Forest Fish Project

Introduction

Protection of aquatic systems from land use disturbances requires a clear understanding of the processes that link the aquatic and terrestrial environments.  In Ontario, the current Timber Management Guidelines for the Protection of Fish Habitat appear to be effective at mitigating site-specific impacts associated with forest management activities. However, linkages between the aquatic and terrestrial environments function at a variety of spatial scales that are not considered in the Guidelines.  An example of the spatial mismatch between forest management planning and the sustainability of an aquatic species is the failure to consider the landscape scale processes that determine the distribution and production of brook trout.

Two features of brook trout ecology are particularly relevant when addressing timber management guidelines or planning forestry operations. The first is the brook trout’s requirement for groundwater seepage at different life history stages in most parts of the species range. The second is the brook trout’s low energy-demand physiology that allows it to survive in habitats that are marginal in flow and food production. Thus, brook trout seem to survive anywhere in lake and stream ecosystems that are both accessible as well as provide the necessary water quality requirements. This means that brook trout needs one important landscape feature: groundwater seepage.