Discharge-dependent covariation patterns in the population dynamics of brown trout (Salmo trutta) within a Cantabrian river drainage

Abstract

Patterns of spatial covariation in the population dynamics of brown trout (Salmo trutta) across Rio Esva (northwestern Spain) were explored by using the residuals from stock–recruitment relationships as indices of survival rates of spawner-to-recruit (STR), spawner-to-cohort size (STC), and spawner-to-spawner (STS). Positive correlations in pairwise comparisons among survival rates together with highly significant spatiotemporal variation in STC (74.3%) and STS (51.5%) explained by variation in STR provided evidence for persistent spatial covariation across the river drainage during the whole lifetime. Split-line regressions fitted to the survival rates versus river discharge in March (when trout emerge) highlighted the importance of discharge during, or just after, trout emergence as a major determinant of recruitment whose effects are reflected in the population over the lifetime and emphasized the synchrony between environmental processes and brown trout dynamics. Synchrony in recruitment is caused by hydrological synchrony that, in turn, is determined by climatic synchrony (rainfall) operating at the regional scale. The importance of discharge for recruitment is consistent with studies on native and introduced populations, suggesting its broad effect on the dynamics of stream brown trout across geographical regions.