Benthic Macroinvertebrates 



Benthic macroinvertebrate density ranged from moderate to low at 

 sites where torrent, and slimy sculpin were abundant (Figure 9) . 

 There was no dramatic decrease in benthic macroinvertebrate 

 density at sites where sculpin were less numerous or not present 

 at all. At sites where sculpin were not present, benthic 

 macroinvertebrate density ranged from low to high. There is no 

 clear trend or correlation between these variables. 



Algal Density 



Filamentous algae density ranged from rare to common at sites 

 where torrent, and slimy sculpin were abundant. As torrent and 

 slimy sculpin abundance decreased, algae density varied from 

 common to rare. Also, the reverse trend was noted. There is no 

 clear trend or correlation between these variables. 



Reproduction 



Reproduction was recorded at sample sites for the two sculpin 

 species present in the study area (Table 1) . Slimy sculpin had 

 the highest percentage of sites with young of the year present. 

 Young of the year sculpin tended to occupy backwater areas and 

 were often present in common numbers . Young of the year were 

 more easily stunned with the electroshocker than one or one-plus 

 year fish, but were too small to capture effectively due to their 

 small size relative to the mesh size of the D-nets. 



Table 1: Percentage of sample sites with and without 



reproduction for two sculpin species in the Kootenai 

 National Forest. Reproduction was determined based on 

 the presence or absence of young of the year (YOY) 

 sculpin at the total number of sites for a respective 

 sculpin species between July and September, 1992. 



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