scholarly journals Year-class variation drives interactions between warm-water predators and yellow perch

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1330-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Fetzer ◽  
Collin J. Farrell ◽  
James R. Jackson ◽  
Lars G. Rudstam
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Dolomieu ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Class Strength

Walleye (Sander vitreus), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are common top predators across many north temperate lakes, but no previous analyses have assessed factors driving their combined impact on mortality of a shared prey, yellow perch (Perca flavescens). We estimated consumption dynamics of walleye, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass during 3 years that differed in age-0 yellow perch year-class strength and evaluated the relative contribution of each predator to age-0 yellow perch mortality, in Oneida Lake, New York, USA. Habitat-specific diet composition and population densities were integrated with temperature and growth rates to parameterize a bioenergetics model and estimate annual consumption of major diet items. Walleye were the dominant predator in both offshore and inshore habitats, while smallmouth bass and largemouth bass were also important inshore predators. Consumption of age-0 yellow perch by all three predators was positively correlated to age-0 yellow perch year-class strength, but our ability to account for age-0 yellow perch mortality decreased during years when year-class strength was strong. Within each year, predation by the three species accounted for all observed age-0 yellow perch mortality in late summer and fall, but not in the early summer, suggesting other predators in the lake likely predate on the youngest, most vulnerable yellow perch. These results are important for understanding how diverse predator communities can alter the spatial and temporal availability of prey refuges and influence mortality of a shared prey.

Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Negative Impacts

<em>Abstract</em>.—Long-term studies in Ontario, Canada on Largemouth Bass <em>Micropterus salmoides</em> and Smallmouth Bass <em>M. dolomieu</em> have demonstrated that angling nesting males (both catch and harvest and catch and release) can have negative impacts on the reproductive success for the captured individual. They have also demonstrated that within a population, the male bass that provide the best and longest parental care for their offspring are the most capable of having the greatest relative contribution to the year-class. Furthermore, those males are also the most aggressive toward potential brood predators and, hence, the most vulnerable to angling. Based on those relationships, we postulated that angling in general, and especially angling for nesting bass, results in selection against aggressive individuals in a population, and as a result, the angled population evolves to become less aggressive, containing males with diminished parental care attributes, an example of fisheries-induced evolution (FIE). We recognize, however, that some change towards less aggressive behaviors may also result from learning and phenotypic plasticity. Controlled, long-term selective breeding experiments over 30+ years have, however, documented the heritability of vulnerability of bass to angling and, hence, the potential for selection to act on that trait. Reproductive competition experiments further demonstrated that the highly vulnerable strain of bass produced in those selective breeding experiments indeed had greater reproductive success than the less vulnerable strain. Because angling for Largemouth Bass has been occurring for decades, we also postulated that there should be some evidence in the wild of this FIE. In fact, we did find that the level of vulnerability to angling of nesting male Largemouth Bass in lakes that have had little to no exploitation was significantly greater than that observed for nesting males in moderately and heavily angled populations.

Parental care patterns and energetics of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) monitored with activity transmitters

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 756-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J Cooke ◽  
David P Philipp ◽  
Patrick J Weatherhead
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Dolomieu ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Care Patterns ◽  
Burst Swimming ◽  
Care Activity ◽  
Diurnal Behaviour

Male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) care for their offspring from fertilization until the offspring disperse after becoming capable of avoiding predators. We used activity transmitters to monitor round-the-clock parental activity of both species throughout the nesting period, coupled with direct observational data collected while snorkeling, to determine whether nocturnal behaviour varied similarly to diurnal behaviour. In general, nesting males of both species were equally active during day and night, developmental-stage-specific patterns being evident during both periods. Consistent with theory, parental males of both species exhibited elevated levels of burst swimming (indicative of chasing nest predators) early in the nesting period. Unlike male smallmouth bass, however, male largemouth bass showed no decline in overall activity and energy expenditure in the later nesting stages as predicted from the greater mobility and dispersion of their broods, although burst-swimming activity decreased. Activity of nesting fish was approximately double that of non-nesting conspecifics, causing an increase in respiration rates of fish, estimated using a bioenergetics model. The results of our study suggest that physiological telemetry devices which provide both behavioural and energetic information enhance the study of parental care activity in centrarchid fishes, and may be equally useful in a variety of other taxa.

scholarly journals SAT-732 Historical Occurrence of Intersex in Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) and Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David O Norris ◽  
Angela Geiger ◽  
Alan Milan Vajda
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Micropterus Dolomieu ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Estrogenic Chemicals ◽  
Wastewater Effluents

Abstract The widespread occurrence of gonadal intersex (presence of testicular oocytes) has been recently reported in populations of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) and Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu) from populations across North America. To evaluate the historical occurrence of intersex in bass species, gonads were examined visually and histologically from Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass from museum specimens collected from 16 States. These fishes were collected between 1823-1965, before the widespread discharge of estrogenic chemicals to surface waters via wastewater effluents. All females examined had normal ovaries. Intersex gonads were identified in 17.8 % of male Largemouth Bass, and in 14.2% of male Smallmouth Bass. The intensity of testicular oocytes in some males was as great as observed since 2000. These results indicate that the occurrence of this form of intersex in these bass species is not a recent phenomenon.

The Thermal Regime of South Bay, Manitoulin Island

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. McCombie
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Regime ◽  
Thermal Stratification ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Vertical Temperature ◽  
Class Strength ◽  
Influence Of Temperature On ◽  
History Of

The thermal regime of South Bay is described from records collected from 1953 to 1962 with thermometers, thermographs, and bathythermographs, the last being cast at 11 stations along the bay and one in Lake Huron. Warming begins in April and thermal stratification is established in June. Shallow areas warm more rapidly than deep in the spring and cool more quickly in autumn. The boundary between the epilimnion and the thermocline becomes sharper as summer advances but the transition from thermocline to hypolimnion remains gradual. The average seasonal trend of surface temperatures is a sine function with a maximum of 66 F in mid August and a minimum of 34 F in late March, though values outside this range occur frequently. At 180 ft the maximum of 47 F is attained in November. At the lake and outermost bay stations there is a temperature slump in June and July which may be due to an upwelling in the lake. Evidence of an exchange of water between the lake and bay is seen in vertical temperature sections and water movements Variations in epilimnial temperatures are correlated with those of the air temperature, but variations in epilimnial and hypolimnial temperatures appear to be unrelated. Finally, literature describing the influence of temperature on the year class strength of smallmouth bass, the distribution of lake trout, the growth of yellow perch, and the life history of Pontoporeia in South Bay is reviewed.

Managing Centrarchid Fisheries in Rivers and Streams

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Dolomieu ◽  
Genetic Lineages ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Buffalo Creek ◽  
Riffle Habitat

<em>Abstract.</em>—Unique genetic lineages of <em> Micropterus </em>species are increasingly recognized; however, little effort has been devoted to identifying their ecological relationships despite recognition of their conservation value by management agencies. Our study objectives were to determine young-of-year, first-summer survival, and examine overall channel-unit habitat use by the Neosho subspecies of Smallmouth Bass <em> Micropterus dolomieu velox </em>from two Ozark streams (Spring and Buffalo creeks). We completed snorkel surveys approximately every 2 weeks from June–September 2013. As anticipated, young-of-year mortality was high during the first 2 weeks of the sampling period (85% in Buffalo Creek and 99% in Spring Creek). Mortality stabilized by the end of July in both streams and was similar over subsequent 2-week periods (95% CI: 0.13%–2.38% and 0.72%–3.48%, in Spring Creek and Buffalo Creek, respectively). In Spring Creek, backwater habitats were unavailable, and young-of-year fish used both pool and run habitats throughout the study duration. However, we observed different habitat-use patterns in Buffalo Creek: young-of-year fish used pools and backwaters throughout the season, use of run habitats increased by late July, and increased use of backwater habitats followed an increase in late summer discharge. In general, there was substantial habitat use variability both within and between streams. Considering both stream reaches combined, young-of-year fish densities in riffle habitat were statistically lower than other channel units. We show that young-of-year Neosho Smallmouth Bass mortality is high during the first few weeks following swim up, and that backwater habitats may be important to early life stages under certain environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Population biology of eyeflukes in fish from a large fluvial ecosystem: the importance of gulls and habitat characteristics

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1102-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Marcogliese ◽  
S Compagna ◽  
E Bergeron ◽  
J D McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Population Biology ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Vitreous Humour ◽  
Late Fall ◽  
Golden Shiners ◽  
St Lawrence River

Spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) were monitored for eyeflukes monthly at four sites in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, from spring through autumn in 1997 and 1998. In general, mean abundance of Diplostomum spp. in the lens of spottail shiners was highest at sites near large ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) colonies and was higher in 1998 than in 1997. Population studies demonstrated a major period of recruitment in the late summer – early autumn. Mean abundance increased between November and May, when sampling was logistically not possible, reflecting late-fall or early-spring recruitment. Golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) and small yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were monitored at a single site (Île aux Ours) in 1997 and 1998. Mean abundance of Diplostomum spp. in the lens of golden shiners at Île aux Ours was higher in 1998 than in 1997. Recruitment occurred in the early summer and between November and May, suggesting late-fall or early-spring transmission. Mean abundance decreased between August and October in both years. Yellow perch at Île aux Ours were infected with four different parasite species in their eyes. Mean abundance of Diplostomum spp. in the vitreous humour or retina increased during the summer and fall and then decreased between the fall and following spring. Diplostomum spp. in the lens increased in abundance in the early summer, and then decreased during the fall. Both Tylodelphys scheuringi and Neascus spp. in the vitreous humour were more abundant in 0+ than in 1+ perch. Mean abundance of T. scheuringi increased over the summer in 1997 and then dropped to zero in the same cohort over winter, suggesting that the parasite lives for only 1 year. Neascus spp. only were found in 1998. Distributional data, together with seasonal information, suggest that habitat characteristics contribute significantly to the abundance of Diplostomum spp. along the St. Lawrence River. Proximity to gull colonies enhances abundance, but higher rates of predation at wetland sites depress abundance and restrict the accumulation of parasites.

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