Specimen Information

Salvelinus fontinalis
Salvelinus fontinalis
(Brook Trout)
Fishes
Native Transplant

Specimen ID850863
GroupFishes
GenusSalvelinus
Speciesfontinalis
Common NameBrook Trout
StateWY
CountyTeton
LocalityArnica Creek, tributary to Yellowstone Lake
Mapping AccuracyAccurate
HUC8 NameYellowstone Headwaters
HUC8 Number10070001
HUC10 NameYellowstone Lake
HUC10 Number1007000104
HUC12 NameArnica Creek
HUC12 Number100700010405
Map
+
Collection Year1985
Year AccuracyEstimated
Potential Pathwaystocked illegally
Statusunknown
Reference 1
Ref. Number:27494
Author:Vashro, J.
Date:1990
Title:Illegal aliens
Journal:Montana Outdoors
Volume:1990
Issue:July/August
Pages:35-37
Comments"a few years ago"; creek has been rehabbed for two years; unknown at time of writing if it was successful
Record TypeLiterature
Earliest Recorddrainage
Freshwater/MarineFreshwater
Specimen ImpactBecause brook trout have displaced cutthroats wherever they coexist, the brookies posed a threat to all the Yellowstone cutthroat in the lake and drainage above Yellowstone Falls. Jones notes that "the brook trout had the potential to be an ecological disaster" and not just for cutthroat. "Grizzly bears and birds (including bald eagles) use the spring cutthroat spawning run as a food source. Brook trout spawn in the fall and would have eliminated that important food supply." Jones hopes two years of rehabs have eliminated the problem, but he and other biologists are still holding their breath.


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Citation information: U.S. Geological Survey. [2024]. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Gainesville, Florida. Accessed [5/19/2024].

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