Brook Trout Reproduction in Adirondack Lakes
Brook trout are an important fishery across eastern North American. Brook trout reproduction in lakes relies on spawning in tributaries or along lake shorelines with upwelling groundwater. Sizeable tributaries are often limited in small lakes, typical of the Adirondack mountains of New York and other regions. In these cases, brook trout rely solely on areas of discharging groundwater along the shoreline. While groundwater is usually well buffered relative to lake ecosystems, we have documented acidic groundwater discharging into brook trout redds in a small lake in the western Adirondackswith poor wild brook trout reproduction (Warren et al. 2005). How prevalent is this phenomenon? What are some of the watershed conditions that may promote acid groundwater? How can it be mitigated? Studies to address these next questions are currently pursued by Peter Stevens and Daniel Josephson.
Collaborators
- Dr. Stephen Sebestyen
- Daniel Josephon
- Jesse Lepak
- Dr. Clifford Kraft
- Peter Stevens
Dana is an ecologist studying the bio-geo-chemical and structural influences on biological productivity in stream and river systems. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 2008. Dana is currently an NRC post-doctoral fellow at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center.