Trout mark-recapture and stream temperature and streamflow data from Duck Creek, Montana

The data release includes a fish sampling dataset and a dataset of estimates of stream temperature and discharge. These datasets were created to assess how Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus virginalis bouvieri; formally Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) responded to interannual changes in stream temperature and discharge and the occurrence of non-native brown trout (Salmo trutta). Surveys were conducted within occupied Yellowstone cutthroat trout habitat in Duck Creek, MT, a tributary to the Yellowstone River. The fisheries data (2013 - 2022) represent reach-based backpack electrofishing surveys conducted in accordance with standard protocols for sampling coldwater fishes in wadeable streams. A systematic sampling design (random start) was used as the basis for the sampling design for fish sampling. Data were collected and managed by the U.S. Geological Survey and in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Montana State University, and/or affiliated field crews with support from the U.S. Geological Survey. The streamflow and temperature dataset (2014 - 2022) was created to quantify continuous measures of stream temperature and discharge as part of a project evaluating how interannual climatic conditions and the occurrence of non-native brown trout (Salmo trutta) affect native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (YCT; Oncorhnchus virginalis bouvieri). Stream temperature and discharge monitoring were completed at 3 locations within 2 tributaries occupied by Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the Duck Creek watershed, a tributary to the Yellowstone River. Data were collected in accordance standard protocols for estimating discharge and unbiased temperature monitoring. All data will also be stored in a centralized database (Cutthroat Trout Conservation Efforts Database: https://conservationefforts.org/cutr/home/).