Prey Selection by Trout in a Spring-Fed Stream: Terrestrial Versus Aquatic Invertebrates

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the prey sources that contributed to the diets of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Valley Creek, Minnesota during the summer of 2003. We collected drift before dawn and in the afternoon on five dates in June, July, and August 2003 in three sequential riffles. Immediately following drift sampling, we collected brown and rainbow trout, 13–20 cm in length, in pools immediately below the riffles where drift was collected. Terrestrial invertebrates numerically comprised about 3% of the drift across times and dates but made up approximately 10% by number of the overall diet of brown and rainbow trout. Trout were size-selective, preferring larger invertebrates by both length (7.0–12.9 mm) and biomass. Gammarus pseudolimnaeus made up about 75% of the diet of brown trout and about 60% of the diet of rainbow trout based on biomass. Diet overlap was >60% for both trout in relation to total individuals, length, and biomass of invertebrate prey.