Chapter 3, Problem 9A

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The reason for the decrease in the reproduction of the rainbow trout.

Introduction:

In an ecosystem, the effects of abiotic factors are very important for the survival of species. Tolerance factor is the measurement of the range in which a particular organism can easily survive and reproduce.

Explanation of Solution

The rainbow trout is a fish that lives in the cool water bodies. In the case, where the fish is able to survive but not able to reproduce represents that the fish is experiencing some kind of physiological stress. This physiological stress does not allow the fish to produce enough viable gamete or fertilize.

One of such conditions could be temperature. As these fishes live in cold water, they need an optimum temperature to fertilize the eggs. Due to global warming or unnatural seasonal variation, the temperature of the water could increase beyond the tolerance limit of the fish which may not allow them to reproduce.