Brook trout movement within a high-elevation watershed: Consequences for watershed restoration
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We used radio-telemetry to quantify brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) movements in the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River, West Virginia, and an adjacent second-order tributary (Rocky Run). Our objectives were to quantify the overall rate of trout movement, assess spatial and temporal variation in movement behaviors, and relate movement behaviors to variation in stream flow, water temperature, and access to coldwater sources. Brook trout residing in the small tributary demonstrated extremely low movement rates in summer and fall. In contrast, main stem trout exhibited high overall movement rates in the summer but low rates in the fall.