Standard Weight Equation for Brook Trout in Southern Appalachian Mountains Streams

Abstract

Abstract Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis in southern Appalachian Mountains streams of the United States occur at the southernmost portion of their native range, and occupy small, isolated, and low-productivity headwater streams. The existing standard weight (Ws) equation is applicable only to Brook Trout > 120 mm total length (TL), but many individuals in the region are smaller than this minimum size threshold due to their habitat characteristics. Here, we developed a new Ws equation for Brook Trout in southern Appalachian Mountains streams using length–weight data on 72,502 individuals. The weighted quadratic empirical-percentile method minimized length-related bias in relative weight compared to the regression-line-percentile and weighted linear empirical-percentile methods. The proposed Ws equation was: log10W = −3.364 + 1.378 × log10L + 0.397 × (log10L)2, where W was weight (g) and L was TL (mm). The new equation characterized body condition of Brook Trout in southern Appalachian Mountains streams more accurately than the existing equation.