Gila trout
Encyclopedia
The gila trout is one of two subspecies of trout in O. gilae, the other being the Apache trout
(O. g. apache). Both are native to the Southwest United States
. The gila trout is a species of salmonid, related to the rainbow
and cutthroat trout
s. The Gila trout has been considered endangered with extinction. That changed in July 2006. Finally after much work by the Game and Fish departments in New Mexico and Arizona, the US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Gila trout was down-listed to "Threatened", with a special provision called a “4d rule” that will allow limited sport fishing – for the first time in nearly half a century. This possibility is distinct: there may be no one alive today that has legally angled a pure Gila trout from its native waters. By the time the Gila trout was closed to fishing in the 1950s, its numbers and range were so depleted and so reduced this copper-colored trout simply wasn’t all that accessible to anglers. As of 2011 there is fishing in both states for this beautiful fish.
in Arizona
and New Mexico
. The gila trout is found historically in the Verde and Agua Fria drainages in Arizona. Gila trout have persisted in five streams within the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, including: Iron, McKenna, and Spruce creeks in the Gila Wilderness Area, along with Main and South Diamond creeks in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area.
. However, Apache trout have a spot behind the eye
, another on the head, and big noticeable spots on the body whereas Gila trout lacks the spot and is characterized by numerous small dark spots on the upper half of the body.
s, and in confined pools. They are opportunistic feeders that feed on terrestrial insect
s such as trichopterans, ephemeropterans, chironomids, and coleopterans, as well as small fishes.
produced from females held in hatcheries averaged about 150. The maximum fecundity observed was 686 eggs.
game fish such as the rainbow trout
. However, the primary cause of reduced Gila trout populations is habitat loss caused by loss of water flow and shade-giving trees, caused in turn by fires, human destruction of riparian vegetation, livestock overgrazing, agricultural irrigation and water diversion, and channelization of streams in the Gila trout's native range. By the time the Gila trout was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967 its range had reduced from several hundred miles of stream to just 20 in the Gila Wilderness
and Aldo Leopold Wilderness
. After listing USFWS began an aggressive program of stream restoration, removing the introduced trout, restoring and repairing riparian vegetation (to maintain cooler water temperatures), and restocking restored streams with young Gila trout. The Mora National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center
in northern New Mexico keeps brood stocks of the Gila trout and supplies the fish for restocking. The species is now more secure than it was in the 1970s, having been moved to 10 new streams, though populations and habitat are still far below those originally established. Conservationists hope to eventually delist the species and allow fish
ing, thus forming alliances with fishermen in order to help preserve the species.
Apache trout
The Apache trout or Arizona trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache, is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the trouts.-Description:...
(O. g. apache). Both are native to the Southwest United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The gila trout is a species of salmonid, related to the rainbow
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and cutthroat trout
Cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...
s. The Gila trout has been considered endangered with extinction. That changed in July 2006. Finally after much work by the Game and Fish departments in New Mexico and Arizona, the US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Gila trout was down-listed to "Threatened", with a special provision called a “4d rule” that will allow limited sport fishing – for the first time in nearly half a century. This possibility is distinct: there may be no one alive today that has legally angled a pure Gila trout from its native waters. By the time the Gila trout was closed to fishing in the 1950s, its numbers and range were so depleted and so reduced this copper-colored trout simply wasn’t all that accessible to anglers. As of 2011 there is fishing in both states for this beautiful fish.
Range
The gila trout is native to tributaries of the Gila RiverGila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The gila trout is found historically in the Verde and Agua Fria drainages in Arizona. Gila trout have persisted in five streams within the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, including: Iron, McKenna, and Spruce creeks in the Gila Wilderness Area, along with Main and South Diamond creeks in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area.
Description
Gila trout has yellow head, with black spots. The average total length is about 300.0 mm (11.8 in.); with maximum total length approximately 550.0 mm (21.7 in.). Gila trout is closely related to Apache troutApache trout
The Apache trout or Arizona trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache, is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the trouts.-Description:...
. However, Apache trout have a spot behind the eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
, another on the head, and big noticeable spots on the body whereas Gila trout lacks the spot and is characterized by numerous small dark spots on the upper half of the body.
Biology
Gila trout can be found in small mountain water streamStream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s, and in confined pools. They are opportunistic feeders that feed on terrestrial insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s such as trichopterans, ephemeropterans, chironomids, and coleopterans, as well as small fishes.
Reproduction
Depending on the water temperature, spawning season occurs in late spring and summer. The number of eggsEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
produced from females held in hatcheries averaged about 150. The maximum fecundity observed was 686 eggs.
Conservation
The Gila trout has been threatened by competition and hybridization with introducedIntroduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
game fish such as the rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
. However, the primary cause of reduced Gila trout populations is habitat loss caused by loss of water flow and shade-giving trees, caused in turn by fires, human destruction of riparian vegetation, livestock overgrazing, agricultural irrigation and water diversion, and channelization of streams in the Gila trout's native range. By the time the Gila trout was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967 its range had reduced from several hundred miles of stream to just 20 in the Gila Wilderness
Gila Wilderness
Gila Wilderness was designated the world's first wilderness area on June 3, 1924. Along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, the wilderness is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. The wilderness is approximately from north to south and east to west...
and Aldo Leopold Wilderness
Aldo Leopold Wilderness
Aldo Leopold Wilderness, along with Gila Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980 by an act of the United States Congress and has a total of...
. After listing USFWS began an aggressive program of stream restoration, removing the introduced trout, restoring and repairing riparian vegetation (to maintain cooler water temperatures), and restocking restored streams with young Gila trout. The Mora National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center
Mora National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center
The Mora National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center is one of seven federal fish hatchery technology centers in the United States. Located in Mora County, New Mexico, on State Route 434 , it is mainly involved in the restoration and recovery of the endangered Gila trout, a fish found only in...
in northern New Mexico keeps brood stocks of the Gila trout and supplies the fish for restocking. The species is now more secure than it was in the 1970s, having been moved to 10 new streams, though populations and habitat are still far below those originally established. Conservationists hope to eventually delist the species and allow fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
ing, thus forming alliances with fishermen in order to help preserve the species.