{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/137556"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/137556","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Effects of abiotic and biotic factors on population dynamics of brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) within Shenandoah National Park, Virginia","abstract":"Aquatic ecosystems are facing numerous threats that are products of anthropogenic activity, including habitat destruction and climate change. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the consequences of these threats. Native fish species found within these aquatic ecosystems are often used as quality indicators to determine overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) are cold-water specialists that have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are highly sensitive to habitat disturbance, which makes them important quality indicators for cold-water ecosystems. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental correlates (e.g., streamflow, temperature) and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA for the first time. In Chapter 1, I use generalized linear mixed-models and long-term fish collections data from the National Park Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural (time-invariant) variables, (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) Biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting variation in brook trout abundance across space and over time. Biotic variables had high importance compared to other categories. For example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. In Chapter 2, I use linear models and long-term fish survey data from the U.S. Forest Service (1994-2022) to investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages (i.e., (1) Spawning, (2) Incubation, (3) Yolk-sac, (4) Juvenile). In this chapter, I focused on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams, which had contrasting results, limiting the generality and applicability of this work outside of the study streams. I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. These findings will be useful to entities involved with managing and conserving brook trout populations, like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and help them better understand the effects that environmental factors have on brook trout populations.","abstract_html":"Aquatic ecosystems are facing numerous threats that are products of anthropogenic activity, including habitat destruction and climate change. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the consequences of these threats. Native fish species found within these aquatic ecosystems are often used as quality indicators to determine overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (&lt;i&gt;Salvelinus fontinalis&lt;/i&gt;) are cold-water specialists that have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are highly sensitive to habitat disturbance, which makes them important quality indicators for cold-water ecosystems. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental correlates (e.g., streamflow, temperature) and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA for the first time. In Chapter 1, I use generalized linear mixed-models and long-term fish collections data from the National Park Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural (time-invariant) variables, (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) Biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting variation in brook trout abundance across space and over time. Biotic variables had high importance compared to other categories. For example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. In Chapter 2, I use linear models and long-term fish survey data from the U.S. Forest Service (1994-2022) to investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages (i.e., (1) Spawning, (2) Incubation, (3) Yolk-sac, (4) Juvenile). In this chapter, I focused on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams, which had contrasting results, limiting the generality and applicability of this work outside of the study streams. I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. These findings will be useful to entities involved with managing and conserving brook trout populations, like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and help them better understand the effects that environmental factors have on brook trout populations.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Grundy, Kyle"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Fisheries and Wildlife Science","degree_department":"Fish and Wildlife Conservation","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Angermeier, Paul L.","Frimpong, Emmanuel Anokye"],"committee_members":["Kindsvater, Holly"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08-21","date_published":"2025-08-21","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:56:30Z","subjects":["abundance","recruitment","density-dependent","density-independent","abiotic and biotic interactions"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44535"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:44535","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137556","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Angermeier, Paul L.","Frimpong, Emmanuel Anokye"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Kindsvater, Holly"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Fish and Wildlife Conservation"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Grundy, Kyle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-08-22T08:01:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-08-22T08:01:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-08-21"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Fisheries and Wildlife Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["abundance","recruitment","density-dependent","density-independent","abiotic and biotic interactions"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44535"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137556"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Aquatic ecosystems are facing numerous threats that are products of anthropogenic activity, including habitat destruction and climate change. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the consequences of these threats. Native fish species found within these aquatic ecosystems are often used as quality indicators to determine overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) are cold-water specialists that have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are highly sensitive to habitat disturbance, which makes them important quality indicators for cold-water ecosystems. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental correlates (e.g., streamflow, temperature) and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA for the first time. In Chapter 1, I use generalized linear mixed-models and long-term fish collections data from the National Park Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural (time-invariant) variables, (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) Biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting variation in brook trout abundance across space and over time. Biotic variables had high importance compared to other categories. For example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. In Chapter 2, I use linear models and long-term fish survey data from the U.S. Forest Service (1994-2022) to investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages (i.e., (1) Spawning, (2) Incubation, (3) Yolk-sac, (4) Juvenile). In this chapter, I focused on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams, which had contrasting results, limiting the generality and applicability of this work outside of the study streams. I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. These findings will be useful to entities involved with managing and conserving brook trout populations, like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and help them better understand the effects that environmental factors have on brook trout populations."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Aquatic ecosystems face many threats that are products of human activity. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the problems that are affecting these environments. Fish found within these aquatic ecosystems are used to indicate overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are only found in pristine cold-water environments, which makes them good indicators of ecosystem quality and disturbance. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental factors, such as habitat characteristics and temperature and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA. Recruitment is the addition of juvenile fish to the adult breeding population, which is used as an indicator of population health. In Chapter 1, I use statistical modeling and long-term fish collections data from the National Parks Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural variables (variables that do not change over time), (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting brook trout abundance. Abundance of co-occurring fish species had high importance compared to other categories; for example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. This work was the first to explore the effects of environmental variables on spatiotemporal brook trout abundance in Shenandoah National Park. In Chapter 2, I investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams. I found different results in each stream. Stock size is the number of adults in a population that reproduce and create juveniles (i.e., recruitment). I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. Collectively, the findings of this work reveal important relationships between environmental factors and brook trout population dynamics that add to current scientific knowledge and raise new questions for investigation."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects of abiotic and biotic factors on population dynamics of brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) within Shenandoah National Park, Virginia"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Angermeier, Paul L.","Frimpong, Emmanuel Anokye"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Kindsvater, Holly"],"dc:contributor.department":["Fish and Wildlife Conservation"],"dc:creator":["Grundy, Kyle"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-08-22T08:01:07Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-08-22T08:01:07Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-08-21"],"dc:description.abstract":["Aquatic ecosystems are facing numerous threats that are products of anthropogenic activity, including habitat destruction and climate change. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the consequences of these threats. Native fish species found within these aquatic ecosystems are often used as quality indicators to determine overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) are cold-water specialists that have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are highly sensitive to habitat disturbance, which makes them important quality indicators for cold-water ecosystems. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental correlates (e.g., streamflow, temperature) and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA for the first time. In Chapter 1, I use generalized linear mixed-models and long-term fish collections data from the National Park Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural (time-invariant) variables, (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) Biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting variation in brook trout abundance across space and over time. Biotic variables had high importance compared to other categories. For example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. In Chapter 2, I use linear models and long-term fish survey data from the U.S. Forest Service (1994-2022) to investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages (i.e., (1) Spawning, (2) Incubation, (3) Yolk-sac, (4) Juvenile). In this chapter, I focused on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams, which had contrasting results, limiting the generality and applicability of this work outside of the study streams. I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. These findings will be useful to entities involved with managing and conserving brook trout populations, like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and help them better understand the effects that environmental factors have on brook trout populations."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Aquatic ecosystems face many threats that are products of human activity. Monitoring aquatic ecosystems is important so that we can better understand and remedy the problems that are affecting these environments. Fish found within these aquatic ecosystems are used to indicate overall ecosystem health. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) have a large distribution across the eastern United States and are only found in pristine cold-water environments, which makes them good indicators of ecosystem quality and disturbance. Brook trout have also faced significant declines throughout their range in recent decades. In this work, I explore the relationships between environmental factors, such as habitat characteristics and temperature and brook trout abundance and recruitment in Shenandoah National Park, VA. Recruitment is the addition of juvenile fish to the adult breeding population, which is used as an indicator of population health. In Chapter 1, I use statistical modeling and long-term fish collections data from the National Parks Service (1996-2021) to investigate the relationship between brook trout abundance and environmental variables in four categories: (1) Natural variables (variables that do not change over time), (2) Hydrological/Temperature variables, (3) Anthropogenically-influenced variables, and (4) biotic variables. I found that all variable categories were important in predicting brook trout abundance. Abundance of co-occurring fish species had high importance compared to other categories; for example, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) abundance consistently had a negative relationship with brook trout abundance. This work was the first to explore the effects of environmental variables on spatiotemporal brook trout abundance in Shenandoah National Park. In Chapter 2, I investigate the relationship between temperature, streamflow, and stock size during important life-stages on brook trout recruitment in two Appalachian streams. I found different results in each stream. Stock size is the number of adults in a population that reproduce and create juveniles (i.e., recruitment). I found that streamflow variables were most important in predicting recruitment, but stock size was a poor predictor in Paine Run. For Staunton River, temperature variables and stock size were most important for predicting recruitment. The stock-recruitment relationship for Staunton River followed a hump-shaped curve where recruitment increased with stock size up to a threshold before declining. This work was the first to characterize the stock-recruitment relationship in Staunton River. Collectively, the findings of this work reveal important relationships between environmental factors and brook trout population dynamics that add to current scientific knowledge and raise new questions for investigation."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:44535"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137556"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["abundance","recruitment","density-dependent","density-independent","abiotic and biotic interactions"],"dc:title":["Effects of abiotic and biotic factors on population dynamics of brook trout (<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) within Shenandoah National Park, Virginia"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Fisheries and Wildlife Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:56:30Z"}