Evaluating the Effects of Introduced Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) on Native Stream Insects on Kauai Island, Hawaii; Contribution No. 2001-012 to the Hawaii Biological Survey, Bishop Museum

Abstract

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and other salmonids have been widely stocked into upland streams throughout the world to provide a basis for sport fisheries, but the effects of such introductions on indigenous and endemic aquatic insect assemblages are poorly documented. In this study, we examine the impact of rainbow trout on the indigenous and endemic entomofauna of upland streams in Kokee State Park, Kauai, Hawaii, with particular emphasis on the potential threat trout pose to populations of endemic damselflies in the genus Megalagrion. Rainbow trout were introduced into the upland streams of Kauai beginning in the 1920s, with over 60 years of subsequent restocking. This study indicates, however, that streams in this area still maintain diverse populations of Megalagrion damselflies and other indigenous and endemic aquatic insects, both in catchments containing naturally reproducing trout populations and in catchments lacking rainbow trout. Our results indicate that the indigenous and endemic aquatic insect communities in the streams under study compare favorably in terms of density and taxonomic richness with other isolated and unimpacted streams elsewhere in Hawaii, and retain high densities and relative percentages of indigenous and endemic aquatic insect taxa. Our results demonstrate that the threats posed by conspicuous introduced species such as trout should not simply be assumed a priori on the basis of postulated negative interactions, because this may divert limited resources from programs aimed at control of other, potentially more destructive introduced taxa such as inconspicuous poeciliid fishes.