- In winter anchor ice can form in streams under certain conditions. This can be devastating to fish eggs and yolk sac young living in the gravel and to juvenile fish such as salmon and Dolly Varden living in the stream. This video could be used as an introduction to a discussion about the importance of streamside vegetation and beaver dams which help prevent this from occurring.
- In this video the first part shows the anchor ice in the shallower parts of the stream illustrating that there is no place for fish to reside and the ice may reach and kill the alevins living in the gravel. The last part of the video shows ice forming at the surface of a beaver pond on Steep Creek which protects the area from the Anchor Ice and provides a place for the overwintering fish to live.
- For information about the effects of anchor ice look at Winter, Ice, and Fish 2011, Brown, Hubert and Daly One important statement within this document is “One of the most stable habitats for fish during winter is beaver (Castor canadensis) ponds (Collen and Gibson 2001) with consistent water levels, very low current velocities, and stationary ice cover throughout winter. Numerous studies have shown that trout select beaver ponds during winter (Chisholm et al. 1987; Jakober et al. 1998; Lindstrom and Hubert 2004a).”
