Recruitment as a driver of production dynamics in stream-resident brown trout (Salmo trutta)

1. The objective was to assess the role of recruitment as a determinant of the production dynamics of stream-resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) across replicate habitats of contrasting quality and population attributes. A total of 128-year-classes (YC) at 12 stream sites were examined along four tributaries of the Rio Esva drainage (northwestern Spain). 2. A meta-comparison revealed that growth, density, mortality and production were essentially site-specific. However, when all data were pooled, recruitment (as a delayed density-dependent process) affected both growth and mortality in a way such that individuals in YC with high recruitment grew less and had higher mortality. 3. The value of total YC production recorded covered the global range of variation in the production of stream salmonids reported in the literature. Linear regressions of log-transformed data revealed that 89.0%, 58.9% and 70.7% of the variation in YC density, biomass and production, respectively, were explained by variations in recruitment. 4. The inclusion of growth and mortality, together with recruitment, into a multiple regression increased the variance explained of the total YC production by 13.3%, from 70.7% to 84.0%. 5. The functional relationships between recruitment and the population attributes elucidated in this study appear to provide a useful tool for management applications, including forecasting population status.