Little kern golden trout
The Little Kern golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss whitei) is a brightly colored subspecies of rainbow trout native to the main stem and tributaries of the Little Kern River in Tulare County, California. Together with the California golden trout (the state fish of California) and the Kern River rainbow trout, the Little Kern golden trout forms what is sometimes referred to as the "golden trout complex" of the Kern River basin.
The Little Kern golden trout is a brightly colored fish with profuse black spots on the back and tail. The belly and cheeks are typically a bright orange to orange-red. The lower sides of the fish range from a light yellow to bright gold. The back is olive green. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are orange with white tips. Unlike many varieties of rainbow trout, but similar to other redband trout and trout in the "golden trout complex", the Little Kern golden trout typically retain into adulthood up to ten parr marks along their sides. There is also often an intermediate row of smaller parr marks occurring above and/or below the main row of parr marks.
Morphologically, the Little Kern golden trout sits somewhat in between the California golden trout and the typical coastal rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus). Compared to the California golden trout, the brilliance of coloration in the Little Kern golden trout is usually a bit more subdued. Little Kern goldens tend to have more black spots along its back, especially anterior to the caudal peduncle, and onto its head in comparison to California golden trouts. Compared to coastal rainbow trout, Little Kern goldens tend to have fewer, larger, and rounder spots. Little Kern golden trout in their native small stream habitat rarely exceed 12 inches (30 cm) in length and any fish exceeding 10 inches (25 cm) would be considered large.
Little Kern golden trout historically occupied roughly 100 miles (160 km) of the Little Kern River and its tributaries above a natural waterfall barrier preceding its confluence with the main stem Kern River.
As a result of hybridization with hatchery rainbow trout introduced into its watershed, the Little Kern golden trout as a distinct subspecies experienced a widespread contraction in its range. By the 1960s it was limited to only about 8 miles (13 km) of small headwater streams above three natural barriers.To address the problems of hybridization, planting of non-native trout ceased in the 1950s, and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) began surveys in 1965 to initiate restoration efforts. Allozyme electrophoretic analyses begun in 1976 at UC Davis ultimately identified, what they thought were six pure populations of Little Kern Golden Trout. Restoration efforts began in 1975 with the first rotenone treatments being used to kill off non-native fish in the historic habitat. After chemical treatments there was a period of restocking of treated waters with pure Little Kern golden trout raised at the Kern River Fish Hatchery near Kernville, California from broodstock collected in the six "pure" populations previously identified. Additional restoration efforts included construction of barriers to the upstream movement of non-native trout, habitat improvement of streams damaged by cattle grazing, public education, and continued monitoring of fish populations, their genetic integrity, and habitat conditions. By 1996, restoration was believed to have been complete.
