SEAFWA Journal Volume 1, March 2014

Triploid largemouth bass may have potential in sport fish management and in food fish production as a means to eliminate reproduction, which would, in turn, potentially increase somatic growth. To examine this potential, four cohorts of diploid and triploid largemouth bass were produced over a 10 &#45 yr period and tagged intramuscularly with coded wire tags. Bass were stocked into Lucchetti Reservoir, Puerto Rico, and recaptured during subsequent sampling events. Growth rates, condition (relative weight, Wr), and reproductive investment (gonadosomatic index, GSI) were compared for...

Restoring historic fire/grazing interactions and increasing the population of the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), a keystone species, are two management priorities for North America's grasslands. To evaluate the response of prairie dogs to the fire/grazing interaction, 2-ha plots of uncolonized mixed-grass prairie directly adjacent to active prairie dog colonies on Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge were burned in 2009 and 2010. Longhorn cattle (Bos taurus) and American bison (Bison bison) had access to the sites during both years thus replicating historic conditions where...

Recent studies have shown that black bass (Micropterus spp.) tournament angling continues to increase. The magnitude and implications of tournament-fish mortality have been studied often; however, the economic value of tournament angling has rarely been assessed. We determined the economic value of black bass tournament angling at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas. A total of 25,396 participants competed in 405 tournaments occurring from November 2007 to October 2008. The majority of tournaments (75%) had <50 participants and required an organization membership (bass club). Lower open...

The objectives of this study were to quantify ageing precision for largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and spotted bass (M. punctulatus), and to evaluate the effect of ageing errors on the estimation of common fisheries metrics. Sagittal otoliths were extracted from 2164 largemouth bass and 738 spotted bass collected from throughout the Arkansas River, Arkansas. Largemouth bass collections occurred during 2004, 2005, and 2010; spotted bass collections were limited to 2004 and 2005. Annuli were counted by two independent readers from digital images of each whole otolith. For individuals...

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) cause extensive damage to commercial agriculture, wildlife, natural habitats, and personal property throughout a growing number of states. There is a need to quantify the location and type of this damage in Tennessee. We surveyed four groups of agriculture and natural resource management professionals to identify how feral swine populations have dispersed across Tennessee in the last 25 years and identify what type of damage they caused. Farm Bureau County Presidents, University of Tennessee Extension Agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service District...

Two sampling designs were compared to evaluate Oklahoma's standardized sampling procedures for electrofishing largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in reservoirs. Historical subjectively-chosen fixed sites were sampled along with random sites stratified by habitat category (good, fair, and poor) at four reservoirs in central Oklahoma. The stratified categories were determined by a composite of the shape/structure of the bottom, substrate type, and type of cover available in 0.5-km transects. Using the stratified random design, three of the four reservoirs showed significantly different (...

Bowhunting is often considered as an option for the harvest management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in suburbs, parks, and similar restrictive environments. Higher deer recovery rates by bowhunters would promote better utilization of the resource and could lessen some of the objections to bowhunting. Bowhunters have a variety of equipment choices, yet little is known of the impact of these choices on bowhunter efficacy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the deer recovery metrics of bowhunters who used compound bows or crossbows with either fixed blade broadheads...