The aim of this present study was to determine and evaluate whether the presence of brooktrout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and sediment load may be a threat against the reproduction anddistribution of freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) in a creek located innorthern Sweden. Freshwater pearl mussel is an endangered species and is dependent ofBrown trout (Salmo trutta) to reproduce. Therefore there are concerns of indirect effects onthe population of pearl mussel by competition between Brown trout and brook trout. Ditchesfrom a nearby gravel road have been fixed to lower the sediment load into the creek. I tried toevaluate this action plan.

The background to this work was to see if there was a connection between large woody debris (LWD) and the presence of Brown trout in our Swedish forest streams. Previous researches by Degerman et al. (2004) have shown that there is a strong correlation between the amount of dead wood and the presence of Brown trout. The goal was then to find a way to restore, maintain and increase the trout habitats by constructing and adding manmade wooden structures that would mimic natural deadwood and its features in flowing water. The inspiration was partially taken from a water restoration program in the Klamath River of northern California, USA.

I have done a follow up study of the restoration of two rivers, Röälven and Grundan, in order to evaluate the effects of the restoration on the endemic population of trout. Both rivers have been used for timber floating during many years throughout the 20th century, and because of this, had all obstacles such as rocks and wood parts removed. In 2004-2005 both rivers were restored, and rocks and wood were put back into the rivers. Spawning grounds were created and boulder dams were constructed to promote the streaming water. The result showed that the trout population of both rivers increased after the restoration, but also that the trout population of Röälven increased more than that of Grundan.

During the timber floating era, most of Sweden?s watercourses were altered. This decreased the amount of available spawning habitats for salmonids, and hence had a negative effect on the riverine Brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations. Reconstruction of spawning grounds is today a common measure in restoration of altered streams in Sweden. However, very little evaluation of the effectiveness of these reconstructed spawning grounds exists.

The classic view of trout (Salmo trutta) life history is that trout begins its life in freshwater, migrates to the ocean after about 1-4 years and then returns to freshwater to spawn. As trout fry have been caught at the mouth of the River Emån, near the Baltic Sea, researchers have speculated that some trout emigrate during their first year of life. The purpose of this study was to describe the variation in the length of time trout reside in freshwater before they migrate to the ocean for the first time. Another purpose was to investigate whether it was possible to discern where and how long the fish spent in freshwater and saltwater during different parts of their lives. Between 2007 and 2009, 23 adult trout were captured in the River Emån in southeastern Sweden.

Habitat selection of migratory Brown trout at the upper reaches of River Vindelälven, wasstudied in September during the pre-spawning period. The fish migrate from down- orupriver lakes for spawning in the river and data was collected by habitat mapping andradio-telemetry. Habitat selection of fish was analysed with preference curves andstatistical modelling, using the physical variables; depth, stream velocity and streambedsubstrate. Preference curves were derived by comparing fish habitat use with their nearbyavailable environment while the statistical modelling aimed to answer three main questions.1) Do the trout have a specific preference of depth, water velocity and streambed substrate?2) Is there any difference in habitat selection between sexes? 3) Is there a shift in habitatselection over time? The preference curves indicated that trout favored water depths of 1-2m, velocity compositions characterized as glides (c.

Many watersheds have lost stocks of migrating fish species because of the development of hydroelectric plants and other fragmenting barriers. The remaining stocks of migrating Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in River Klarälven, Sweden are five times smaller compared to one hundred years ago. A fish-trap at the hydroelectric plant in Forshaga has been vital for the continued existence of the stocks. This is the first hydroelectric plant of eight, blocking the way to the spawning grounds. Spawners are collected in the trap for both hatchery and transport by truck upstream and past seven more hydroelectric plants to the spawning grounds, where they are released for possible natural reproduction.

There are five endemic populations of migratory Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae) and Brown trout (Salmo trutta, Salmonidae) remaining in Lake Vänern, whereof two are salmon and three are trout. There is one population of each species in Klarälven, also one of each in Gullspångsälven and there is a population of trout still remaining in Tidan River. Since the beginning of the 20th century endemic populations of salmon and trout have either vanished or declined dramatically due to the construction of hydropower in the rivers around the lake, and still today the future of the remaining populations remains uncertain. To manage salmonid fishes effectively more knowledge of their ecology throughout their different life-stages is needed. A large part of the Lake Vänern salmonoids lives are spent in the lake, where a mayor mortality factor is recreational fishing, especially angling.

The population of seatrout and salmon are threatened by over-fishing in the sea and loss of spawning and growing habitats caused by logging activities in many swedish rivers. The knowledge of the spawning migration and the habitat use of the seatrouts and salmon are limited. This study analyse the upstream spawning migration of Atlantic salmon and sea-running Brown trouts from the lower part of the rivers to their spawning sites in the rivers Vindelälven and Piteälven. A knowledge about the distribution of spawning sites in the rivers will help these fish population in future restoration programs. In the fishladder at Norrfors in the river Umeälven were 29 sea trout and 20 salmon radio tagged and subsequently released and followed during their spawning migration upstream Vindelälven. They were tracked on their position in the river once a week.

The purpose with this study is to find out how much dead wood we can expect us to find in a Russian reference river and compare with studies from Swedish streams. Dead wood are an important structure for the biodiversity in forest streams, studies have shown that population of trout can increase with up to 300 % when the amount of dead wood are increasing from 0 to 8 ? 16 LWD (Large woody debris)/100 m2. Dead wood are also an important structure for the stream character, formations of dams and pools which are important habitats and reproduction areas for salmon and Brown trout. The study where taken place in tributaries to the Russian river Varzuga in the North West part of Russia outside Murmansk. Varzuga has low impact of human activity and is considered to be a reference river to rivers in northern Sweden.

Ammerån which is a small forest river in eastern Jämtland is a well-known river that has been a popular fishing river for a long time. The actual Ammerån begins downstream the lake Solbergsvattnet at Hammerdal and flows into the Indalsälven 10 km upstream Hammarstrand. The river environment switches between forests with wilderness feeling and open agricultural land. The entire Ammerån is today a nature reserve and protected from hydropower development. Fishing in Ammerån has mainly been focused on trout and grayling, and is so even today.

Turbot (Psetta maxima) and flounder (Platichthys flesus) are two species of flatfish both having their nursery areas around the shores of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The common brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) is a known predator on newly settled plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in the North Sea area and is also found in the Baltic Sea. Experiments were carried out to see if the brown shrimp is predating on juvenile turbot and flounder, and if so on which sizes, and if the brown shrimp prefers any of the flatfish species, and also to see if there is a difference between day and night in density of the shrimp, i.e. when the fish might be subjected to predation. The results showed that predation decreased with size for both turbot and flounder.

Timber floating operations in Scandinavia during the 19th and 20th centuries has contributed to severe negative impacts on riverine ecosystems. Increase in water velocity and lack of stream bed heterogeneity as a result of stream channelization lead to increased bed load transport. Since availability and recruitment of new suitable spawning substrate in Scandinavian watercourses is sparse, spawning habitats for salmonids has become a scarce commodity. Lately, increasingly more attention has been given to the recreation and improvement of Brown trout (Salmo trutta) spawning habitats in restoration projects. While much of the research on spawning habitat has been focused on evaluation of the influence that the constructed spawning grounds have on fish populations, few studies have been conducted to evaluate the persistence of these constructions over time. I evaluate erosion of constructed spawning beds as an effect of sediment transport attributable to water discharge.

The Swedish forest have about 100 000 km of watercourses and it?s an important structure in Swedish landscapes and catchments. In some of the watercourses lives spieces like the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) and Brown trout (Salmo trutta) which both are sensitive for inteference from the forestry. The new EU water framework directive has a goal that all surface water will have high or good ecological- and good chemical status at latest by the 22nd December of 2015. The study has been made in the catchment of Håltjärnsbäcken and it is from a national perspective one of the most valuable streams in Sweden and which also have been included in a LIFE-project. The catchment is situated within the Eco-park of Malingsbo-Kloten and managed by Sveaskog AB.

During the transportation of logging residues (LR) the material´s low density is a problem that results in low use of pay-load capacity. Comminution or compression of LR are possible methods to increase pay-loads. In the present thesis studied a bundling machine which was mounted on a truck chassis, and the subsequent transport and crushing. The truck bundler created bundles that were larger and longer than other bundling equipment on the market. The objectives were to determine the total time consumption and its allocation over work element and machinery, to measure dry matter (DM) content of green and brown LR-bundles.