Prediction of biological form at the adult stage of brown trout Salmo trutta using morphological or colorimetric criteria in migrating juveniles

Abstract

To assess the correlation between four visual morphological types based on body colour and shape (fario trout, FT; shiny fario, SFT; presmolt trout, PST; typical smolt ST) of juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta during downstream spring migration and the biological form at the adult stage (river or sea), mark-recapture experiments were carried out over a period of 23 years. Evidence is provided that the visual SFT type is not a relevant one, while objective colorimetric measurements using a black basin are the best way to determine the morphological type in migrating juveniles.