Movement and home range in relation to dominance; a telemetry study on brown trout Salmo trutta

By combining behavioral observations on adult resident brown trout Salmo trutta in the laboratory with radio telemetry studies in a natural stream. information on movement and space use in relation to social status was obtained. Dominant individual longer distances and also tended to have larger home ranges than subordinates during the summer. In general. home ranges were larger during daytime than at night. Fish were not strictly territorial since the average overlap in interquartile range was 36%. during the summer. During the spawning period, the brown trout moved to specific spawning areas resulting in an increased overlap (89%) in space Use. Subordinate individuals now tended to increase both home range and interquartile range and were also less frequently observed in spawning areas relative to dominants.