Distribution and movements of brown (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Lake Otamangakau, central North Island, New Zealand

Abstract

The post-spawning movements and distribution of 15 brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus 1758) and 21 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Richardson, 1836) were monitored weekly between August 1996 and March 1997 in the hydro-electric reservoir, Lake Otamangakau, New Zealand, using radio-telemetry. The most frequently used areas were the vicinity of the main inflow and the channel running through the main body of the lake. After spawning, brown trout regained rapidly their usual habitat. Rainbow trout were using the inlet intensively before recolonizing the main channel of the lake. Brown trout made greater use of the weedy parts of the lake and littoral margins, had a more confined home range, and were less mobile than rainbow trout. Rainbow trout occupied the main body of the lake by day, and moved nearer the surface, and closer to the margins, at night. High lake levels allowed brown trout to exploit wetland margins of the lake.