Abstract
A principal components analysis was conducted on the results of published reports and data sets from technical papers that include speckled trout Salvelinus fontinalis population estimates from 14 Nova Scotia lakes. The purpose of this paper was to identify the factors that influenced trout density and biomass. Population parameters, including mean fork length (cm), population density (n/ha), and population biomass (kg/ha), relative to variation in lake size, acidity, and competitor species were assessed and compared among lakes. Populations with small mean length and slow growth displayed larger fish density and biomass suggesting density-dependence. Acidic conditions potentially impact spawning potential and reduced recruitment that resulted in small population density and larger trout. The number of other fish species present in the lakes was used as an index of competition and had the greatest impact on trout density and biomass in Nova Scotia lakes. Yellow perch seemed to have the most impact of all the competitor species. In five lakes that contained yellow perch the mean trout population biomass was 0.19 kg-ha-1 (0.2,SD) compared to 4.5 kg-ha-1 (0.26, SD) in eight lakes that did not contain perch species. Lentic habitat conditions can greatly influence the potential success of different fisheries management strategies.
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