Maturation and Fecundity of Brook Trout from Infertile Streams

Abstract

The reproductive rate of brook trout populations from infertile Pennsylvania streams was determined. The standing crops for eight streams varied between 14 and 41 lb/acre. Trout in age-groups 0 through III were found to grow slowly with very few individuals reaching a total length of 6 inches.The seasonal development of ova was determined by measuring all ova larger than 0.2 mm from selected females. The maturing ova of most females of age-groups II and III increased in diameter from 0.9 mm in February to 1.0 mm in June, 1.75 mm in July, 2.5 mm in August, 3.0 mm in September, and 4.0 mm in October. Maturing females could be distinguished from immature females by late August or early September on the basis of ova diameters. The mean diameter of ripe ova from 67 females was 4.05 mm with a range between 3.37 and 5.01 mm for individual trout ranging from 4.6 to 8.6 inches total length.The relationship between the number of mature ova and the total length of the female for one population was described by a curvilinear regression (log Y = −0.5361 + 3.23 log X, where Y = number of eggs, and X = the total length of the fish) for brook trout between 3.6 inches (18 eggs) and 7.7 inches (213 eggs). Variation in this relationship existed among streams.Ova production was estimated as 9050 ova per acre for one population and 13,620 ova per acre for another. Age-group-I females contributed approximately 9% of this production; age-group-II females, 54%; and age-group-III females, 37%. An ecological life table was constructed for two populations comparing rates of survival, age-specific fecundity rates, and reproductive rates.