Aggressive behaviour of underyearling rainbow trout in simulated winter concealment habitat

The behaviour of wild underyearling rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in concealment habitat in a laboratory stream aquarium at 2 and 6°C was recorded daily with an infrared video camera for 90 min over dawn. Aggressive behaviours (threat nips, nips and chases) were frequent during this time as fish entered concealment habitat. Aggressiveness varied widely among fish groups, with a range of 1 to 45 aggressive acts being initiated during a 90-min filming period. Larger fish initiated most of the encounters and removed a higher proportion of fish from concealment than did smaller aggressors. Thirteen per cent of the aggressive acts resulted in the recipient being completely removed from concealment habitat. The highest combined frequency of aggressive acts was 0.64 per visible fish per 10 min period and occurred at relatively low light levels (300 lx). The data suggest that when fish density is high, such as when habitat is limited, aggressive behaviour in winter may cause some underyearling salmonids to be excluded from concealment.