Influence of discharge, hydraulics, water temperature, and dispersal on density synchrony in brown trout populations (Salmo trutta)

Abstract

Environmental factors may cause synchronous density variations between populations. A better understanding of the processes underlying synchrony is fundamental to predicting resilience loss in metapopulations subject to environmental change. The present study investigated the determinants of synchrony in density time series of three age groups of resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) (0+, 1+, and adults) in 36 stream reaches. A series of Mantel tests were implemented to disentangle the relative effects on trout synchrony of geographical proximity, environmental synchrony in key environmental variables affecting trout dynamics (discharge, water temperature, hydraulics, and spawning substrate mobility), and density-dependent dispersal. Results indicated that environmental synchrony strongly explained trout synchrony over distances less than 75 km. This effect was partly due to a negative influence on 0+ trout of strong discharges during the emergence period and a more complex influence of substrate mobility during the spawning period. Dispersal between reaches had a weak influence on results. Juvenile and adult densities were strongly driven by survival processes and were not influenced by environmental synchrony. The results suggest that the environment can have general effects on population dynamics that may influence the resilience of metapopulations.