Growth, pH Tolerance, Survival, and Diet of Introduced Northern-Strain and Native Southern-Strain Appalachian Brook Trout

Abstract The native range of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis in southern Appalachia has been drastically reduced by human activities over the last century. Restoration of brook trout populations was attempted through stocking of hatchery-reared fish that were derived from populations native to northern Appalachia; these northern brook trout are genetically distinct from populations native to southern Appalachia. The extent of ecological differences between the naturalized, hatchery-derived northern brook trout (NBKT) and native southern brook trout (SBKT) is unknown but may have important implications for southern Appalachian stream ecosystems. We used a combination of laboratory, outdoor raceway, and natural stream experiments to test for differences in growth, pH tolerance, survival, and diet between introduced NBKT and native SBKT. Fish were collected separately for each experiment from wild allopatric populations in North Carolina. Northern brook trout had higher average survival than SBKT in the la...