Effects of stream-adjacent logging in fishless headwaters on downstream coastal cutthroat trout

To investigate effects of headwater logging on downstream coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) populations, we monitored stream habitat and biotic indicators including biomass, abundance, growth, movement, and survival over 8 years using a paired-watershed approach. Reference and l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2016-12, Vol.73 (12), p.1898-1913
Main Authors: Bateman, Douglas S, Sloat, Matthew R, Gresswell, Robert E, Berger, Aaron M, Hockman-Wert, David P, Leer, David W, Skaugset, Arne E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
Aquatic environment
Biomass
Catchment areas
Clearcutting
Cutthroat trout
Downstream
Environmental aspects
Fish populations
Fisheries
Habitats
Headwaters
Logging
Oncorhynchus
Riparian buffers
Riparian forests
Salmon
Streams
Trout
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Summary:To investigate effects of headwater logging on downstream coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) populations, we monitored stream habitat and biotic indicators including biomass, abundance, growth, movement, and survival over 8 years using a paired-watershed approach. Reference and logged catchments were located on private industrial forestland on ∼60-year harvest rotation. Five clearcuts (14% of the logged catchment area) were adjacent to fishless portions of the headwater streams, and contemporary regulations did not require riparian forest buffers in the treatment catchment. Logging did not have significant negative effects on downstream coastal cutthroat trout populations for the duration of the sample period. Indeed, the only statistically significant response of fish populations following logging in fishless headwaters was an increase in late-summer biomass (g·m −2 ) of age-1+ coastal cutthroat trout in tributaries. Ultimately, the ability to make broad generalizations concerning effects of timber harvest is difficult because response to disturbance (anthropogenically influenced or not) in aquatic systems is complex and context-dependent, but our findings provide one example of environmentally compatible commercial logging in a regenerated forest setting.
ISSN:0706-652X
1205-7533
DOI:10.1139/cjfas-2015-0455