Biotic and Abiotic Factors Affecting Short‐Term Survival of Two Age‐0 Rainbow Trout Strains in Colorado Streams

Abstract

Both biotic and abiotic factors can influence the survival and growth of age-0 salmonids. Diseases, such as whirling disease, can also affect salmonid demographics and population dynamics. Here, we conducted a supplementary analysis and evaluated specific stream characteristics that may have been responsible for the differences in growth and survival of two whirling disease resistant Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss strains observed by Avila et al. (2018). We used regression modeling to analyze the influence of the biotic and abiotic characteristics of nine streams on the short-term apparent survival and growth of two Rainbow Trout strains, 5,000 German Rainbow Trout and 5,000 German Rainbow Trout × Colorado River Rainbow Trout in each stream. Akaike's information criterion (AIC c ) model selection was used to identify the factors that most affected short-term survival and growth. Average stream temperature had the largest (positive) effect, β temp = 0.060, on short-term survival. Rainbow Trout strain, average stream temperature (β temp = 1.55), competitor biomass (β competitor biomass = −0.002), and predator number (β predator number = 0.01) additively affected short-term growth. Our results indicate that both biotic and abiotic factors are important short-term determinants of Rainbow Trout poststocking performance and may account for the differences in survival and growth that we observed among stocking locations.

Modelling the impact of replacing fish oil with plant oils: A meta‐analysis to match the optimal plant oil for major cultured fish

“…363 Also, many other researches have focused on the mechanism of Rainbow trout temperature stress, 364,365 and it has been proven that the degree Celsius of water is the primary determinant of its short-term survival. 366 Our research further confirmed that when fed with plant oils instead of fish oil, the mode of lipid accumulation of Rainbow trout largely depends on water temperature.…”