Details
Salvelinus fontinalis
The brook trout is a salmonid fish of cold North American streams and lakes. Cathemeral individuals share water loosely while holding feeding positions.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses cold, oxygen-rich streams, springs, and lakes. Shade, gravel beds, and submerged wood support resting and spawning.
Length is about 25-65 cm and weight about 300-3,000 g. A dark back with wormlike markings, red spots, and white-edged fins are characteristic.
Activity is flexible, and fish wait from current breaks, pools, or cover. Feeding positions shift with water temperature and light.
It is carnivorous, eating aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, small fish, and crustaceans. Drifting prey is taken with quick movements.
Spawning occurs in cold gravel beds, where females dig redds for the eggs. Fry grow in shallow stream margins and quiet edges.
Its status is listed as Least Concern. It depends on cold clean water and can be affected locally by warming and stream alteration.
