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<br />their prey selection, in a meadow reach of a subalpine stream (3,205 m above mean <br />sea level) in the Central Rocky Mountains. Understanding of the diet and factors <br />affecting diet composition of brook trout in mountain streams may yield insight <br />into the factors governing the abundance and growth of stocks in subalpine <br />systems. Our objectives were: 1) to describe the diet of two size classes C~. <br />150 mm total length (TL) and > 150 mm) of brook trout during the open water <br />period, 2) to describe the composition of the macroinvertebrate drift during the <br />same period, and 3} to assess the selectivity of brook trout for prey organisms <br />in the drift. <br /> <br />METHODS <br /> <br />Telephone Creek, Albany County, Wyoming is a high-elevation stream on the <br />Snowy Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest. The stream originates in the <br />alpine zone at 3,350 m above mean sea level. The study reach was at an elevation <br />of 3,205 m in a meadow area (stream channel gradient = 0.4%). At the stu~y <br />reach, Telephone Creek is a second order stream with a drainage basin of 3.9 k~ . <br />Average daily discharge through the study reach ranged from 0.011-0.78 m Is <br />between 1969 and 1984 (Chisholm 1985). Dissolved oxygen remains near saturation <br />throughout the year, while dissolved solids are low (total alkalinity = 24 mgll <br />-as CaC03)' <br /> <br />The study reach was 90 m long, with a mean wetted width of 2.1 m, mean depth <br />of 16 cm, and pools up to 30 cm deep during base flow in September 1985. The <br />banks were vegetated with willows (Salix spp.), sedges (Carex spp.) arrd grasses. <br />Undercut banks of > 10 cm width occurred over 57% of the reach. Substrate was <br />dominated by fine gravel (0.25-3.4 mm diameter) in both riffles and pools. <br /> <br />Brook trout were the only salmonids in the study reach. The reach had a <br />high biomass of brook trout, 318 kglha in 1984 (Chisholm 1985), but the fish grow <br />slowly, reaching approximately 200 mm in four years, with little growth beyond <br />that 1 ength. Longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus) were observed withi n the <br />study reach in 1984, but they were not observed in our 1985 electrofishing <br />samples. <br /> <br />Brook trout and macroinvertebrate drift were sampled on three occasions in <br />July, August and September. Trout were collected by electrofishing between 0700 <br />and 1200 hrs on each sampl ing occasion. The fish were measured to the nearest <br />millimeter, the digestive tracts were excised and the stomachs were preserved in <br />10% formalin. Drift samples provided an estimate of prey abundance. Drift <br />samples were collected at three consecutive 6 hr intervals between 1800 and 1200 <br />hrs us i ng three nets; 363 mi cron open i ng, nylon mesh with a 45 cm wi dth. The <br />nets were set so the openi ngs extended above the water surface and occupi ed <br />approximately 75% of the wetted width of the study reach. Stomach contents and <br />drift samples were sorted, i dent ifi ed and enumerated in the 1 aboratory under a <br />dissecting microscope. Selectivity was computed using the linear food selection <br />index of Strauss (1979). <br /> <br />.0: <br /> <br />12 <br />