Feeding ecology of young-of-year brook trout in Appalachian headwater streams

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are the only salmonid native to the Appalachians. Brook trout often occupy environments of low productivity where populations may be shaped by feeding dynamics. Although there is literature that examines age 1+ brook trout diet patterns, there have been limited attempts to document and describe the diet of young of year (YOY) brook trout hence the feeding strategy of their early life history stages is not well known. In West Virginia streams, age-1+ brook trout rely heavily upon terrestrial invertebrates to fuel production, often gaining over 50% of annual energy from this supplement. To fully understand the trophic ecology of brook trout in headwater streams requires knowledge of feeding relationships at all live stages.  A detailed understanding of the feeding strategy of YOY brook trout could improve our understanding stream salmonid ecology. Therefore, our study (1) determines the overall feeding strategy of YOY brook trout in central Appalachian streams, and (2) quantifies the temporal differences in aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate prey consumption by YOY brook trout in central Appalachian streams.