Livestock and elk grazing effects on stream morphology, brown trout population dynamics, movement, and growth rate, Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico

Abstract

Ungulate grazing in riparian areas has been shown to detrimentally impact stream morphology and fish populations. Goals of this research were to assess changes in stream morphology and responses of a brown trout (Salmo trutta) population to exclusion of cattle (Bos taurus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) from riparian areas, and to monitor spatial variability among individual and population level characteristics in brown trout in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions.

Citation

Anderson, Michael C. 2009. Livestock and elk grazing effects on stream morphology, brown trout population dynamics, movement, and growth rate, Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico. Las Cruces, NM: New Mexico State University. 173 p. Thesis.