View source for Apache trout

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
 | name = Apache trout
 | image = Apache trout (Oncorhynchus apache) (12435087154).jpg
 | status = CR
 | status_system = IUCN2.3
|status_ref=<ref name=iucnstatus1996>{{cite iucn|author=Gimenez Dixon, M.|year=1996|title=''Oncorhynchus apache''|page=e.T15316A4513009|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T15316A4513009.en|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref>
|status2=LT
|status2_system=ESA
|status2_ref=<ref name=ecos>{{cite web|url=https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3532|title=Apache trout (''Oncorhynchus apache'')|website=Environmental Conservation Online System|publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=fr32>{{Federal Register|32|4001}}</ref><ref name=fr40>{{Federal Register|40|29863}}</ref>
 | genus = Oncorhynchus
 | species = apache
 | authority = ([[Robert Rush Miller|R. R. Miller]], 1972)
}}

The '''Apache trout''' or '''Arizona trout'''<ref name=fr40/> ('''''Oncorhynchus apache'''''), is a [[species]] of [[freshwater]] [[fish]] in the [[salmon]] [[family (biology)|family]] (family [[Salmonidae]]) of [[order (biology)|order]] [[Salmoniformes]]. It is one of the Pacific [[trout]]s.

==Description==
The Apache trout measures in length from {{cvt|6|to(-)|24|in|cm|0}}, and weighs between {{cvt|0.4|to(-)|6|lb|kg|1}}.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} It rarely exceeds {{cvt|25|cm|0|disp=flip}}, but can reach up to {{cvt|40|cm|disp=flip}} in its native, headwater streams.<ref>Rinne, J.N. 1990. Status, distribution, biology, and conservation of two rare southwestern (U.S.A.) salmonids, the Apache trout, Oncorhynchus apache Miller, and the Gila trout, O. gilae Miller. Journal of Fish Biology 37(1990):189-191.</ref> Apache trout are a yellowish-gold color with a golden belly and have medium-sized dark spots that are evenly spaced and that may extend below the lateral line and onto the [[Dorsal fin|dorsal]] and [[Fish anatomy#Types of fin|tail fin]]s. The top of its head and back are dark olive in color, and it has the appearance of having a black stripe/mask through each of its eyes, due to two small black dots on either side of the pupil. There can be a throat mark below the lower jaw, ranging in color from yellow to gold.

==Distribution==
The Apache trout is the [[List of U.S. state fish|state fish]] of [[Arizona]], and is one of only two species of [[trout]] native to that state, with the other being the [[gila trout]] (''O. g. gilae''). It natively lives in clear, cool streams in the [[White Mountains (Arizona)|White Mountains]] that flow through [[coniferous forest]]s and [[marsh]]es, but has been introduced into several lakes in the area. The Apache trout is native to the upper [[Salt River (Arizona)|Salt River]] watershed ([[Black River (Arizona)|Black]] and [[White River (Arizona)|White]] rivers) and the upper [[Little Colorado River]] watershed. Apache trout have been introduced into isolated streams outside of their historic range in the [[Pinaleño Mountains]] and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Apache trout exist in their most pure form within headwater streams at an elevation of 2,100m or higher in the White Mountain Apache Reservation.
<ref>Rinne, J. N., &amp; Minckley, W. L. (1985). Patterns of variation and distribution in Apache trout (Salmo Apache) relative to co-occurrence with introduced salmonids. Copeia, 1985(2), 285. https://doi.org/10.2307/1444838 </ref>

==Life history==
The Apache trout spawns from March to the middle of June, and varies with elevations. Maturity was found to occur in three years, and fecundity is based on the size of trout. One female typically produces from 72 to 240 eggs in {{convert|13.1|to|19.1|cm|in|abbr=on}} fish and from 646 to 1,083 eggs in {{convert|29.8|to|34.9|cm|in|abbr=on}} fish.<ref>Harper, K.C. 1978. Biology of a southwestern salmonid, Salmo apache (Miller 1972). pp. 99-111 in J.R. Morning, editor. Proceedings of the wild trout-catchable trout symposium. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Corvallis</ref> The eggs hatch after 30 days. The Apache trout eats both terrestrial and aquatic [[insect]]s, such as [[Trichoptera]] and [[Diptera]]. In lakes, they also eat small fishes and [[zooplankton]].
[[File:Apache_trout_juvenile.jpg|thumb|Young Apache trout at [[OdySea Aquarium]].]]

==Conservation==
[[File:Apache_Trout.png|thumb|right|alt= |Map showing Apache Trout occurrences in Arizona]]
Recovery and management efforts for Apache trout have been ongoing since the 1940s. Apache trout are raised in federal and state hatcheries, and reared fish have been used to assist with recovery and to maintain populations for sport fishing in certain streams and reservoirs.<ref>U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</ref>

While the [[IUCN]] considers the Apache trout to be [[critically endangered]],<ref name=iucnstatus1996/> it is listed as threatened under the [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref name=ecos/> Around 100 years ago, they could be found in {{convert|600|mi|km}} of streams in the White Mountains. By the late 1960s, their range had been reduced to around {{convert|30|mi|km}} of these streams. Once the Endangered Species Act of 1969 was passed, they became one of the first species listed under it. When this act was replaced by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, they became one of the first fish species protected under the newer Act.{{efn|They were moved to "threatened" status,<ref name=fr40/> having originally been listed as endangered.<ref name=fr32/>}} Population numbers for this species are still rising.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Today, major risks to the Apache trout are its easy [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] with the [[rainbow trout]] and major forest fires. [[Cutthroat trout]] are also genetically similar and cross-breed with Apache trout, compromising the genetic purity of each species.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/apache_recovery.shtml |title=Apache Trout Recovery |access-date=2013-09-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920205105/http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/apache_recovery.shtml |archive-date=2013-09-20 }}</ref> The range of the Apache trout remains limited, which puts it at risk, but it is now common enough that limited fishing is permitted.

Ongoing conservation efforts by the [[White Mountain Apache Tribe]] have helped to preserve the subspecies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101654/Oncorhynchus_apache|title=''Oncorhynchus apache''|website=NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer|publisher=NatureServe|author=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|date=4 August 2023|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=2021ssa>{{cite web|url=https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/220690|title=Species Status Assessment for the Apache Trout (''Oncorhynchus apache''), Version 1.0|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|location=Flagstaff, Arizona|access-date=20 August 2023|date=September 2021|author=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref>

Many of the Mount Baldy headwater streams that are the stronghold of Apache trout are entirely closed to fishing. Catch and release fishing opportunities for wild (stream born), pure-strain Apache trout exist in a limited number of areas. Additionally, there are numerous consumptive fishing opportunities for Apache trout in waters where natural reproduction is not occurring and the Apache trout population is the result of stocking efforts.<ref>[http://www.willjordanphoto.com/Fly-Fishing/Book/11181808_sWRJ8 Fly Fishing]willjordanphoto.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414233311/http://www.willjordanphoto.com/Fly-Fishing/Book/11181808_sWRJ8 |date=14 April 2011 }}</ref>

The 2011 [[Wallow Fire]] resulted in the loss of stream barriers erected to prevent hybridization<ref name=2021ssa/>{{rp|62-63}} and the extirpation of Apache trout from Coleman Creek<ref name=2021ssa/>{{rp|66}} and likely of hybridized populations elsewhere,<ref name=2021ssa/>{{rp|62,63}} while the 2017 [[Frye Fire]] destroyed a stocked population in Ash Creek in the Pinaleño Mountains.<ref name=2021ssa/>{{rp|65-66}}  [[Climate change]] causing rising temperatures and increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires threatens the existence of Apache trout.<ref name=2021ssa/>{{rp|46-48}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{ITIS |id=161981 |taxon=Oncorhynchus gilae apache |accessdate=24 January 2006}} Trinomial from Behnke, 2002.

==External links==
* {{FishBase |genus= Oncorhynchus |species= apache | month = February | year = 2012}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040527131345/http://www.gf.state.az.us/w_c/apache_recovery.shtml Apache Trout Recovery]

{{Trouts}}
{{Arizona}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q617184}}

[[Category:Oncorhynchus]]
[[Category:Cold water fish|Trout, Apache]]
[[Category:Endemic fish of the United States|Trout, Apache]]
[[Category:Fish of the Western United States|Trout, Apache]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of the United States|Trout, Apache]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States|Trout, Gila]]
[[Category:Natural history of Arizona]]
[[Category:Symbols of Arizona]]
[[Category:White Mountains (Arizona)]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1972]]