Correlations Between Brook Trout Growth and Environmental, Variables for Mountain Lakes in Alberta

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Abstract
Brook trout (S. fontinalis) at age 5 weighed from 65-1751 g in 23 mountain lakes located in Banff, Jasper, and Waterton Lakes national parks in Alberta. Lake area ranged from 2.2 ha-2065 ha, maximum depth from 2-96 m, and elevation from 1019-2347 m above sea level. There were significant positive correlations between the weight of age-5 fish and the natural logarithm of amphipod densities (r = 0.73), the specific conductance of the waters (r = 0.63) and the midsummer water temperature (r = 0.55). There was a significant negative correlation between fish weight and lake elevation (r = -0.63). Analyses of brook trout stomach contents from 18 lakes indicated a cause-and-effect relationship between fish growth and amphipod abundance. A stepwise multiple regression analysis attributed 54% of the lake-to-lake variation in brook trout growth to amphipod density, 11% to maximum depth and 7% to specific conductance. From regression analyses, several models were developed to predict the growth of brook trout. The models are useful for predicting the potential brook-trout growth in mountain lakes of western Alberta.

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