SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Fish and Fisheries”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,495 records · Page 83Linked to original sources

USGS2012

Effect of Feeding-Fasting Cycles on Oxygen Consumption and Bioenergetics of Yellow Perch

We measured growth and oxygen consumption of age-1 yellow perch Perca flavescens subjected to ad libitum (control) or variable feeding cycles of 2 (i.e., 2 d of feed, 2 d of deprivation), 6, or 12 d for a 72-d period. Individual, female yellow perch (initial weight = 51.9 ± 0.9 g [mean ± SE]) were stocked in 110-L aquaria to provide six replicates per treatment and fed measured rations of live fathead minnow Pimephales promelas . Consumption, absolute growth rate, growth efficiency, and oxygen consumption were similar among feeding regimens. However, growth trajectories for fish on the 2-d cycle were significantly lower than other feed–fast cycles. Hyperphagia occurred in all treatments. Bioenergetics model simulations indicated that consumption was significantly underestimated ( t = 5.4, df = 4, P = 0.006), while growth was overestimated ( t = −5.5, df = 4, P = 0.005) for fish on the 12-d cycle. However, model errors detected between observed and predicted values were low, ranging from −10.1% to +7.8%. We found that juvenile yellow perch exhibited compensatory growth (CG), but none of the feed–fast treatments resulted in growth overcompensation. Likewise, we found no evidence that respiration rates varied with CG, implying that yellow perch bioenergetics models could be used to predict the effects of feeding history and CG response on food consumption and fish growth.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS2014

Sampling little fish in big rivers: Larval fish detection probabilities in two Lake Erie tributaries and implications for sampling effort and abundance indices

Larval fish are frequently sampled in coastal tributaries to determine factors affecting recruitment, evaluate spawning success, and estimate production from spawning habitats. Imperfect detection of larvae is common, because larval fish are small and unevenly distributed in space and time, and coastal tributaries are often large and heterogeneous. We estimated detection probabilities of larval fish from several taxa in the Maumee and Detroit rivers, the two largest tributaries of Lake Erie. We then demonstrated how accounting for imperfect detection influenced (1) the probability of observing taxa as present relative to sampling effort and (2) abundance indices for larval fish of two Detroit River species. We found that detection probabilities ranged from 0.09 to 0.91 but were always less than 1.0, indicating that imperfect detection is common among taxa and between systems. In general, taxa with high fecundities, small larval length at hatching, and no nesting behaviors had the highest detection probabilities. Also, detection probabilities were higher in the Maumee River than in the Detroit River. Accounting for imperfect detection produced up to fourfold increases in abundance indices for Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis and Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum . The effect of accounting for imperfect detection in abundance indices was greatest during periods of low abundance for both species. Detection information can be used to determine the appropriate level of sampling effort for larval fishes and may improve management and conservation decisions based on larval fish data.

Michigan, Ohio↗

USGS2017

Reproductive ecology, spawning behavior, and juvenile distribution of Mountain Whitefish in the Madison River, Montana

Mountain Whitefish Prosopium williamsoni were historically common throughout much of the U.S. Intermountain West. However, within the last decade Mountain Whitefish have exhibited population-level declines in some rivers. In the Madison River, Montana, anecdotal evidence indicates Mountain Whitefish abundance has declined and the population is skewed toward larger individuals, which is typically symptomatic of recruitment problems. Describing reproductive development, spawning behavior, and juvenile distribution will form a foundation for investigating mechanisms influencing recruitment. We collected otoliths and gonadal samples from fish of all size-classes to characterize fecundity, age at maturity, and spawning periodicity. We implanted radio tags in mature Mountain Whitefish and relocated tagged fish in autumn 2012–2014. Timing of spawning was determined from spawning status of captured females and from density of eggs collected on egg mats. In spring 2014, we seined backwater and channel sites to describe age-0 whitefish distribution. Mountain Whitefish were highly fecund (18,454 eggs/kg body weight) annual spawners, and age at 50% maturity was 2.0 years for males and 2.6 years for females. In 2013 and 2014, spawning occurred between the third week of October and first week of November. During spawning, spawning adults and collected embryos were concentrated in the downstream 26 km of the study site, a reach characterized by a complex, braided channel. This reach had the highest CPUE of age-0 Mountain Whitefish, and the percentage of spawning adults in the 25 km upstream from a sampling site was positively associated with juvenile CPUE. Within this reach, age-0 Mountain Whitefish were associated with silt-laden backwater and eddy habitats. Future investigations on mechanisms influencing recruitment should be focused on the embryological phase and age-0 fish.

Montana↗

USGS2014

Performance of a surface bypass structure to enhance juvenile steelhead passage and survival at Lower Granite Dam, Washington

An integral part of efforts to recover stocks of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead O. mykiss in Pacific Northwest rivers is to increase passage efficacy and survival of juveniles past hydroelectric dams. As part of this effort, we evaluated the efficacy of a prototype surface bypass structure, the removable spillway weir (RSW), installed in a spillbay at Lower Granite Dam, Washington, on the Snake River during 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Radio-tagged juvenile steelhead were released upstream from the dam and their route of passage through the turbines, juvenile bypass, spillway, or RSW was recorded. The RSW was operated in an on-or-off condition and passed 3–13% of the total discharge at the dam when it was on. Poisson rate models were fit to the passage counts of hatchery- and natural-origin juvenile steelhead to predict the probability of fish passing the dam. Main-effect predictor variables were RSW operation, diel period, day of the year, proportion of flow passed by the spillway, and total discharge at the dam. The combined fish passage through the RSW and spillway was 55–85% during the day and 37–61% during the night. The proportion of steelhead passing through nonturbine routes was <88% when the RSW was off during the day and increased to >95% when the RSW was on during the day. The ratio of the proportion of steelhead passed to the proportion of water passing the RSW was from 6.3:1 to 10.0:1 during the day and from 2.7:1 to 5.2:1 during the night. Steelhead passing through the RSW exited the tailrace about 15 min faster than fish passing through the spillway. Mark–recapture single-release survival estimates for steelhead passing the RSW ranged from 0.95 to 1.00. The RSW appeared to be an effective bypass structure compared with other routes of fish passage at the dam.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2023

Global status of non-native Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides, Centrachidae) and Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu, Centrarchidae): Disparate views as beloved sportfish and feared invader

Largemouth Bass ( Micropterus salmoides , LMB) and Smallmouth Bass ( Micropterus dolomieu , SMB) are among the most highly invasive species across the globe, but are simultaneously among the most highly sought-after game fish. To explain these disparate views, data on invasive status and angling participation of these two species were compiled at the country level. Largemouth Bass were found established in 62 countries on five continents, whereas SMB were found established in only nine countries on the same five continents. Invasive risk assessments were disparate between the species, with more for SMB ( N = 29) than LMB ( N = 27). In every instance save one (Finland), SMB were considered “invasive” compared to LMB, which were “invasive” in only 74% of assessments. Twenty-eight countries with non-native black bass have groups that participate in high-profile fishing tournament such the Black Bass World Championship, BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsmans Society) Nation, and Major League Fishing. Most countries with fishing tournaments occur in countries with established LMB populations than in countries with established SMB populations, suggesting a greater economic importance on LMB fishing. The struggle between conserving biodiversity and relying upon economic benefits from fishing for introduced species is a wicked problem likely to continue into the future.

Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture↗

USGS2016

87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotope ratio analysis by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS in scales, spines, and fin rays as a nonlethal alternative to otoliths for reconstructing fish life history

Strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) in otoliths are a well-established tool to determine origins and movement patterns of fish. However, otolith extraction requires sacrificing fish, and when working with protected or endangered species, the use of nonlethal samples such as scales, spines, and fin rays is preferred. Unlike otoliths that are predominantly aragonite, these tissues are composed of biological apatite. Laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) analysis of biological apatite can induce significant interference on mass 87, causing inaccurate 87 Sr/ 86 Sr measurements. To quantify this interference, we applied LA-MC-ICP-MS to three marine samples (white seabass ( Atractoscion nobilis ) otolith; green sturgeon ( Acipenser medirostris ) pectoral fin ray; salmon shark ( Lamna ditropis ) tooth), and freshwater walleye ( Sander vitreus ) otoliths, scales, and spines). Instrument conditions that maximize signal intensity resulted in elevated 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotope ratios in the bioapatite samples, related to a polyatomic interference ( 40 Ca 31 P 16 O, 40 Ar 31 P 16 O). Retuning instrument conditions to reduce oxide levels removed this interference, resulting in accurate 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios across all tissue samples. This method provides a novel, nonlethal alternative to otolith analysis to reconstruct fish life histories.

Wyoming↗

USGS2018

Effects of land use on summer thermal regimes in critical salmonid habitats of the Pacific Northwest

The effect of climate change on stream temperature regimes is of significant concern to natural resource managers focused on protecting cold-water-dependent species. Nevertheless, understanding of how human land-use activities may act to exacerbate the effects of climate change on stream temperature regimes is limited. Using extensive stream temperature data with high-resolution climate and habitat data, we quantified how land management activities are related to summer stream temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, USA. We then described the distribution of land management practices influencing summer thermal regimes relative to the distribution of salmonid fish species of conservation concern. After accounting for climatic and geophysical variation, we detected a strong relationship between livestock grazing and summer thermal regimes. Maximum, average, and diel variation in water temperature was greater where livestock grazing was present. Livestock grazing was widespread, occurring in 43%–100% of sites supporting salmonid species of conservation concern. Thus, current land management practices may be intensifying the effects of ongoing climate change in freshwater habitats, acting to further threaten cold-water fishes of conservation concern.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana↗

USGS2023

Longitudinal analyses of catch-at-age data for reconstructing year-class strength, with an application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron

We investigated using longitudinal models to reconstruct year-class strength (YCS) from catch-at-age data, with an example application to lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) in the main basin of Lake Huron. The best model structure depended on the age range used for model implementation. The YCS trajectory from the full age range (3–30 years) was similar to the trajectory from a narrow age range that approximated the age of recruitment to the fishing gears (5–7 years), but YCS estimates from the full age range included additional variations due to time-dependent selectivity and mortality. When using ages younger or older than the likely ages of recruitment, YCS estimates did not represent recruitment abundances and were also biased by trends in age-specific selectivity and mortality across years. Longitudinal YCS estimates are likely more robust than single-age recruitment indices, which are often subject to interannual changes in catchability and selectivity. Our findings provide guidance for future applications of the longitudinal YCS reconstruction that in turn may inform and supplement more comprehensive research and management programs for understanding fish recruitment dynamics.

Lake Huron↗

USGS2004

Migration and rearing histories of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) determined by ion microprobe Sr isotope and Sr/Ca transects of otoliths

Strontium isotope and Sr/Ca ratios measured in situ by ion microprobe along radial transects of otoliths of juvenile chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) vary between watersheds with contrasting geology. Otoliths from ocean-type chinook from Skagit River estuary, Washington, had prehatch regions with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of ~0.709, suggesting a maternally inherited marine signature, extensive fresh water growth zones with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios similar to those of the Skagit River at ~0.705, and marine-like 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios near their edges. Otoliths from stream-type chinook from central Idaho had prehatch 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios ≥0.711, indicating that a maternal marine Sr isotopic signature is not preserved after the ~1000- to 1400-km migration from the Pacific Ocean. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in the outer portions of otoliths from these Idaho juveniles were similar to those of their respective streams (~0.7080.722). For Skagit juveniles, fresh water growth was marked by small decreases in otolith Sr/Ca, with increases in Sr/Ca corresponding to increases in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr with migration into salt water. Otoliths of Idaho fish had Sr/Ca radial variation patterns that record seasonal fluctuation in ambient water Sr/Ca ratios. The ion microprobe's ability to measure both 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and Sr/Ca ratios of otoliths at high spatial resolution in situ provides a new tool for studies of fish rearing and migration.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗

USGS1960

A bacterial disease of yellow perch ( Peres flavescens )

On May 26, 1959, two of the authors' investigated a fish kill at Dailey Lake, Park County, Montana. They observed about a half-dozen live, weakly swimming yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ), in addition to thousand of dead perch along the shoreline. It was learned from local residents that mortalities had begun to appear some 2 weeks earlier. At that time the time the authorities had diagnosed the condition as a winterkill, since ice had only recently disappeared from the lake. Although a number of other species inhabit Dailey Lake, including rainbow trout (S almo gairdner i), brown trout ( S. trutta ), kokanee ( Oncorhynchus nerka ), black crappie ( Pomoxis nigromaculatus ), largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), longnose suckers ( Catostomus catostomus ), rainbow x cutthroat hybrids, only one other species was represented in the kill. This consisted of one black crappie. Examination of the freshly dead perch revealed the presence of multiple petechiae, which were visible externally as well as in the dorsal musculature. The peritoneal cavity showed evidence of inflammation and contained a bloody ascitic fluid. A number of the dead fish were placed on ice and shipped to the Western Fish Disease Laboratory in Seattle for bacteriological studies.

Montana↗

USGS1963

Food of the bloater, Coregonus hoyi, in Lake Michigan

Stomachs were examined from 1,469 Lake Michigan bloaters, Coregonus [Leucichthys] hoyi, greater than 7 inches long which contained identifiable food. An additional 461 ciscoes less than 7 inches long were incorporated into the study; these latter fish were not positively identified, but most of them undoubtedly were bloaters. The specimens were caught in bottom nets except for 49, all less than 6 inches long, taken in midwater trawls. Lake Michigan bloaters under 7 inches long depend heavily on zooplankton. Those larger than 7 inches feed predominantly on Pontoporeia affinis and Mysis relicta, although fish of the 7.0- to 7.9-inch size range commonly eat zooplankton, expecially in shallower water. Generally, Mysis becomes more important, and Pontoporeia less so, as the depth increases and as the season progresses from spring to fall. Incidence of Pontoporeia increases and that of Mysis declines as the fish size increases. Other food items, in decreasing order of importance, are fingernail clams, midges (all stages of development), fish eggs, ostracods, and miscellaneous adult and immature insects other than midges.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS1971

The influence of pH on the efficacy and residues of quinaldine

Quinaldine, an anesthetic for fish, loses its effectiveness in solutions having pH values less than 6. Measured quantities of un‐ionized quinaldine in solution compared favorably with calculated values at selected pHˈs. Quinaldine residues in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) anesthetized at various pHˈs verify that only the un‐ionized portion in solution enters the fish. Quinaldine residues in fish and un‐ionized quinaldine in solution were measured by gas chromatography.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS1987

Effects of freezing in and out of water on length and weight of Lake Michigan bloaters

The purpose of this study was to determine if freezing significantly alters the length or weight of bloaters Coregonus hoyi. Bloaters were collected from southern Lake Michigan and were frozen for periods of 2-200 d. Freezing in water caused a significant decrease in length and a significant increase in weight. These changes did not vary predictably with time. The mean change in weight was greater for adults than for juveniles, but the mean change in length was not significantly different between juveniles and adults. Regressions for weight or length after freezing versus weight or length before freezing were highly significant and can be used as correction equations for estimating the original lengths and weights of fresh specimens after fish have been frozen. Test fish that were subsequently refrozen in air shrank more than those refrozen in water.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗

USGS1997

Episodic acidification and changes in fish diversity in Pennsylvania headwater streams

Current water chemistry and fish communities in 70 Pennsylvania streams were compared with historical records to determine whether fish species richness had declined and, if so, the possible role of acidification. First‐, second‐, and third‐order streams were selected, and stream sites sampled during the 1961–1971 survey were resampled during May and June 1994 in the Appalachian Plateaus province and during June 1995 in the Valley and Ridge province. Streamflow was measured and a habitat assessment was completed at each site. Dominant bedrock types influencing the stream sampling site were determined for the Appalachian Plateaus streams. Episodic water chemistry was collected for 39 of the 50 Appalachian Plateaus streams and 14 of the 20 Valley and Ridge streams during the winter and spring of 1996. Thirty‐eight (76%) streams of the Appalachian Plateaus province and 13 (65%) streams in the Valley and Ridge province had a loss of fish species since the 1961–1971 sampling period. Habitat scores were not related to losses of fish species. Of the 53 streams sampled during runoff episodes 22 (42%) increased in total dissolved aluminum by more than 50 μg/L, and 31 (58%) streams decreased in pH by 0.5 units or more. Minnows (Cyprinidae) and darters (Percidae) are sensitive to acidity and were the species most often lost. Streams draining watersheds of the Appalachian Plateaus province dominated by Pottsville bedrock had more acidic water quality during base flow and storm flow sampling periods than streams dominated by Pocono bedrock. The results of this study indicate that many Pennsylvania streams have undergone an alarming reduction in fish diversity during the past 25–34 years. In many of these streams the loss in fish diversity may be attributed to episodic acidification.

Pennsylvania↗

USGS2011

Designing mark-recapture studies to reduce effects of distance weighting on movement distance distributions of stream fishes

Mark-recapture studies generate biased, or distance-weighted, movement data because short distances are sampled more frequently than long distances. Using models and field data, we determined how study design affects distance weighting and the movement distributions of stream fishes. We first modeled distance weighting as a function of recapture section length in an unbranching stream. The addition of an unsampled tributary to one of these models substantially increased distance weighting by decreasing the percentage of upstream distances that were sampled. Similarly, the presence of multiple tributaries in the field study resulted in severe bias. However, increasing recapture section length strongly affected distance weighting in both the model and the field study, producing a zone where the number of fish moving could be estimated with little bias. Subsampled data from the field study indicated that longer median (three of three species) and maximum distances (two of three species) can be detected by increasing the length of the recapture section. The effect was extreme for bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus, a highly mobile species, which exhibited a longer median distance (133 m versus 60 m), a longer maximum distance (1,144 m versus 708 m), and a distance distribution that differed in shape when the full (4,123-m recapture section) and subsampled (1,978-m recapture section) data sets were compared. Correction factors that adjust the observed number of movements to undersampled distances upwards and those to oversampled distances downwards could not mitigate the distance weighting imposed by the shorter recapture section. Future studies should identify the spatial scale over which movements can be accurately measured before data are collected. Increasing recapture section length a priori is far superior to using post hoc correction factors to reduce the influence of distance weighting on observed distributions. Implementing these strategies will be especially important in stream networks where fish can follow multiple pathways out of the recapture section.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS2020

Resilience management for conservation of inland recreational fisheries

Resilience thinking has generated much interest among scientific communities, yet most resilience concepts have not materialized into management applications. We believe that using resilience concepts to characterize systems and the social and ecological processes affecting them is a way to integrate resilience into better management decisions. This situation is exemplified by inland recreational fisheries, which represent complex socioecological systems that face unpredictable and unavoidable change. Making management decisions in the context of resilience is increasingly important given mounting environmental and anthropogenic perturbations to inland systems. Herein, we propose a framework that allows resilience concepts to be better incorporated into management by (i) recognizing how current constraints and management objectives focus on desired or undesired systems (specific fish and anglers), (ii) evaluating the state of a system in terms of how both social and ecological forces enforce or erode the desired or undesired system, (iii) identifying the resilience-stage cycles a system state may undergo, and (iv) determining the broad management strategies that may be viable given the system state and resilience stage. We use examples from inland recreational fisheries to illustrate different system state and resilience stages and synthesize several key results. Across all combinations of socioecological forces, five common types of viable management strategies emerge: (i) adopt a different management preference or focus, (ii) change stakeholder attitudes or behaviors via stakeholder outreach, (iii) engage in (sometimes extreme) biological intervention, (iv) engage in fishery intervention, and (v) adopt landscape-level management approaches focusing on achieving different systems in different waters. We then discuss the challenges and weaknesses of our approach, including specifically the cases in which there are multiple strong social forces (i.e., stakeholders holding competing objectives or values) and situations where waters are not readily divisible, such as rivers or great lakes, and in which spatial separation of competing objectives will be difficult. We end with our vision of how we believe these types of operationalized resilience approaches could improve or transform inland recreational fisheries management.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2005

Uncertainty and research needs for supplementing wild populations of anadromous Pacific salmon

Substantial disagreement and uncertainty attend the question of whether the benefits from supplementing wild populations of anadromous salmonids with hatchery fish outweigh the risks. Prudent decisions about supplementation are most likely when the suite of potential benefits and hazards and the various sources of uncertainty are explicitly identified. Models help by indicating the potential consequences of various levels of supplementation but perhaps are most valuable for showing the limitations of available data and helping design studies and monitoring to provide critical data. Information and understanding about the issue are deficient. I discuss various benefits, hazards, and associated uncertainties for supplementation, and implications for the design of monitoring and research. Several studies to reduce uncertainty and facilitate prudent supplementation are described and range from short-term reductionistic studies that help define the issue or help avoid deleterious consequences from supplementation to long-term studies (ca. 10 or more fish generations) that evaluate the net result of positive and negative genetic, behavioral, and ecological effects from supplementation.

American Fisheries Society Symposium↗

USGS2005

Native fishes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin drainage, California: A history of decline

In this paper, we review information regarding the status of the native fishes of the combined Sacramento River and San Joaquin River drainages (hereinafter the "Sacramento-San Joaquin drainage") and the factors associated with their declines. The Sacramento-San Joaquin drainage is the center of fish evolution in California, giving rise to 17 endemic species of a total native fish fauna of 28 species. Rapid changes in land use and water use beginning with the Gold Rush in the 1850s and continuing to the present have resulted in the extinction, extirpation, and reduction in range and abundance of the native fishes. Multiple factors are associated with the declines of native fishes, including habitat alteration and loss, water storage and diversion, flow alteration, water quality, and invasions of alien species. Although native fishes can be quite tolerant of stressful physical conditions, in some rivers of the drainage the physical habitat has been altered to the extent that it is now more suited for alien species. This interaction of environmental changes and invasions of alien species makes it difficult to predict the benefits of restoration efforts to native fishes. Possible effects of climate change on California's aquatic habitats add additional complexity to restoration of native fishes. Unless protection and restoration of native fishes is explicitly considered in future water management decisions, declines are likely to continue.

California↗