Rainbow Trout in Mahon Creek

juvenile rainbow trout

Graduate student Mia McReynolds and a crew of students had a significant discovery while doing research at Mahon Creek, on the Green Bay campus this week — a juvenile rainbow trout! McReynolds is researching fish communities in small streams. “This is an unusual species to see in a small creek that gets so warm during the summer,” she said. “Usually I’d expect to find these trout in colder streams further north, towards Door & Marinette Counties. This fish is also interesting because it was likely not stocked by the Wisconsin DNR, but came from natural reproduction. The adipose fin, which is on the fish’s back just above the tail, was present on this fish, while it is removed from fish that are stocked. I would guess that this trout moved into the stream recently, though it is not impossible that it hatched in Mahon. It is definitely a surprise and a new record of trout in the arboretum!”