After more than 40 years of stocking, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Champlain have started to exhibit strong, natural recruitment. The abrupt surge in recruitment suggests a change in limiting factors such as prey availability or overwinter survival. The distribution of juvenile wild lake trout varies in relative abundance among regions of Lake Champlain. The differences suggest the prey base, or foraging success, may vary geographically within the lake. Stocked and wild lake trout may differ in their ability to use resources and in overwinter survival. One metric that can indicate differences in resources across regions is lake trout lipid content, which reflects the quality of available food and serves as an important energy reserve for overwinter survival.We quantified total lipid content of stocked and wild juvenile lake trout across spatial (lake regions) and temporal (seasonal) scales. No spatial differences in lipid content were apparent.Wild fish had greater lipid content than stocked fish. Seasonally, stocked fish showed a continuous drop in lipid content from pre-winter levels at stocking to the following autumn. Wild fish showed a cyclical summer increase in lipids following winter depletion, which plateaued by autumn. The high lipid content of hatchery lake trout may be necessary as they acclimate to foraging in the wild. Hatcheries would benefit from evaluating whether post-stocking survival could be improved by altering feeding or rearing regimes.

10After more than 40 years of stocking, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Champlain have 11 started to exhibit strong, natural recruitment. The abrupt surge in recruitment suggests a change 12 in limiting factors such as prey availability or overwinter survival. The distribution of juvenile 13 wild lake trout varies in relative abundance among regions of Lake Champlain. The differences 14 suggest the prey base, or foraging success, may vary geographically within the lake. Stocked and 15 wild lake trout may differ in their ability to use resources and in overwinter survival. One metric 16that can indicate differences in resources across regions is lake trout lipid content, which reflects 17 the quality of available food and serves as an important energy reserve for overwinter survival. 18We quantified total lipid content of stocked and wild juvenile lake trout across spatial (lake 19 regions) and temporal (seasonal) scales. No spatial differences in lipid content were apparent. 20Wild fish had greater lipid content than stocked fish. Seasonally, stocked fish showed a 21 continuous drop in lipid content from pre-winter levels at stocking to the following autumn. Wild 22 fish showed a cyclical summer increase in lipids following winter depletion, which plateaued by 23 autumn. The high lipid content of hatchery lake trout may be necessary as they acclimate to 24 foraging in the wild. Hatcheries would benefit from evaluating whether post-stocking survival 25 could be improved by altering feeding or rearing regimes. 26 27

The salt marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) is a common and often abundant mollusk in marshes of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States. Several studies have focused on the effects of periwinkles on Spartina alterniflora production and the effects of oil on periwinkle survivability, yet the general ecology of the snail has been underreported. In this study, we measured spatial distributions, biomass, shell repair frequency, and a suite of morphological characteristics of L. irrorata at three sites in each of five regions spanning the southeastern Louisiana Coast between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. Sampling was conducted along 50 m edge‐to‐interior transects in S. alterniflora‐dominated marshes. We found that L. irrorata density, individual biomass, and total areal biomass significantly varied by region. Each also significantly varied with distance from the marsh edge, with the exception of total periwinkle areal biomass. We saw a general trend across most regions where periwinkle density tended to be greatest 10 m from the marsh edge and biomass tended to be greatest 20–30 m from the marsh edge; however, neither periwinkle density nor biomass was related to S. alterniflora density or stem height. The allometric relationship between shell length and biomass varied significantly between all regions, indicating that this species has differing regional growth patterns. A possible driver of these regional patterns in allometry is differences in predation pressures, with increased predation scaring at Port Fourchon sites corresponding to snails with larger shells yet less internal biomass per length compared to other regions. This study provides the first large‐scale description of the spatial ecology and regional morphometry of the salt marsh periwinkle, an important organism in structuring salt marsh ecosystems, and suggests that the pressures exerted by L. irrorata on plant production found in other studies likely varies by geography and spatial location within a marsh.