Thermal Biology and the Management of Recreational Fisheries Resources at Kenauk
-Dr. Steven Cooke, Declan Burton, Kara Scott (Carleton University), Dr. Kathleen Gilmour, Brittany Bard (University of Ottawa), Dr. Andre Martel (Canadian Museum of Nature), Dr. Graham Raby (Trent University)
We have long known that water temperature means everything to fish. Temperature controls enzymatic processes, rates of development and growth, locomotion, digestion, and so on. In fact, temperature has such manifold effects on fish that it is called the “master” environmental factor. Importantly, temperatures that approach or exceed thermal tolerances for a given fish will result in sublethal fitness impairments (e.g., reductions in growth, impaired swimming) and eventually lead to death. Water temperature interacts with applied fisheries issues in several ways, all of which are salient to Kenauk.
The goal of this project is to analyze the relevance of trout thermal biology to the management of fisheries resources at Kenauk. The objectives of this project are 1) to better understand how rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) utilize their thermal habitat year-round, and 2) to see if chronic stress alters the use of these thermal habitats during the hot summer months for rainbow trout only.
