Transactions of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society

1975, Volume 11


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Year1975
Volume11
TitleStudies on the Paiute Cutthroat Trout in the North Fork of Cottonwood Creek, White Mountains, California
Author(s)James S. Diana, Darrell M. Wong
ArticleLink to PDF

Abstract:
The Paiute cutthroat trout is an endangered subspecies of trout that has been transplanted into Cottonwood Creek. This paper reports on the studies that were conducted on this population to aid future management plans. The data are the results of two summers of observation and several electroshocking surveys. The population of these fish was estimated to be 500. The majority of them do not live beyond three years. Growth of the fish was isometric, and the age length data showed a linear growth. Mortality was attributed to natural causes because of a lack of predators in the area. The fish appear to spawn mainly in the spring, and the age at first spawning is three years. Food was not a limiting factor to the population. The fish were found to limit themselves to two kilometers out of a total five kilometers of stream. No appreciable movement of the fish was detected during three movement studies. Fish that were transplanted to a vacant stream section remained there, but few fish repopulated the area vacated by their removal. A high degree of sedimentation, and its resultant suffocation of trout eggs and larvae while they are in the gravel, appears to be the limiting factor on this population.


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