Kootenai River Fisheries Investigations; Rainbow and Bull Trout Recruitment, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

Walters, Jody P.

doi:10.2172/901203

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…2000, 2001; Paragamian 2002). Although the Rainbow Trout fishery was regarded as the most important sport fishery in the Idaho portion of the river (Paragamian 1995a; Walters 2003), post‐dam densities averaged only 50 fish/km (4.5 fish/ha) by the mid‐1990s (Paragamian 1995b; Downs 2000; Walters and Downs 2001) compared to similar regional rivers, which exhibited three‐ to fourfold greater densities (Spokane River; Bennett and Underwood 1988). Similar to Rainbow Trout, reductions in the densities of other native fish species, such as Mountain Whitefish Prosopium williamsoni , Largescale Suckers Catostomus macrocheilus , and Redside Shiner Richardsonius balteatus , were documented (Paragamian 2002; Hardy 2008).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient Restoration of a Large, Impounded, Ultra‐Oligotrophic Western River to Recover Declining Native Fishes

Hardy

Ross

McDonnell

et al. 2022

N American J Fish Manag

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Declines in many fish populations in large, western rivers have been primarily attributed to the anthropogenic reduction of nutrient inputs and subsequent impacts to the food web. The largest known river fertilization program was implemented starting in 2005 on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho to restore resident fisheries. Annual electrofishing surveys were conducted at multiple sites in Idaho and Montana before and during nutrient addition to evaluate assemblage and population‐level responses. Although few responses in fish assemblage structure were observed, the addition of liquid ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer (3 μg/L) to the Kootenai River increased fish abundance and biomass over the 20‐km stretch of river downstream of the treatment site. Increases were most notable in Largescale Suckers Catostomus macrocheilus, Mountain Whitefish Prosopium williamsoni, and Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss populations, although increases in catch and biomass were detected for nearly all fish species. The Kootenai River is approximately 30 times larger in discharge than other rivers that have been experimentally fertilized and provides compelling evidence that the mitigation of nutrient declines in rivers of similar size can result in positive influences on the fish populations where primary and secondary production are limiting growth, survival, and recruitment. However, results from our study also highlight the importance of completing evaluations across varying levels of biological organization (e.g., assemblage and population) and over biologically relevant timeframes.

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