Abstract
A section of Cedar Valley Creek went through a rehabilitation process that was intended to improve the trout habitat as well as to reinforce banks, deepen the stream, and narrow the channel. We took brown trout (Salmo trutta) counts and did habitat analyses at five locations (each 50 m long), in the restored stream section of Cedar Valley Creek during fall 2023 to compare to pre-rehabilitation data collected in 2022. A backpack electrofisher and nets were used to collect brown trout via a single-pass removal sampling process. All trout were measured for total length (mm) before being released back into the stream. Habitat assessments at each site included measurements of stream depth, current velocity, width, percent of riffle, pool, or run, substrate type, and fish cover. At multiple locations the improvement project achieved its goal, as some sites were significantly deeper, as much as 127% deeper in section 2, narrower, as much as 45% narrower in section 2, or had more vegetation, whereas others did not result in significantly different values to meet the rehabilitation project objectives. Total abundance of trout increased from 16.3% to 107.7% across the sites from 2022 to 2023. Young-of-year numbers increased significantly between the two years, but adult numbers did not. Overall, the goal of increased abundance of brown trout in Cedar Valley Creek was achieved.
College
College of Science & Engineering
Department
Biology
Campus
Winona
First Advisor/Mentor
Neal Mundahl
Location
Ballroom - Kryzsko Commons
Start Date
4-18-2024 10:00 AM
End Date
4-18-2024 11:00 AM
Presentation Type
Poster Session
Format of Presentation or Performance
In-Person
Session
1b=10am-11am
Poster Number
40
Included in
Post Rehabilitation Analysis of Stream Habitat and Brown Trout in Cedar Valley Creek
Ballroom - Kryzsko Commons
A section of Cedar Valley Creek went through a rehabilitation process that was intended to improve the trout habitat as well as to reinforce banks, deepen the stream, and narrow the channel. We took brown trout (Salmo trutta) counts and did habitat analyses at five locations (each 50 m long), in the restored stream section of Cedar Valley Creek during fall 2023 to compare to pre-rehabilitation data collected in 2022. A backpack electrofisher and nets were used to collect brown trout via a single-pass removal sampling process. All trout were measured for total length (mm) before being released back into the stream. Habitat assessments at each site included measurements of stream depth, current velocity, width, percent of riffle, pool, or run, substrate type, and fish cover. At multiple locations the improvement project achieved its goal, as some sites were significantly deeper, as much as 127% deeper in section 2, narrower, as much as 45% narrower in section 2, or had more vegetation, whereas others did not result in significantly different values to meet the rehabilitation project objectives. Total abundance of trout increased from 16.3% to 107.7% across the sites from 2022 to 2023. Young-of-year numbers increased significantly between the two years, but adult numbers did not. Overall, the goal of increased abundance of brown trout in Cedar Valley Creek was achieved.
