J. Larry Wilson

In 2001, a cooperative effort was begun to restore native fish populations to the Pigeon River, once so polluted that all mollusks and many fish species were extirpated. Volunteers from federal and state agencies, industry, and private organizations created the Pigeon River Recovery Project to begin re-introduction of fish and other aquatic species. Early successes in Tennessee led to the expansion of the project into western North Carolina. More than 29,000 individuals representing 20 species of fish and 220,000 snails (six species) collected from the French Broad basin and the upper...

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were introduced into 2 East Tennessee lakes to evaluate their survival, growth, and food habits in small impoundments of < 5 ha. Small fingerling striped bass (33-96 mm) introduced late in the growing season exhibited poor survival. Good survival was depedent upon early introduction and larger size at stocking. The preferred habitat of striped bass in small impoundments does not support a sufficient forage base to sustain good growth. Food habit analyses revealed that approximately 85% of all food items consumed by yearling striped bass were fish. Sunfish...

Mark-recapture techniques were used during spring 1982 and 1983 to estimate the abundance of harvestable size paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee. Results indicated a harvestable population in 1982 of 3,421 fish (95% confidence interval of 2,184 to 6,665). Aging studies indicated a relatively young population with an abrupt decrease in survival after the ninth year. This decrease was attributed to extreme fishing mortality on these older age classes before July 1980 when Watts Bar Reservoir was closed to net fishing. Estimated annual growth of adult paddlefish...

In May 1982, 31,600 sauger (Stizostedion canadense) male x walleye (S. vitreum) female hybrids and 17,200 fingerlings from the reciprocal cross were stocked into Cherokee Reservoir, Tennessee, in an attempt to reestablish a fishery for large percids where the 2 parental species have been extirpated. Of the 217 fish that were recaptured, 184 (85%) contained food. Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and threadfin shad (D. petenense) were the primary prey species and were selected over other forage species. Prey/predator length ratios for Stizostedion hybrids and shad averaged approximately 0....

Food habits of wild and hatchery-reared brook trout stocked in a stream environment were compared to those of blacknose dace within the same stream. Trout utilized aquatic adult insects (38.9%), terrestrial insects (19.5% ), and immature dipterans (14.2%) as their major food sources while dace consumed immature Trichoptera (27.0%) and Diptera (23.0%) as their major food items. A comparison of food habits suggested that some inter-specific competition might have been involved. Brook trout stomachs contained significantly more organisms than dace stomachs; however, no difference was found in...

Methandrostenolone was not effective in promoting growth in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) at the 2.5 mg/kg of body weight/day dosage level. There were no significant differences (.05 level) in treated and untreated fish with respect to total weight gain, percent crude protein, and moisture content of the Hesh. No differences were observed in gross morphology, liver to body weight ratios, or microscopic examination of liver sections. However, after approximately 3 to 4 wks in a distilled water bath, the hemotoxylin/eosin stain had cleared only from liver sections of the catfish...