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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
USGS1991

Rotenone persistence in freshwater ponds: Effects of temperature and sediment adsorption

The persistence of rotenone was compared between a cement-lined pond (0.04 hectare) and an earthen-bottom pond (0.02 hectare) treated with 5 μL Noxfish/L (250 μg rotenone/L) during spring, summer, and fall. Water temperatures on the days of treatment in each season were 8, 22, and 15°C, respectively. Both ponds were filled with pond water from a common source 1 week before each of the three treatments. Water samples (filtered and unfiltered) and sediment samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography to monitor the decrease of rotenone until residues were at or below the detection limit (<2.0 μg/L for water and < 25 ng/g for sediments). The loss of rotenone from water generally followed a first-order rate ofdecay. Rotenone disappeared two to three times faster in the earthen pond than in the concrete pond. The rotenone half-life times in the spring, summer, and fall treatments were 3.7, 1.3, and 5.2 d, respectively, in the concrete pond, and 1.8, 0.7, and 1.8 d in the earthen pond. Rates of decay in both ponds were directly correlated with water temperature. Filtered water samples from both ponds contained less rotenone than unfiltered water, indicating that some rotenone was bound to suspended material. The highest concentration of rotenone in sediment samples was 102 ng/g; residues decreased to below the detection limit within 14 d in the spring treatment and within 3 d in the summer and fall treatments.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1991

Growth and survival of stocked lake trout with nuclear cataracts in Lake Ontario

Four strains of yearling lake trout Salvelinus namaycush from the 1985 and 1986 year-classes at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery were evaluated for nuclear cataracts prior to stocking in Lake Ontario in June 1986 and 1987. Lake trout recaptured by bottom trawling from April to August 1987 and 1988 were examined for cataracts. Cataract frequencies in three strains of yearling lake trout at stocking in 1986 and after 14 and 26 months in the lake were: Seneca Lake&ndash;35, 24, and 29%; Lake Ontario&ndash;32,24, and 42%; and Lake Superior&ndash;7,4, and 6%. Cataract frequencies for yearlings at stocking in 1987 and after 2 and 14 months were: Seneca Lake&ndash;51, 37, and 51 %; Lake Superior&ndash;7,12, and 12%; and Jenny Lake&ndash;46,13, and 36%. Cataract frequency was lower ( P < 0.05) at capture in three of the six groups recaptured in 1987 and in two of the six groups in 1988. Fish with cataracts in the 1987 recovery had survival ratios of 17&ndash;186% after 2 months in the lake and 48&ndash;67% after 14 months, compared with normal-eyed fish of the same strain. Nuclear cataract frequency was relatively stable after the first year of lake residency, when equilibrium was achieved between the increased mortality of cataract phenotypes and the rate of cataract development in normal-eyed phenotypes. Within groups, weight and length were not different between healthy fish and fish with cataracts. The absence of growth depression in fish with cataracts and the reduced survival rate suggested that faster growing fish were more susceptible to cataract formation.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Modeling the response of native steelhead to hatchery supplementation programs in an Idaho River

A life history model was used to predict the response of native steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Lochsa River, Idaho, to long-term supplementation with hatchery fry and smolts. The four key factors affecting the response of the native fish to a stocking program were (1) the number of native spawners, (2) the number of stocked fish, (3) the number and fitness of progeny from stocked fish, and (4) the amount of mating between hatchery and native fish. Long-term stocking of fry or smolts led to the extinction of native fish in some scenarios. The model can be used to help assess the risks and benefits of proposed stocking programs.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1992

Effect of stocking season and technique on survival of lake trout in Lake Ontario

To identify the stocking season and technique that resulted in maximum contribution of hatchery‐reared lake trout Salvelinus namaycush to the population in Lake Ontario, paired lots of yearlings were stocked near shore in March, near shore in May, and offshore by helicopter in May. All mortality associated with stocking season and technique apparently had occurred by age 2. Therefore, survival comparisons were based on combined recoveries of age‐2 and older fish. We found statistically significant differences in survival ratios for 19 of 30 comparisons among individual paired lots, but results were not consistent. For example, among 17 comparisons of lake trout stocked near shore in May and offshore in May, survival was significantly better for fish stocked near shore in four cases and for fish stocked offshore in six cases. With fish stocked near shore in May used as the control group, mean survival ratios (near shore March : near shore May : offshore May) were 0.86:1.00:1.12. However, the 95% confidence interval indicated that the survival ratios were not significantly different from 1:1:1. Variables other than stocking date and technique apparently had a major influence on survival of lake trout following stocking in Lake Ontario. Predation by large salmonids may have been the dominant mechanism affecting survival.

Lake Ontario↗
USGS1992

Fyke-net and gill-net size selectivities for yellow perch in Green Bay, Lake Michigan

We estimated a fyke‐net selectivity function for yellow perch Perca flavescens in Green Bay, Lake Michigan, by comparing length‐frequency distributions of yellow perch captured in fyke nets with different mesh sizes in 1986. Using a length—girth relationship for Green Bay yellow perch, we expressed selectivity as the ratio of girth ( G ) to effective mesh perimeter ( P ), which was 5–7% less than nominal mesh perimeter. Then, fitting an existing gill‐net selectivity function to the Green Bay yellow perch fishery, we found fyke‐net and gill‐net selectivities were similar, with similar G / P ratios, but fyke nets had smaller effective mesh perimeters and thus were more efficient at capturing smaller yellow perch for any given mesh size, The derived fyke‐net selectivity function can be used to determine mesh sizes that minimize the sublegal catch of yellow perch in this fishery and could be applied to entrapment gear in other yellow perch fisheries, given data on the length–girth relationships and effective mesh perimeters.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1992

Selective dipnetting of largemouth bass during electrofishing

We electrofished 10 north‐central Texas reservoirs from 1987 through 1990 by either dipnetting all electroshocked fish (intensive dipnetting) or selectively dipnetting only fish visually identified as largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides . We compared selected indices of population structure (proportional stock density, relative stock density, and young–adult ratio) and abundance (catch per unit effort) for largemouth bass derived from data obtained with these two dipnetting techniques. No significant differences ( P > 0.17) were detected between intensive dipnetting and selective dipnetting for any of these indices of population structure, Similarly, neither the total number of largemouth bass collected per hour nor the number of small largemouth bass (<20 cm total length) collected per hour differed significantly ( P > 0.31) between dipnetting techniques.

Texas↗
USGS1993

Volitional migration of Atlantic salmon from seasonal holding ponds

For 5 years we used seawater tolerance tests (seawater challenges) to identify smolts, and tunnel fish counters to record the time of migration, of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar that volitionally left holding ponds on the Merrimack River near Litchfield, New Hampshire. We compared timing of Atlantic salmon movements with environmental conditions and blood composition of migrating and nonmigrating fish. None of the pan from the Nashua National Fish Hatchery (NFH) tested in seawater in 1984–1986 and from the North Attleboro NFH tested in 1987–1988 smoltified in the ponds. Yet, smolts were seemingly produced because 50 of 135 Atlantic salmon with radio transmitters from these ponds were traced to the ocean, and 9 of the 20,680 Atlantic salmon marked in 1984 from Litchfield subsequently returned to spawn. In all years except 1987, we forced Atlantic salmon out of the ponds by mid‐May because of high water temperatures. In 1987, all Atlantic salmon from the North Attleboro NFH left the smolt‐holding ponds by April 10. Only 25% of these fish that were caught in the river passed a seawater tolerance test. In 1988, seawater tolerance tests revealed that salmon held at the North Attleboro NFH smoltified in May after fish in the Litchfield ponds had either been forced out or emigrated. Rearing at a constant temperature in the hatchery may have delayed the time of smoltification. Peak migrations were associated with periods of sustained rising temperatures, river flow, and turbidity. Volitional migration occurred before smoltification was detectable and may be the best predictor of smoltification's early stages.

New Hampshire↗
USGS1993

Genetic comparison of naturally spawned and artificially propagated Lake Ontario lake trout fry: Evaluation of a stocking strategy for species rehabilitation

Two strategies have been used in the effort to restore lake trout Salvelinus namaycush to Lake Ontario. First, lake trout strains from multiple wild and hatchery sources have been stocked to maximize genetic variability in the lake, Second, a unique hatchery “strain” of fish to be stocked was created each year with gametes collected from adult, hatchery‐origin fish that had survived to maturity after being stocked into Lake Ontario. Several hatchery strains may be represented among the adults captured and used to propagate this unique strain, termed the “Ontario strain.” The “Ontario strain” may have a genetically based potential for enhanced survival over other strains stocked in Lake Ontario because it is composed of the progeny of fish that have survived from the yearling to the adult life stage, Unlike naturally spawned fish, however, the “Ontario strain” has been shielded from natural selection during the critical period of mortality from spawning through the first year of life, The purpose of this study was to determine whether the “Ontario strain” was genetically representative of the wild fry produced in the lake, We examined the strain composition of three year‐classes of wild‐caught fry and six year‐classes of the “Ontario strain” using allozyme data with mixed‐stock analysis. The hatchery and wild fry were genetically dissimilar. In addition, the composition of the “Ontario strain” changed from predominantly Seneca strain in 1983–1984 to predominantly Superior and Killala strains from 1983 to 1989. Mixed‐stock estimates indicated that in contrast to the hatchery‐reared fry, strain composition of wildcaught fry did not vary greatly from year to year. Progeny of Seneca × Seneca crosses were the predominant fry in the three year‐classes of wild fry. The genetic dissimilarity between the “Ontario strain” fry and wild‐caught fry could be caused by differential mortality among the wild fry between spawning and fry emergence or by differential vulnerability of strains to the gill‐net sampling used to capture adults for gamete collection. Based on these results, the development of a new hatchery brood stock from wild‐caught fry is recommended as an alternative to the collection and propagation of gametes from mature hatchery‐origin lake trout. In addition, the composition of the hatchery strains stocked should be altered to emphasize those strains that reproduce successfully. Both options should be considered in order to speed the rehabilitation process.

Lake Ontario↗
USGS1993

Preservation of genetic variation in the Green Lake strain lake trout derived from remnant domestic and feral populations

The Green Lake, Wisconsin, strain of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush was discontinued as a hatchery brood stock in 1976 after Lake Michigan was stocked with the 1975 year‐class. In 1982, a decision was made to restore the Green Lake strain as a production brood stock. Five groups were produced by spawning marked fish that were survivors from the 1976 stocking of southern Lake Michigan. A sixth group was produced from a remnant of the Green Lake brood stock held at the Genoa (Wisconsin) National Fish Hatchery. Hatchery accidents reduced both the number of groups and the effective population number of each group. We studied a procedure for reconstructing a composite Green Lake brood stock from individuals of these six groups. Genetic variability was evaluated by allozyme electrophoresis in five of these groups. Twelve of 18 loci were polymorphic. Allelic frequencies were similar in all five groups; however, significant differences occurred in nine systems. Heterozygosity level (mean ± SE) was lowest in the domestic group (0.119 ± 0.043) and ranged from 0.139 ± 0.043 to 0.166 ± 0.052 in the feral groups. Cluster analysis of genetic distances grouped the four feral groups together, but separate from the domestic group. Progeny from fish captured on Black Can Reef, Lake Michigan, in 1986 and 1988 were the most similar. A modified diallel mating design was developed to produce a composite brood stock from remnant feral and domestic fish. Pooled families from 1991 and 1992 diallel matings will be reared to maturity, then reciprocal crosses of the two year‐classes will be made to form the new composite Green Lake brood stock.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1993

Forecasting contributions of lake whitefish year-classes to a Lake Superior commercial fishery from estimates of yearling abundance

We developed a simple linear regression model to forecast year-class contributions of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis to the commercial harvest in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior. We indexed year-class strength from catches of yearling fish in bottom trawl samples. Recruitment of each year-class was measured by its relative abundance in the fishery at age 6. The relation between recruitment to the commercial fishery and year-class strength indices was positive and significant ( r 2 = 0.67, P < 0.01). The model produced reliable estimates of recruitment to the fishery within the range of the regression. Projected recruitment of the 1983&ndash;1987 year-classes to the fishery in 1989-1993 should be sufficient to sustain current levels of harvest through 1993.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Dynamics of a yellow perch population in western Lake Superior

Yellow perch Perca flavescens were sampled annually in 1973&ndash;1988 with bottom trawls in Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior. Biomass averaged l.6 kg/hectare. Fish l&ndash;3 years old made up 64% of the biomass, whereas fish of harvestable size (&ge;4 years old) made up only 31% of the biomass. Year-class strength was variable among years, but a Ricker recruitment function described the relation between year-class strength and parental stock size, Age-specific mortality increased substantially as fish became sexually mature at age 4, perhaps as a result of energy depletion associated with high reproductive and maintenance costs in a suboptimal thermal environment. Yield-per-recruit analysis indicated that most of the age-specific annual mortality was due to natural causes. Natural mortality, rather than limited recruitment or fishing mortality, was the major factor controlling harvestable stock size, Regardless of the size of a year-class produced, natural mortality greatly reduced its abundance prior to maturity and recruitment to the fishable stock. This high mortality, combined with very slow growth, limits the biomass potential of the harvestable stock, and sustainable yields from this population are therefore low.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Survival of lake trout stocked in U.S. Waters of Lake Ontario

Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush of the 1979&ndash;1990 year-classes (Lake Superior strain) were marked and stocked as fingerlings or yearlings in U.S. waters of Lake Ontario and recaptured during annual surveys with trawls and gill nets. Catches (as proportions of fish stocked) of age-2 fish by trawls and age-3 fish by gill nets were used as indices of survival. Mean survival indices of stocked fish declined over 50% from the 1980 to the 1990 year-class for fish stocked as yearlings and declined more than 90% for those stocked as fingerlings. Survival indices for fish stocked as yearlings were negatively and significantly correlated with abundance indices of large (&ge;550 mm total length) lake trout caught in gill nets in the year of stocking. This relation was not significant for fish stocked as fingerlings. Mean weight at stocking more than doubled for yearlings and increased by about one-third for fingerlings during this study. The increase in size at stocking may have offset what would otherwise have been a more drastic increase in mortality due to predation.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Evaluation of a bypass system for spent American shad at Holyoke Dam, Massachusetts

A bypass system for postspawned American shad Alosa sapidissima began operation in 1980 on the Connecticut River canal system at Holyoke Dam. The purpose of the bypass was to enable downstream migrants that enter the canal to exit and avoid death due to delay or passage through hydroelectric turbines at water use facilities. The bypass system had the following elements: (1) an underwater AC electrical or acoustic barrier to prevent American shad from leaving the bypass area, (2) an underwater DC electrical field to immobilize fish for collection, and (3) a collection box with transfer pipe to carry fish to the river below the dam. During studies of the bypass system from 1979 to 1983, we found that the fish barriers were ineffective, the collection system was partially effective for American shad but not for anadromous species that passed through trashracks, and American shad could be immobilized and transported at high velocity through a pipe and have only low mortality (4–9%). Radio‐tagged American shad, unwilling to pass through trashracks at water exits on the canal, behaved like trapped fish and were delayed an average of two or more days before dying or exiting the canal. An estimated 10 of 47 (21%) of the radio‐tagged fish were passed. In 1980, when the greatest number of American shad were passed, an estimated 142,000 (37% ofthe fish lifted at the dam) survived spawning and used the bypass. After several years of operation, it was evident that, even with major improvements, the bypass could not pass the available American shad, and it was not useful for protecting other anadromous migrants that did not avoid trashracks.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1993

A prepositioned areal electrofishing apparatus for sampling stream habitats

We describe the design, use, and sampling characteristics ofan electrofishing apparatus used to sample fish in stream habitats. The apparatus uses two prepositioned areal electrofishing devices (PAED) of different designs, a bottom parallel electrode PAED and a suspended dropper electrode PAED. To determine the effective immobilization ranges of the PAEDs, we evaluated intensities and shapes of the PAEDs' electrical fields, and the electroshock responses of fish in cages in concrete tanks and in four streams in Alabama with different water conductivities. Electroshock responses indicated that complete immobilization occurred at voltage gradients of 1.0 V/cm or higher (voltage drop, 400 V AC), as far as 35 cm from the PAED electrodes, although some fish were immobilized up to 65 cm away at 0.3 V/cm. We estimated the immobilization (stun) power density threshold to be about 10 μW/cm3. Stream evaluations of the PAEDs revealed that higher voltages were needed to immobilize fish at lower (35 μS/cm) and higher (120 and 125 μS/cm) water conductivities, whereas lower voltages were required at an intermediate conductivity (60 μS/cm). These results conformed with the predictions of power transfer theory and underscored the need to calibrate PAEDs to stream conductivities to standardize the effective sampling range.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Predation of juvenile salmonids by smallmouth bass and northern squawfish in the Columbia River near Richland, Washington

The importance of juvenile salmonids in the diet of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu and northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis was examined at a 6-km stretch of the Columbia River. Piscivorous fish were sampled with electrofishing gear on 4 d (May 2–3 and June 20–21, 1990) during emigration of juvenile anadromous salmonids. Sixty-two smallmouth bass and 69 northern squawfish were collected for diet analysis. Juvenile salmonids made up 59% of smallmouth bass diet by weight and were present in 65% of the stomachs of smallmouth bass. By a meal turnover method, smallmouth bass were estimated to consume from 1.4 (May 2–3) to 1.0 (June 20–21) salmonids per predator daily. Crayfish were the dominant prey item (41.4% by weight) of northern squawfish, but juvenile salmonids (28.8%) were also important. Northern squawfish consumed from 0.55 (May 2–3) to 0.34 (June 20–21) salmonids per predator daily. Smallmouth bass and northern squawfish consumed mostly subyearling Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha , which may have been wild Chinook salmon that emigrated downstream from the Hanford reach. Predation rates on salmonids by smallmouth bass are apparently high during spring and early summer because subyearling Chinook salmon are abundant and of suitable forage size and their habitat overlaps with that of smallmouth bass.

Washington↗
USGS1994

Historical decline and current status of coho salmon in California

The southernmost populations of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch occur in California where native coho stocks have declined or disappeared from all streams in which they were historically recorded. Coho salmon previously occurred in as many as 582 streams, from the Smith River near the Oregon border to the San Lorenzo River on the central coast. Information on the recent presence or absence of coho salmon was available for only 248 (43%) of those streams. Of these 248 streams, 54% still contained coho salmon and 46% did not. The farther south a stream is located, the more likely it is to have lost its coho salmon population. We estimate that the total number of adult coho salmon entering California streams in 1987-1991 averaged around 31,000 fish per year, with hatchery populations making up 57% of this total. Thus, about 13,000 nonhatchery coho salmon have been spawning in California streams each year since 1987, an estimate that includes naturalized stocks containing about 9,000 fish of recent hatchery ancestry. There are now probably less than 5,000 native coho salmon (with no known hatchery ancestry) spawning in California each year, many of them in populations of less than 100 individuals. Coho populations today are probably less than 6% of what they were in the 1940s, and there has been at least a 70% decline since the 1960s. There is every reason to believe that California coho populations, including hatchery stocks, will continue to decline. The reasons for the decline of coho salmon in California include: stream alterations brought about by poor land-use practices (especially those related to logging and urbanization) and by the effects of periodic floods and drought, the breakdown of genetic integrity of native stocks, introduced diseases, overharvest, and climatic change. We believe, that ,coho salmon in California qualify for listing as a threatened species under state law, and certain populations may qualify for listing as threatened or endangered under federal law.

California↗
USGS1994

Quantifying precision of in situ length and weight measurements of fish

We estimated and compared errors in field-made (in situ) measurements of lengths and weights of fish. We made three measurements of length and weight on each of 33 common carp Cyprinus carpio , and on each of a total of 34 bluegills Lepomis macrochirus and black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus . Maximum total lengths of all fish were measured to the nearest 1 mm on a conventional measuring board. The bluegills and black crappies (85–282 mm maximum total length) were weighed to the nearest 1 g on a 1,000-g spring-loaded scale. The common carp (415–600 mm maximum total length) were weighed to the nearest 0.05 kg on a 20-kg spring-loaded scale. We present a statistical model for comparison of coefficients of variation of length (C l ) and weight (C w ). Expected C l was near zero and constant across mean length, indicating that length can be measured with good precision in the field. Expected C w decreased with increasing mean length, and was larger than expected C l by 5.8 to over 100 times for the bluegills and black crappies, and by 3 to over 20 times for the common carp. Unrecognized in situ weighing errors bias the apparent content of unique information in weight, which is the information not explained by either length or measurement error. We recommend procedures to circumvent effects of weighing errors, including elimination of unnecessary weighing from routine monitoring programs. In situ weighing must be conducted with greater care than is common if the content of unique and nontrivial information in weight is to be correctly identified.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗