Fine sediment effects on brook trout eggs in laboratory streams

This study was designed to determine effects of different fine sediments (0.43-0.85 mm in diameter) on survival of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) eggs during early developmental stages under laboratory conditions. Intragravel permeability and dissolved oxygen declined with increasing fine sediment amounts. Survival at each developmental stage generally declined with increasing fine sediment amounts, although not significantly for all stages. Differences in survival to emergence were not significant due to a large amount of variation in survival estimates. Survival of eggs and alevins declined linearly through time for all fine sediment treatments. In general, fry weight declined as the amount of fine sediment increased but fry length changed little. Our results indicate that increased levels of fine sediment may reduce survival of break trout through early development. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.