Brown Trout Seasonal Movement Patterns and Habitat Use in an Urbanized South Dakota Stream

Abstract

Fifty-six brown trout Salmo trutta were implanted with transmitters in an urbanized portion of Rapid Creek within the city limits of Rapid City, South Dakota, to determine habitat use and seasonal movement behavior by radiotelemetry. Fish locations were determined twice weekly during daylight hours from September 2000 to September 2001 by triangulating the signal from shore. During the year-long tracking period, 1,153 individual fish locations were recorded. Gross movement distance averaged 506 m and ranged from 22 to 2,554 m. The net movement averaged 49.4 m downstream and ranged from 774 m downstream to 188 m upstream. The movement for individual fish averaged 23 m and ranged from 2 to 150 m. Gross movement was greatest in fall and then spring, whereas the greatest net movement (downstream) occurred in spring. Fish moved a greater distance during the fall spawning period than they did during summer, spring, or winter. Runs and pools were used more frequently than riffles in fall and winter, but runs were used much more than either pools or riffles in spring. No difference in habitat use was evident during the summer. Fish occurrence in riffles was greater in the fall than in all other seasons. Overall, brown trout in this highly urbanized section of stream had similar movement patterns and general habitat distribution during daylight hours as their counterparts in nonurbanized streams described previously in published literature.