Reference material

[troutfanatic]

Let me preface this question by saying this is not about fishing, at least directly.

In all things, there is what we know, what we assume and what the book answer is.

That said, I am getting near the end of my degree and beginning my research project. Accordingly, I am looking for baseline reference material. Publications that are more science oriented versus directed towards fishermen.

I need baseline material on brown trout. material that covers feeding, spawning, life cycle, favored environmental conditions, etc...

I also need entomology reference materials looking specifically at aquatic insects that are common trout food in the eastern US, mayflies, caddis flies, stone flies. A good field guide would fit the bill.

They need to be science focused versus angling focused as I will need to cite them in the final products.

any recommendations is appreciated.

 

[salmonoid]

The compleat brown trout, by Cecil Heacox might be a start and may provide some other references to look at. He was a fisheries biologist and it is somewhat a reference book, with application to angling for the species. But it's up to the researcher to determine the fitness of a source for their research.

Or use Google or your local library database and search for "brown trout" or "salmo trutta" ;-)

Is crowd-sourcing the new research methodology?

 

[Dave_W]

If you could get a hold of Bob Bachman's PhD dissertation on BT behavior, this would likely provide valuable source material. You might check Proquest. His research was done at Penn State at the section of Spruce Creek owned by the university about 30 yrs ago if I remember correctly.

You probably already have this, but the book Trout and Salmon of North America by Bob Behnke is as good a secondary source as you'll find for salmonids. I refer to this book frequently, it's a wonderful source (and the artwork gives me a shot in the arm as well).

 

[troutfanatic]

lol, yes crowd sourcing is like pre-screening without reading abstracts. I have proquest and research gate. I can dig away on research gate all day long on google scholar. I'm seeking recommendations.

I have the Behnke Trout book. It's a good un. Was useful on past research regarding the occurence of the tiger hybrid.

thanks and keep em coming

 

[Dave_W]

Although I'm not familiar with them, I'm sure there are some academic journals for aquatic entomology. A polite email to Greg Hoover at Penn State might get you some tips on scientific publications on macros etc.

There's a field guide on nymphs by some academic writers - can't think of their name, but the book is published by Penn State Press.

 

[troutbert]

What question(s) will your research be intending to answer?

What literature you look for will follow from that.

The literature on topics related to trout streams is huge.

It's Carl Sagan-esque: "millions and billions"

It sounds like you're at a university.

Have you been to the library?

Ask the reference librarian what you're looking for. And then ask the librarians in the various sections of the library (fisheries, biology, forestry, earth & mineral sciences)

Ask someone to show you how to search for books on the libraries computer catalog.

And show you all about the technical journals in your field.

And of course you should ask your professors for leads into "the literature."

 

[troutfanatic]

Oh I am tracking on all of that. I've been down this road before. This is my second degree and I was an intelligence officer in the Army, so I wrote a lot, referenced a lot.

What I am asking here is if people have read any on topic baseline info that they thought was good. I am all over the scientific journals. I am more interested in books.

Since you asked, I am looking at a large and lengthy body of water that contains a fairly robust population of wild brown trout. Growth and reproductive success tends to vary greatly over various sections of the water. I am going to take a look at environmental- selection factors that effect reproduction and growth success and see if we can say microhabitats are formed within in the river. From that, which conditions or which microhabitat provides the optimum factors for success.

 

[Bamboozle]

Ask "Mike" on this forum.

He's a fisheries biologist for the PFBC.

 

[Tack-L-Tyer]

Hope this helps. Good luck separating the wheat from the chaff.www.wildtroutsymposium.com

 

[kevinmichael]

Google Scholar
Just type it in to google
Critical to accessesing the peer review/scientific research needed for. my Masters thesis
Just enter your search parameters and you have access to all kinds of research
Heads up...you might have to pay a fee to access some scholarly papers
Good luck

 

[moon1284]

Is there a reason you are researching Brown trout outside of their native range? brook trout may be more relevant considering Brown trout have only been in the northeast for about 150 years. As far as eastern mayflies, art flicks streamside guide is a good starting point.

 

[troutfanatic]

hey guys.
thanks for the feedback.

I promise I am apt at using databases such as researchgate and proquest. I have plenty of stuff archived from google scholar. I also know how to access materials via the library.

I have graduated from college once already and I am a retired Army intelligence officer who was published a couple times.

What I am asking here, is what have YOU read on the two topics that you found useful? whether you did it for your own education or for improving your fly fishing knowledge.

As for the why?

This is not a PA waterway I am researching. It does not contain Salvelinus spp. Salmo trutta was introduced in the 1950s and it thrived. over the decades since, it appears that microhabitats have developed with varying environmental and selection factors that contribute to growth and reproductive success. I am attempting to prove that via sampling with the state biologist team and some good ol math.

I hadn't considered the flick guide and I think I may have one in the garage.

cheers fellas.

 

[troutbert]

Since your research deals with physical habitat I recommend digging into the fluvial geomorphology literature, if you haven't done so already.

 

[Tups]

Methods in Stream Ecology. By R. HauEr et al.