• Student: Courtney Noone
• Teacher: Ms. Steneken
• Class: Science, 5th Period
• Grade: 7th 

Trout Journal

Part Two ~Habitat & Range                       

Hi, it’s me (Brookie) again. Only this time I am all grown up. Currently, I live on my own and I even have a mate!  I live in a stream, which is very far from my old house (I must be in a different state).  I already told you about my childhood, so now I have decided to tell you about where I live. 

My neighborhood is incredibly enjoyable.  My neighbors are polite, and the weather is excellent! The air is mainly clear and cool. The temperature is never above 72 degrees (anywhere above that is too hot).  Me, and almost every other brook trout, enjoy living in cold water. Some fish even swim downstream during the summertime when temperatures are high.   The environment around me is highly- oxygenated all the time. Without it being like that, I wouldn’t be able to survive!

I live in a narrow bend, where the fast water meets with the slow water.  I live where the fast water meets the slow because it is a comfortable spot to lie and feed in the same place.  Outside of my town (the land) is a big forest that keeps the sun blocked. It is hard for us to find an area like this because so many places are opened up for agriculture and development (I got lucky)!  All of the trees also provide oxygen. 

Along with any other in the world, my neighborhood also has threats.  One of the biggest threats to my area is acid rain.  The acid rain comes from pollution that goes into the rain as it is falling down.  Another big hazard to where I live is deforestation.  All of the forests are slowly coming down.  When the forests aren’t there, it causes many things to go wrong!  One major thing it affects is the oxygen level. As a brook trout, I like the oxygen level to be high.  Without trees, it is low.  Also without trees, nothing is there to block the sun.  When the sun is not blocked, the water gets to hot to live in.  Another danger is the air quality. All of the pollution causes the water to become life threatening.