Effects of Daphnia Availability on Growth and Food Consumption of Rainbow Trout in Two Utah Reservoirs

Authors

R. Tabor
Chris Luecke, Utah State UniversityFollow
Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

North American Journal of Fisheries Management

Volume

16

Issue

3

Publisher

American Fisheries Society

Publication Date

1996

Keywords

effects, Daphnia availability, growth, food consumption, rainbow trout, Utah, reservoirs

First Page

591

Last Page

599

Abstract

We monitored the diet and growth of stocked rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in two Utah reservoirs during 1986 and 1989–1990. For the first month after stocking, juvenile rainbow trout in both reservoirs fed extensively on large Daphnia spp. In East Canyon Reservoir where Daphnia were abundant, this pattern continued throughout the summer, fall, and winter. Growth of rainbow trout in East Canyon Reservoir was generally good throughout 1989–1990. In Causey Reservoir, where Daphnia were less abundant and smaller, rainbow trout fed progressively less on smaller Daphnia throughout the summer, fall, and winter, while other prey items (snails, aquatic insects, and algae) became more important. Bioenergetics simulations of patterns of rainbow trout growth suggest that consumption by rainbow trout was closely related to daphnid biomass. This index of zooplankton forage could be used to assess feeding conditions for zooplanktivorous salmonids in other systems.

Comments

Originally published by the American Fisheries Society.
Note: This article appears in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management and has been posted here with permission from the publisher.