condition for a given size. However, mobile fish that were marked and recaptured a year later had regained condition equivalent to that of the general population upon their recapture, and the largest mobile fish had