Weekly changes in prey availability for and the selective feeding of sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) larvae stocked in small forest streams

Abstract This study examined the availability of food and its selection by sea trout Salmo trutta L. fry in the first four weeks of life after yolk sac resorption. The food base and stomach contents of sea trout fry after release in the wild were determined. The study was performed in two small forest streams from April 25 to May 23, 2014. Macro-zoobenthos that comprised the food base for the fry were collected from the streams weekly using a bottom scraper. On the same day, the fry were captured with electrofishing gear. Analysis of the width of the benthic organisms in the food base and in the fish stomachs indicated the prey size range that the fish were feeding on. Further, the study showed that all food items found in both streams during the study weeks were also represented in the intensity of the fish: Cyclopoida, the larvae of Baetidae, Simuliidae and Nemouridae.