Healthy fish contribute to a more productive ecosystem and affect all other organisms in the ecosystem.īrown trout, although not native, have inhabited streams in the Jemez Mountains since the 1800s and now play a vital role in that environment as a key element in the food chain. Fisheries biologists often use a “condition factor” to help determine whether the fish in a stream are healthy (Milewski 1994). Knowing how angling affects fish populations is important when managing a stream system, and in particular the streams in the Valles. One of the management principles for the Valles is, “We will strive to achieve a high level of integrity in our stewardship of the lands” (Valles 2001). The Valles Caldera is an 89,000-acre preserve that was created by the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 and is home to many plant and animal species (Anschuetz, 2004). I chose to test my hypothesis by looking at brown trout from the streams in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. I hypothesized that limited fishing would decrease the average age of the fish found in the stream, but would increase the overall health of the remaining fish as measured by a trout condition factor (K = 105*W /元). The purpose of my study was to determine the effect of managed fishing on the brown trout ( Salmo trutta) populations in two northern New Mexico streams. These are the brown trout that I have come to sample. I see flashes of silver and red as I look down the length of the stream. I walk through the damp knee-high grass to the edge of a small pristine stream no more than four feet wide. We drive for another hour, through misty hills, surprising elk and coyotes as we round bends in the road, until we reach our first collection site. As we proceed down the rough dirt road, I see men on horses, dressed in chaps and cowboy hats, driving cattle into huge trucks for the Valles’ fall roundup. Herds of elk, thousands strong, surround us. We begin to drive across the huge flat plains of grass in front of us. They are doing their own research project but have agreed to take me to a sampling site so that I can do my research alongside them. I meet the research team that I’m accompanying at the gate to the preserve.
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