Summer Distribution, Survival, and Growth of Juvenile Coho Salmon under Varying Experimental Conditions of Brushy Instream Cover

Abstract
Woody debris is an important feature of streams, and its presence and abundance have been correlated with the abundance, growth, and survival of juvenile salmonids. To investigate the proximate mechanisms linking brushy woody debris to salmonid fishes, we determined, over a 1-month period in summer, the spatial distribution of juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch introduced into an outdoor experimental stream containing riffle-pool units that had one of four different levels of instream brushy-debris complexity. We then equalized the fish density in each unit and monitored fish growth and survival over a 15-week period. Coho salmon distribution, growth, and survival varied greatly but were not consistently related to the complexity of brushy debris.

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