Propagated Fish in Resource Management

2004 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout ◽  
The 1960S

<em>Abstract.</em>—This paper describes a database of fish stocking in Idaho dating from 1913. The database contains more than 75,000 complete records on stocking since 1967 and more than 50,000 partial records prior to that date. Information contained in the complete records includes watershed and water body, species and variety, size, stocking method, number per pound, pounds stocked, rearing hatchery, haul mortality, county, and management region. In order to compare numbers of salmonids stocked at differing life stages, we converted weight of stocked salmonids to a catch equivalent index (catch equivalent [CEQ] = weight of fish stocked/0.33). Our analysis of the data from the database indicated that since the 1960s, more than 2 million CEQ of rainbow trout <em>Oncorhynchus mykiss </em>have been stocked annually in Idaho. These comprise 23 different stocks, including Kamloops rainbow trout, redband trout, and 16 varieties of domestic rainbow trout. Since 1970, the number of rainbow trout stocked in Yellowstone cutthroat trout <em>O. clarkii </em>range has decreased by more than one-third. Triploid rainbow trout stocking commenced in 2000 and now exceeds 2 million CEQ annually. Largemouth bass <em>Micropterus salmoides </em>and smallmouth bass <em>M. dolomieu </em>stocking comprises nearly 1,814.4 kg per year. Crappie species are stocked at the rate of 590 kg annually. The rate of increase in stocking by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been about 300% in each of the last three decades, largely due to the construction of four large anadromous mitigation hatcheries. The human population in Idaho grew 22% per decade during that same time period, suggesting increasing reliance on stocked fish.

Muskellunge Management: Fifty Years of Cooperation Among Anglers, Scientists, and Fisheries Biologists

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Gastric Lavage ◽  
Smallmouth Bass ◽  
Diet Analysis ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
Population Reduction ◽  
Lake Washington

<em>Abstract</em>.—Tiger muskellunge (Muskellunge <em>Esox masquinongy </em>× Northern Pike <em>E. lucius</em>) growth, condition, and diet, as well as the effect of stocking on Northern Pikeminnow <em>Ptychocheilus oregonensis</em>, were studied at Curlew Lake, Washington from 2001 to 2006. Curlew Lake (373 ha) was stocked with tiger muskellunge beginning in 1998 to reduce an overabundant Northern Pikeminnow population and to create a unique trophy fishery. Historically, Curlew Lake had provided good fishing opportunity for stocked Rainbow Trout <em>Oncorhynchus mykiss</em>, as well as naturally reproducing Largemouth Bass <em>Micropterus salmoides </em>and Smallmouth Bass <em>M. dolomieu</em>. The quality of trout fishing, however, had declined throughout the 1990s, commensurate with anecdotal observations of increased numbers of Northern Pikeminnow in the sport catch. To monitor changes in species relative abundance, the lake was sampled annually in the fall with standardized boat electrofishing surveys. Additionally, the lake was sampled by boat electrofishing monthly, from spring through fall, to collect tiger muskellunge diet samples by gastric lavage. Rainbow Trout and Northern Pikeminnow were the most important prey species for tiger muskellunge in Curlew Lake while Largemouth Bass were a distant third. Diet varied seasonally, with Rainbow Trout being the most important prey during spring, while Northern Pikeminnow was most important in summer. Both Rainbow Trout and Northern Pikeminnow were important in the fall. The relative abundance of Northern Pikeminnow in Curlew Lake significantly declined over the duration of the study. The high proportion of Northern Pikeminnow observed in the tiger muskellunge diet analysis indicates that the reduction can be attributed to the added presence of tiger muskellunge to the community. Therefore, the goal of Northern Pikeminnow population reduction through tiger muskellunge introduction (biological control via predation) has been successful. Continued biannual monitoring of the fish community to assess Northern Pikeminnow abundance should provide the necessary data to refine future tiger muskellunge stocking rates in Curlew Lake.

Greater predation by Double-crested Cormorants on cutthroat versus rainbow trout fingerlings stocked in a Wyoming river

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 1984-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R Lovvorn ◽  
Daniel Yule ◽  
Clayton E Derby
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Phalacrocorax Auritus ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Platte River ◽  
The North ◽  
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarki Bouvieri ◽  
Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos ◽  
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

We studied the relative vulnerability of Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri) versus rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) stocked as fingerlings in the North Platte River, Wyoming, to Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) predation. Cutthroat fingerlings decreased as a fraction of the population from stocking in late June to electrofishing surveys in the following October and March. In contrast, the fraction of cutthroat fingerlings among tagged fingerlings eaten by cormorants collected on the river was significantly greater than that in the population when originally stocked. More limited data from pellets regurgitated by adult cormorants at a nearby colony and in American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) collected on the river showed the same trend toward greater percentages of cutthroat trout being consumed than were present among trout stocked. There were no differences in cormorant predation rates on the Eagle Lake strain of rainbow trout reared under shaded versus partially shaded conditions, or between Auburn and Bar BC strains of Snake River (Yellowstone) cutthroat trout. On the North Platte River, cutthroat trout fingerlings were more susceptible to cormorant predation than rainbow trout of similar size that were stocked simultaneously.

Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Westslope Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarkii ◽  
Coastal Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Lahontan Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Museum Samples ◽  
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout ◽  
The 1960S

<em>Abstract</em>.—There has been considerable interest in the systematics and classification of Cutthroat Trout since the 1800s. Cutthroat Trout native to western North America (currently classified as <em>Oncorhynchus clarkii</em>) have historically been grouped or separated using many different classification schemes. Since the 1960s, Robert Behnke has been a leader in these efforts. Introductions of nonnative trout (other forms of Cutthroat Trout, and Rainbow Trout <em>O. mykiss</em>) have obscured some historical patterns of distribution and differentiation. Morphological and meristic analyses have often grouped the various forms of Cutthroat Trout together based on the shared presence of the “cutthroat mark,” high scale counts along the lateral line, and the presence of basibranchial teeth. Spotting patterns and counts of gill rakers and pyloric caeca have in some cases been helpful in differentiation of groups (e.g., Coastal Cutthroat Trout <em>O. c. clarkii</em>, Lahontan Cutthroat Trout <em>O. c. henshawi</em>, and Westslope Cutthroat Trout <em>O. c. lewisi</em>) currently classified as subspecies. The historical genetic methods of allozyme genotyping through protein electrophoresis and chromosome analyses were often helpful in differentiating the various subspecies of Cutthroat Trout. Allozyme genotyping allowed four major groups to be readily recognized (Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout, the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout subspecies complex, and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout <em>O. c. bouvieri </em>subspecies complex) while chromosome analyses showed similarity between the Lahontan and Yellowstone Cutthroat trout subspecies complex trout (possibly reflecting shared ancestral type) and differentiated the Coastal and Westslope Cutthroat trouts from each other and those two groups. DNA results may yield higher resolution of evolutionary relationships of Cutthroat Trout and allow incorporation of ancient museum samples. Accurate resolution of taxonomic differences among various Cutthroat Trout lineages, and hybridization assessments, requires several approaches and will aid in conservation of these charismatic and increasingly rare native fishes.

Trends in the Distribution and Abundance of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and Nonnative Trout in Idaho

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Meyer ◽  
Erin I. Larson ◽  
Christopher L. Sullivan ◽  
Brett High
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Brown Trout ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Salmo Trutta ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Trout Population ◽  
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The distribution and abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri across their native range is relatively well-known, but evaluations of trends in distribution and abundance over time are lacking. In 2010–2011, we resurveyed 74 stream reaches in the upper Snake River basin of Idaho that were sampled in the 1980s and again in 1999–2000 to evaluate changes in the distribution and abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and nonnative trout over time. Yellowstone cutthroat trout occupied all 74 reaches in the 1980s, 70 reaches in 1999–2000, and 69 reaches in 2010–2011. In comparison, rainbow trout O. mykiss and rainbow × cutthroat hybrid occupancy increased from 23 reaches in the 1980s to 36 reaches in 1999–2000, and then declined back to 23 reaches in 2010–2011. The proportion of reaches occupied by brown trout Salmo trutta and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis was largely unchanged across time periods. Yellowstone cutthroat trout abundance declined from a mean of 40.0 fish/100 linear meters of stream in the 1980s to 32.8 fish/100 m in 2010–2011. In contrast, estimates of abundance increased over time for all species of nonnative trout. Population growth rate (λ) was therefore below replacement for Yellowstone cutthroat trout (mean  =  0.98) and above replacement for rainbow trout (1.07), brown trout (1.08), and brook trout (1.04), but 90% confidence intervals overlapped unity for all species. However, λ differed statistically from 1.00 within some individual drainages for each species. More pronounced drought conditions in any given year resulted in lower Yellowstone cutthroat trout abundance 1 y later. Our results suggest that over a span of up to 32 y, the distribution and abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the upper Snake River basin of Idaho appears to be relatively stable, and nonnative trout do not currently appear to be expanding across the basin.

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.

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.

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