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Determination of resident brown trout Salmo trutta features by their habitat characteristics in streams of Serbia

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Abstract

Streams’ order, their width and depth, as well as the water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen contents and pH reaction were recorded for 18 streams of the Danube River basin in Serbia that home brown trout Salmo trutta. For each of them, the number of fish species was recorded, and for brown trout in them the number of cohorts, age-structure, productivity (biomass, annual production and average weight) and growth (von Betalanffy’s growth parameters L∞, t0, K and ø’) were calculated. They were examined in relation to stream’s habitat features. Stepwise multiple regression revealed strong interdependence between habitat variables. Size, i.e., width and depth of streams increased and their oxygen content dropped with increase in their order and rise of the water temperature, and water conductivity was strongly interrelated with order and depth of streams. Increase in streams’ order and their water’s temperature were accompanied with the increase of species number in them, number of brown trout cohorts raised with the water conductivity and dropped with the increase of the alkaline pH value of streams, whereas growth of brown trout was determined by width of streams and their water’s conductivity. However, when analyzed one at a time, very few of habitat and population traits, e.g., stream depth and L∞, varied clearly in streams of either various orders, or conductivity classes, respectively. The notable, but not yet significant variability of almost all other characters implicates their strong and complex acting in concert to determining number of fish species in syntopy, brown trout population, productivity and growth features.

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Acknowledgments

Research was conducted for the grant OI #173025 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Fisheries managers at their districts accompanied researchers and guided them to the sampling locations in the field.

Funding

Support for this research was provided both from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia who provided means for scientific work, and from the fisheries’ managers who provided the field sampling logistics and guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

    Predrag Simonović, Ana Marić, Dubravka Škraba Jurlina, Tamara Kanjuh & Vera Nikolić

  2. Institute for Biologial Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

    Predrag Simonović

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  1. Predrag Simonović
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Correspondence to Predrag Simonović.

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Conflict of interest

As a Head of the Project granted by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia, I state that none of my fellow coauthors listed above has any conflict of financial, or any other kind of interest, since they are collaborators at the same project OI #173025 lead by me. They all participated in all research activities, from field ones, e.g., sampling and measuring, to laboratory analyses, e.g., scales’ examination for age determination, to data processing, e.g., calculation of habitat-related, productivity, life-history and growth variables’ values, to drafting, reviewing and preparation of figures for the manuscript in concern. Therefore, the manuscript of this paper is the outcome of our mutual effort and investment into its current form submitted to the Editorial Office of “Biologia, Section Zoology”. On behalf of all coauthors, Prof. Predrag Simonović.

Statement on the welfare of animals

All field samplings during the period of investigations regulated by relevant legal acts in power were covered by Annual Licenses for Fish Sampling for Scientific Purpose issued from the Ministry of Environment Protection and Spatial Planning (No. 324–01/29/2/2011–03) and Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection (No. 324–04-065/2016–17).

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Simonović, P., Marić, A., Jurlina, D.Š. et al. Determination of resident brown trout Salmo trutta features by their habitat characteristics in streams of Serbia. Biologia 75, 103–114 (2020). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-019-00284-1

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