Steelhead Trout Migration
Steelhead trout are amazing fish, but they don't spend their life in one place. They swim far distances as they grow older, we call this "migration". Let's learn about steelhead trout migration together!
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Topics of this game:
- Steelhead begin as _________ buried safely under small rocks called gravel. The best habitat for them is in cold, clean creeks near the tops of our mountains.
- When steelhead eggs hatch they look very strange. We call these young fish ___________. Their big round belly is part of the egg and they use this for energy until they are big enough to hunt.
- Eggs and alevin live happily under the rocks and gravel in mountain streams. As these young steelhead grow up they will swim very far away to new places. We call this a steelhead "____________".
- The tiny alevin gets a new name when it has used up all of its egg energy. We call these steelhead "fry". Fry swim out from the gravel and eat tiny ____________ that live in the river.
- Fry swim around exploring their small mountain stream. They swim in deep pools and in shallow riffles where there are lots of bugs to eat. Fry need ________ , __________ water to stay healthy.
- As the fry gets bigger, it needs to find bigger food and bigger places to swim. Fry migrate from the small streams to larger rivers where there is more food. Predators like ________ try to catch them.
- Steelhead fry migrate down the river for 1 year, eating bugs and escaping predators. They grow bigger, turning from brown to silver! When they turn silver they have a new name, we call them _________.
- Smolt are bigger fish, so they migrate closer to the ocean where there is bigger food and a bigger place for them to swim. Smolt must watch out for predators like hungry _________ and osprey birds.
- Smolt migrate into the "____________", where salty ocean waves mix with the fresh river water. During the summer you can stand on the bridge near the Boardwalk and watch smolt swimming in the river!
- Steelhead smolt live in the estuary all summer long until the river flow goes up. Smolt migrate out to the ocean when the river flow gets high enough! Which month shows the highest river flow?
- When smolt migrate into the ocean, they get a new name. We call them "ocean adults". Ocean adults grow even bigger, because they can find bigger ________ and have a bigger space to swim around.
- Silver ocean adults can spend 3 years swimming in the ocean! They can migrate from California up to the _______ waters of Alaska where there are a lot shrimp, krill, and small fish to eat.
- Ocean adults must avoid predators like sharks and humans! After 2 or 3 years, ocean adults migrate back to California and swim into their __________ __________ , the same place where they were born.
- Ocean adults return to their home river when river flow is highest, during the rainy season of ____________. These steelhead are not called ocean adults anymore. Their new name is "spawner".
- The big steelhead spawners use all of their strength and energy to swim up their home river in the winter. They use their sense of smell to locate the same small _________ stream where they were born!
- Male and female steelhead spawners finally make it back to the rocks and gravel in small mountain streams. They dig a hole in the gravel with their tail and lays eggs, also called _____________.
- Some spawners swim back to the ocean after laying eggs, but other spawners will sadly die of old age. In 2 months their __________ eggs will hatch, and the steelhead life cycle starts all over again.
- Steelhead are born from eggs that hatch into alevin. Alevin grow into fry and migrate down stream. Fry grow into smolt and migrate to the estuary. Smolt migrate into the ocean to become ______ ______.
- Ocean adults migrate very far distances in the ocean and then migrate back to their home river, becoming spawners. Spawners swim up the river until they find the perfect __________ for laying eggs.
- You have now learned all about the migration and the life cycle of ______________ trout. Play this game again to see if you can get all the answers right, and share it with family and friends!
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