Juvenile Trout Study - 2003 Summary |
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Projected Goals One of the primary purposes of the Teton River Fishery Juvenile Trout Abundance and Survival Assessment is to estimate the distribution and abundance of juvenile trout throughout the upper Teton River. Additionally, juvenile survival from summer to fall must be calculated. Objective 1 under the original proposal is written as follows: Objective 1. "Estimate late summer and fall survival of juvenile (age-0) trout in the valley reach of the Teton River.” Data collected from electrofishing surveys performed during the summer and fall of 2003 must be entered into an electronic database and then analyzed to yield abundance estimates and other descriptive metrics in preparation for survival calculations. The primary study goal at this time is to generate the late fall and summer abundance of the newly hatched year class of trout. Secondly, the project aims to quantify juvenile trout survival through the winter months. Overwinter survival is calculated in the same manner as described above for Objective 1, yet utilizes data gathered for fall and spring abundance. Hence, springtime abundance estimates of juvenile trout must be collected, entered and analyzed before overwinter survival can be calculated. Objective 2. Estimate overwinter (age-0 to age-1) survival of juvenile trout in the valley reach of the Teton River. A third goal of the Teton River Fishery Juvenile Trout Abundance and Survival Assessment is to investigate the prevalence and potential impacts of whirling disease in the valley reach of the Teton River. During the first quarter of 2004, test fish used in the sentinel exposure series in fall 2003 are to be sampled and analyzed. The resulting data will quantify infectivity of the Teton River and selected tributaries by returning the percent of infected fish per site and average spore counts per fish. In the original proposal, Objective 3, Task A is written as follows: Objective 3. Determine the extent of juvenile mortality that can be attributed to whirling disease infection. Task A: Use sentinel tests to estimate the rate of infection of juvenile rainbow and cutthroat trout in the mainstem Teton River and tributaries.” The trout of the Teton valley are prized not only by local communities, but also by many seasonal visitors to the area. As a result, there is great public interest in conservation and management efforts aimed at restoring these revered resources. Keeping the public informed about recent findings that may affect trout management and conservation efforts in the Teton River is central to Objective 5: Objective 5. Establish methods to educate the public and disseminate information regarding the project.
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