SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Fishes”

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 1,693 records · Page 94Linked to original sources

USGS1953

Observations on gas-bubble disease of fish

SOME DIFFICULTY has been experienced in raising fry and young fingerlings at the Puyallup hatchery of the Washington State Department of Game, a hatchery now in its fourth year of operation. There has been evidence of gas in the yolk-sac fry, and the mortality was always excessive among the fingerlings while reared in the hatchery troughs. The mortality rate decreased and evidence of gas-bubble disease disappeared when the fish mere moved to outside ponds. Also, fish seemed less susceptible to parasitic diseases when held in the ponds rather than 1m hatchery troughs. Strains of fish raised at the station were cutthroat trout ( Salmo clarkii clarkii and Salmo clarkii lewis i) rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdnerii gairdnerii ), and steelhead trout ( Salmo gairdnerii iriatus )

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS1990

Benzocaine as a fish anesthetic: efficacy and safety for spawning-phase salmon

The anesthetic benzocaine was tested for efficacy and safety for spawning-phase chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at federal fish hatcheries. Tests were conducted in the existing hatchery water supplies (soft water; temperatures, 10–13 °C. Crystalline benzocaine was dissolved in ethanol (1 g/30 mL), and aliquots of that stock solution were added to the water in test tanks. Benzocaine concentrations of 25–30 mg/L anesthetized most fish in less than 3.5 min, and most fish recovered in less than 10 min after 15 min of exposure. Safety margins were narrow; both species tolerated 30 mg/L for about 20 min, but 25 min of exposure caused deaths. For 15 min exposures, concentrations of 35 mg/L for chinook salmon and 40 mg/L for Atlantic salmon were lethal.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS1991

System for maintaining sediment suspensions during larval fish studies

A new system was developed for maintaining suspensions of inorganic solids during laboratory studies on early life stages of fish. Microfine bentonite was successfully held in suspension in specially constructed units during a 21-d fishless test, a 28-d experiment with juvenile green sunfish (lepomis cyanellus), and four shorter experiments (5-9 d) with four species of larval fishes, white sucker (catostomus commersoni), northern pike (esox lucius), channel catfish (ictalurus punctatus), and walleye (stizostedion vitreum). Each experiment on larval fish was conducted until the yolk-sac had been absorbed. Concentrations of bentonite ranged from 0 to 728 mg/l. Each unit consisted of a holding chamber set in a stainless steel bowl and two submersible pumps that recirculated the suspension. Turbidity readings remained nearly constant throughout each experiment. Because the turbidity of suspensions was well correlated with bentonite concentration ( r 2 = 0.989) And easy to measure, turbidity was used as an indicator of concentration. The system is inexpensive, easy to assemble, and does not require a diluter system to maintain constant concentrations of suspended material.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS1956

Histopathology of fish. II. The salmon-poisoning fluk

THE SALMON-POISONING FLUKE is misnamed as far as the fish culturist is concerned, for the disease affects dogs, not fish. There is considerable evidence, however, that fish may also suffer from the complex chain of events leading from snail to dying dog. Histological studies indicate that young salmon and trout may be severely damaged by the encysted stage of the fluke.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS1959

Vibrio infections among marine and fresh-water fish

In 1951. B. J. Earpio found a vibrio infection among salmon fingerlings being reared in saltwater at the Deception Pass Biological Station of the Washington State Department of Fisheries. The disease waa characterized by erythema at the base of fins and on the sides of the fish, necrotic areas in the Inusculature, inflammation of the intestinal tract, and general septicernia. The disease reappeared the next year, killing nearly all of the churn salmon (Oncorhynchus keta ) fingerlings, killing about half of the pink salmon ( O. gorbuscha ) fingerlings, and affecting to a lesser degree the chinook salmon ( O. tshawytscha ) fingerlings. Also, late in 1952. R. R. Rucker and E. J. Ordal found the same disease at a rainbow trout hatchery of the Washington State Department of Game at Vancouver. The disease caused severe losses there among the rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) and among the sea-run form of the same species (called steelhead trout). The disease was manifested by bloody, necrotic areas in the musculature and inflammation of the viscera, відоіШат to furumaculoвiв, The main object of this paper is to bring vibrio infections of fish to the attention of the American fish-culturist.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS2022

Direct and molecular observation of movement and reproduction by Candy Darter, Etheostoma osburni, an endangered benthic stream fish in Virginia, USA

Direct and indirect measures of individual movement provide valuable knowledge regarding a species’ resiliency to environmental change. Information on patterns of movement can inform species management and conservation but is lacking for many imperiled fishes. The Candy Darter, Etheostoma osburni , is an endangered stream fish with a dramatically reduced distribution in Virginia in the eastern United States, now known from only four isolated populations. We used visual implant elastomer tags and microsatellite DNA markers to directly describe movement patterns in two populations. Parentage analysis based on parent-offspring pairs was used to infer movement patterns of young-of-year and age-1 individuals, as well as the reproductive contribution of certain adults. Direct measurements of movement distances were generally similar between methods, but microsatellite markers revealed greater distances moved, commensurate with greater spatial frames sampled. Parent-offspring pairs were found throughout the species’ 18.8-km distribution in Stony Creek, while most parent-offspring pairs were in 2 km of the 4.25-km distribution in Laurel Creek. Sibship reconstruction allowed us to characterize the mating system and number of spawning years for adults. Our results provide the first measures of movement patterns of Candy Darter as well as the spatial distribution of parent-offspring pairs, which may be useful for selecting collection sites in source populations to be used for translocation or reintroductions. Our results highlight the importance of documenting species movement patterns and spatial distributions of related individuals as steps toward understanding population dynamics and informing translocation strategies. We also demonstrate that the reproductive longevity of this species is greater than previously described, which may be the case for other small stream fishes.

Virginia↗

USGS2022

Relative-condition parameters for fishes of Montana, USA

Body condition indices are commonly used in the management of fish populations and are a surrogate to physiological attributes such as tissue-energy reserves. Relative condition factor ( K n ) describes the condition of species relative to populations in a geographic area. We developed models to allow for the calculation of K n in Montana, USA by using the weight–length data collected by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. We generated log 10 weight–log 10 length relationships to obtain Montana specific parameter estimates for relative condition equations ( W′ ) for 51 species and three subspecies. We developed separate models by water type (e.g., lotic and lentic) and sex for five species due to varying growth based on sexual dimorphism and varying ecosystem types. Relative condition offers the advantage of describing body condition relative to species in Montana, provides a condition index for species that do not have standard-weight models developed for relative weight ( Wr ), and affords more information for the global database on weight–length relationships of fishes.

Montana↗

USGS2013

Behaviors of southwestern native fishes in response to introduced catfish predators

Native fishes reared in hatcheries typically suffer high predation mortality when stocked into natural environments. We evaluated the behavior of juvenile bonytail Gila elegans, roundtail chub Gila robusta, razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus, and Sonora sucker Catostomus insignis in response to introduced channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris. Our laboratory tests indicate these species did not inherently recognize catfish as a threat, but they can quickly (within 12 h) change their behavior in response to a novel predator paired with the sight and scent of a dead conspecific. Chubs appear to avoid predation by swimming away from the threat, whereas suckers reduced movement. Effects of antipredator conditioning on survival of fish reared in hatcheries is unknown; however, our results suggest some native fish can be conditioned to recognize introduced predators, which could increase poststocking survival.

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management↗

USGS1970

Toxicity of 33NCS (3'-chloro-3-nitrosalicylanilide) to freshwater fish and sea lampreys

The chemical 33NCS (3'-chloro-3-nitrosalicylanilide) was evaluated as a fish control agent and as a larvicide for sea lampreys at the Fish Control Laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the Hammond Bay Biological Station of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The chemical is rapidly toxic to many species. Sea lampreys, bowfin, and channel catfish are the most sensitive species. Carp are more sensitive than trouts or sunfishes. Use of 33NCS in selective control of freshwater fishes or sea lampreys requires precise control because its toxicity is strongly influenced by variations in water quality.

Investigations in Fish Control↗

USGS1970

Toxicity of 33 NCS to freshwater fish and sea lamprey

Investigations in Fish Control↗

USGS2023

Efficacy of hydrogen peroxide to reduce Gyrodactylus species infestation density on four fish species

Objective The ability to effectively treat parasitic infestations of fish is of high importance for fish culture facilities. However, tools or approved therapies for treating infestations on fish are limited. This paper summarizes results from four separate clinical field studies that evaluated the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ; 35% PEROX-AID) for reducing Gyrodactylus spp. infestation density. Methods Three species of Gyrodactylus were studied ( G. salmonis , hosts: Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Lake Trout S. namaycush ; G. freemani , host: Yellow Perch Perca flavescens ; G. hoffmani , host: Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas ) before and after the application of immersion H 2 O 2 therapy. Result Parasite density was significantly reduced for each parasite × host combination to which H 2 O 2 therapy was applied. Two clinical field studies in salmonids were found to demonstrate substantial effectiveness that enabled 35% PEROX-AID approval. Conclusion Further assessments of Gyrodactylus spp. could expand the use of H 2 O 2 for controlling these parasites in aquaculture. Specifically, H 2 O 2 was effective at all levels tested (50 or 75 mg H 2 O 2 /L for 60 min for the Yellow Perch and Fathead Minnow clinical field studies; 100 or 150 mg H 2 O 2 /L for 30 min regardless of salt pre-treatment for the Brook Trout study; and 100 mg H 2 O 2 /L for 30 min or 50 mg H 2 O 2 /L for 60 min for the Lake Trout study).

Journal of Aquatic Animal Health↗

USGS2013

Fish biodiversity sampling in stream ecosystems: a process for evaluating the appropriate types and amount of gear

Because human impacts and climate change threaten aquatic ecosystems, a need exists to quantify catchment-scale biodiversity patterns and identify conservation actions that can mitigate adverse human impacts on aquatic biota. Whereas many traditional aquatic resource questions can be answered by repeatedly sampling a few target species with limited types of gear in the same habitats, sampling fish biodiversity patterns at larger scales requires a different approach. Researchers and managers need to determine the types of sampling gear and amount of effort that provide a representative estimate of biodiversity in a range of habitats across a catchment. Using a randomized block design within a 90-m stream reach that contained the same habitats as the scientific study area, fish assemblages were compared using three different types of gear (minnow traps, backpack electrofishing, and hoop nets) at three levels of effort (one, two, and three mixed-gear units) over four replicate days. A mixture of gear types best quantified fish assemblages. A combination of 10 minnow traps, 20-m of backpack electrofishing, and two hoop nets caught the most species. Additional gear added few new species. Resampling confirmed these results. When researchers and managers initiate sampling on a new stream or river system, they do not know how effective each gear type is and whether their sampling effort is adequate. Although the types and amount of gear may be different for other studies, systems, and research questions, the five-step process described here for making sampling decisions and evaluating sampling efficiency can be applied widely to any system to restore, manage, and conserve aquatic ecosystems. It is believed that incorporating this gear-evaluation process into a wide variety of studies and ecosystems will increase rigour within and across aquatic biodiversity studies.

Massachusetts↗

USGS2024

Evaluation of extinction risk for stream fishes within an urban riverscape using population viability analysis

1. The Santa Ana River in the Los Angeles region of California demonstrates common habitat degradation symptoms that are characteristic of the urban stream syndrome. These impacts have altered the Santa Ana River community structure, with few species as impacted as the native Santa Ana sucker (sucker; Pantosteus santaanae ). 2. Consequently, a recovery plan developed for sucker identified the need for a population viability analysis (PVA) to assess sucker extirpation risk. However, PVAs can be data-intensive and are subject to several sources of bias when standardized protocols are absent. 3. More than 20 years of sucker and arroyo chub (chub; Gila orcuttii ) surveys using different methods were compiled to build an integrated hierarchical multi-population PVA to estimate trends in abundance and extirpation probability of these native fishes from the Santa Ana River. 4. PVA modelling indicated similar patterns in sucker and chub abundance along the Santa Ana River, with the highest abundance of both species in the upper regions of the river during the early 2000s and downstream in recent years (2018–2022). Extirpation risk was estimated to be greatest near wastewater treatment facilities, where native fish abundance estimates have been zero since 2018. Extirpation risk was lower downstream of the wastewater treatment facilities for both species, although extinction risk was higher for sucker than chub throughout the river. 5. As the model evolves and more data are collected, the PVA could be used to assess the effects of various management actions, such as non-native predator removals and native fish re-introductions, on sucker and chub persistence.

California↗

USGS2018

Reestablishing a host–affiliate relationship: Migratory fish reintroduction increases native mussel recruitment

Co‐extirpation among host–affiliate species is thought to be a leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Freshwater mussels (Unionida) are at risk globally and face many threats to survival, including limited access to viable host fish required to complete their life history. We examine the relationship between the common eastern elliptio mussel ( Elliptio complanata ) and its migratory host fish the American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ), whose distribution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is limited, in part, by dams. We examined population demographics of E. complanata across locations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, primarily in the Susquehanna River in the absence of American eels, and conducted experimental restocking of eels to assess potential impacts on mussel recruitment. Compared to surveys completed ~20 yr prior, E. complanata could be experiencing declines at several historically abundant sites. These sites also had extremely limited evidence of recruitment. Restoration of host fish improved recruitment, but results were not equivalent between stocking sites, indicating that host reintroduction alone may not be fully effective in reestablishing mussel populations. One site where eels were introduced (Pine Creek, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, USA) experienced an increase from 0 juveniles found during quantitative surveys prior to eel stocking to 151 (21% of individuals collected during quantitative surveys) E. complanata juveniles found four years after stocking. A second site (Buffalo Creek, Union County, Pennsylvania) experienced a more moderate increase from 2 to 7 juveniles found during 2010 and 2014 quantitative surveys, respectively. Continued examination of other potential interacting factors affecting recruitment, including water quality or habitat conditions, is necessary to target favorable sites for successful restoration.

Maryland, Pennsylvania↗

USGS2021

Capture vulnerability of sea turtles on recreational fishing piers

Capture vulnerability of commercial and recreational fishes has been associated with behavioral, morphological, and life-history traits; however, relationships with non-target species, such as sea turtles, have not been adequately studied. We examined species composition, timing of captures, morphological variables including body size and head width, and body condition of sea turtles captured from a recreational fishing pier in the northern Gulf of Mexico and of sea turtles captured in the waters adjacent to the pier. From 2014 to 2019, 148 net captures and 112 pier captures of three sea turtle species were documented. Green turtles were captured most frequently in the net and on the pier. Turtles captured from the pier were larger than those captured in the net. There was no difference in head width between net-caught and pier-caught turtles; however, small sample sizes limited those comparisons. The body condition index was lower for pier-caught than net-caught Kemp’;s ridleys but did not differ with green turtles or loggerheads. Differences were also observed in the timing of capture on the pier as compared to in the net. Finally, the relationship between size, body condition, and pier-capture vulnerability suggests these are complex interactions. Mortality of sea turtles captured from fishing piers could be selecting against bolder individuals, which may result in changes in sea turtle population demographics over a long time period.

Florida↗

USGS2016

Production of resident fish benefits from experimental salmon subsidies via direct and indirect pathways across stream-riparian boundaries

Artificial additions of nutrients of differing forms such as salmon carcasses and analog pellets (i.e. pasteurized fishmeal) have been proposed as a means of stimulating aquatic productivity and enhancing populations of anadromous and resident fishes. Nutrient mitigation to enhance fish production in stream ecosystems assumes that the central pathway by which effects occur is bottom-up, through aquatic primary and secondary production, with little consideration of reciprocal aquatic-terrestrial pathways. The net outcome (i.e. bottom-up vs. top-down) of adding salmon-derived materials to streams depend on whether or not these subsidies indirectly intensify predation on in situ prey via increases in a shared predator or alleviate such predation pressure. We conducted a 3-year experiment across nine tributaries of the N. Fork Boise River, Idaho, USA, consisting of 500-m stream reaches treated with salmon carcasses (n = 3), salmon carcass analog (n = 3), and untreated control reaches (n = 3). We observed 2–8 fold increases in streambed biofilms in the 2–6 weeks following additions of both salmon subsidy treatments in years 1 and 2 and a 1.5-fold increase in standing crop biomass of aquatic invertebrates to carcass additions in the second year of our experiment. The consumption of benthic invertebrates by stream fishes increased 110–140% and 44–66% in carcass and analog streams in the same time frame, which may have masked invertebrate standing crop responses in years 3 and 4. Resident trout directly consumed 10.0–24.0 g·m −2 ·yr −1 of salmon carcass and <1–11.0 g·m −2 ·yr −1 of analog material, which resulted in 1.2–2.9 g·m −2 ·yr −1 and 0.03–1.4 g·m −2 ·yr −1 of tissue produced. In addition, a feedback flux of terrestrial maggots to streams contributed 0.0–2.0 g·m −2 ·yr −1 to trout production. Overall, treatments increased annual trout production by 2–3 fold, though density and biomass were unaffected. Our results indicate the strength of bottom-up and top-down responses to subsidy additions was asymmetrical, with top-down forces masking bottom-up effects that required multiple years to manifest. The findings also highlight the need for nutrient mitigation programs to consider multiple pathways of energy and nutrient flow to account for the complex effects of salmon subsidies in stream-riparian ecosystems.

Ecosphere↗

USGS2017

Environmental niche models for riverine desert fishes and their similarity according to phylogeny and functionality

Environmental filtering and competitive exclusion are hypotheses frequently invoked in explaining species' environmental niches (i.e., geographic distributions). A key assumption in both hypotheses is that the functional niche (i.e., species traits) governs the environmental niche, but few studies have rigorously evaluated this assumption. Furthermore, phylogeny could be associated with these hypotheses if it is predictive of functional niche similarity via phylogenetic signal or convergent evolution, or of environmental niche similarity through phylogenetic attraction or repulsion. The objectives of this study were to investigate relationships between environmental niches, functional niches, and phylogenies of fishes of the Upper (UCRB) and Lower (LCRB) Colorado River Basins of southwestern North America. We predicted that functionally similar species would have similar environmental niches (i.e., environmental filtering) and that closely related species would be functionally similar (i.e., phylogenetic signal) and possess similar environmental niches (i.e., phylogenetic attraction). Environmental niches were quantified using environmental niche modeling, and functional similarity was determined using functional trait data. Nonnatives in the UCRB provided the only support for environmental filtering, which resulted from several warmwater nonnatives having dam number as a common predictor of their distributions, whereas several cool- and coldwater nonnatives shared mean annual air temperature as an important distributional predictor. Phylogenetic signal was supported for both natives and nonnatives in both basins. Lastly, phylogenetic attraction was only supported for native fishes in the LCRB and for nonnative fishes in the UCRB. Our results indicated that functional similarity was heavily influenced by evolutionary history, but that phylogenetic relationships and functional traits may not always predict the environmental distribution of species. However, the similarity of environmental niches among warmwater centrarchids, ictalurids, fundulids, and poeciliids in the UCRB indicated that dam removals could influence the distribution of these nonnatives simultaneously, thus providing greater conservation benefits. However, this same management strategy would have more limited effects on nonnative salmonids, catostomids, and percids with colder temperature preferences, thus necessitating other management strategies to control these species.

Colorado River Basin↗

USGS2020

Fish predation on a landscape scale

Predator–prey dynamics can have landscape-level impacts on ecosystems, and yet, spatial patterns and environmental predictors of predator–prey dynamics are often investigated at discrete locations, limiting our understanding of the broader impacts. At these broader scales, landscapes often contain multiple complex and heterogeneous habitats, requiring a spatially representative sampling design. This challenge is especially pronounced in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, where managers require information on the landscape-scale impacts of non-native fish predators on multiple imperiled native prey fish populations. We quantified relative predation risk in the southern half of the Delta (South Delta) in 2017 using floating baited tethers that record the exact time and location of predation events. We selected 20 study sites using a generalized random tessellation stratified survey design, which allowed us to infer relationships between key environmental covariates and predation across a broader spatial scale than previous studies. Covariates included distance-to-nearest predators, water temperature, turbidity, depth, bottom slope, bottom roughness, water velocity, and distance-to-nearest riverbank and nearest aquatic vegetation bed. Model selection determined the covariates that best predicted relative predation risk: water temperature, time of day, mean predator distance, and river bottom roughness. Using this model, we estimated predation risk for the South Delta landscape at a 1-day and 1-km resolution. This effort identified hot spots of predation risk and allowed us to generate predicted survival for migrating fish transiting the South Delta. This methodology can be applied to other systems to evaluate spatio-temporal dynamics in predation risk, and their biotic and abiotic predictors.

California↗