Christopher Cato

Shifting Genetic Composition of Largemouth Bass Populations in Dendritic Arms of Two Large Arkansas Reservoirs Through Stocking of Florida Largemouth Bass

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has been annually stocking Florida largemouth bass (FLMB, Micropterus salmoides floridanus) at rates of 250 fish ha-1 into small dendritic sections of two large Arkansas reservoirs, Lake DeGray and Lake Ouachita, since 2006 and 2007, respectively, to alter local pre-existent northern largemouth bass (NLMB, Micropterus s. salmoides) populations. The management goal for these actions is to have 40% of the local largemouth bass (LMB) population possessing FLMB alleles within eight years of the initiation of the stocking program. Microsatellite...