Montana State researchers study spread of lake trout in Glacier Nat...(is a train wreck Guy said. A non-nativ...)
is a train wreck," Guy said. "A non-native species is replacing a native species."
Meeuwig said he doesn't have all the answers about potential competition between lake trout and native bull trout, but both are top-level predators and grow to similar sizes. Bull trout are getting "pinched" by downstream threats like lake trout and upstream threats such as reduced runoff from glaciers.
To study Glacier's fish, Meeuwig spent the summers of 2004 through 2006 in the park. He camped in the back country and floated across mountain lakes in innertubes and kayaks. Together with one or two technicians per year, he hiked to 17 lakes on the west side of the park. In addition to the previously-mentioned lakes, they counted fish and collected samples in Akokala Lake, Arrow Lake, Cerulean Lake, Lake Isabel, Lincoln Lake, Middle Quartz Lake, Trout Lake, Upper Kintla Lake and Upper Lake Isabel.
To get to those lakes, Meeuwig and his team stumbled through streams, bushwhacked their way through the back country, carried loads of equipment, and endured snow and cold. Some of the lakes were so remote that they had never been sampled before and had no trails to them.
"It's a tremendous amount of work," Guy said. "The reason we didn't have a data set like this before is because of all that hard work.
The Glacier National Park study had two purposes, Guy said. One was to develop management recommendations for the park, which Guy and Meeuwig presented to park managers in January. Besides maintaining natural barriers, they suggested establishing a sampling program that would allow scientists to document changes in the bull trout populations.
The second goal of the Glacier study was to advance the scientific knowledge regarding the interaction between the park's landscape and bull trout population genetics. This will be covered in Meeuwig's doctoral dissertation.
'/>"/>
| Contact: Evelyn Boswell evelynb@montana.edu 406-994-5135 Montana State University Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Low exposure to asbestos-like mineral from Montana vermiculite may up lung disease risk
2. Antarcticas coldest, darkest season draws Montana State University researchers
3. Mongolian paleontologists with a dream come to Montana State University
4. Montana State University researcher finds renewed interest in turning algae into fuel
5. New dinosaur species found in Montana
6. Motorola Biometric Identification System Selected by West Virginia State Police
7. Wildlife Conservation Society releases definitive state of the wild
8. Statement by the American Egg Board and Egg Nutrition Center on AJCN study on egg consumption
9. Kansas state flower receives scientific attention
10. NC State researchers identify genes key to hormone production in plants
11. Iowa State, ConocoPhillips and National Renewable Energy Lab to cooperate on biofuels research
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |