Wilzbach, Margaret. 1989. How tight is the linkage between trees and trout? In: Abell, Dana L., tech. coord. Proceedings of the California Riparian Systems Conference: protection, management and restoration for the 1990s; 1988 September 22-24; Davis, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-110. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 250-255.
This paper explores the tightness of thelinkage between stream-dwelling salmonids and ripar-ian vegetation. Comparison of original distributions ofsalmonid species with that of vegetation types showsthat distribution within a given salmonid species is notlimited to a specific vegetation type, and that differ-ent salmonid species co-occur within a given vegetationtype. Examination of reported differences in trout pro-duction among streams appear to be related to differ-ences in riparian setting only indirectly and insofar asthese reflect differences in prey availability and, to alesser extent, differences in habitat features. Variabil-ity in trout production estimates are minimized whencomparisons are species-specific and normalized for tem-perature differences among streams. Within a riparianvegetation type, the relationship between trout produc-tion and successional age of the streamside vegetation isoften inverse.