Jeffrey C. Jolley

A modified fish health assessment index (mHAI) and liver lipid concentration was used to determine condition of individual blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), channel catfish (I. punctatus), and flathead catfish (Pylodictus olivarus) in tailwater and reservoir habitats of the Coosa River, Alabama. Our goal was to describe and compare condition using a mHAI and liver lipid analyses of catfishes from the Coosa River. Tissues and organs of fish were collected, evaluated and scored for deviations from normal appearances to derive a mHAI score for each fish. Percent liver lipid content was also...

The food habits of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), channel catfish (I. punctatus), and flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) in a section of the Coosa River, Alabama, were determined by examining the contents of 800 catfish stomachs from tailwater and reservoir habitats on the Coosa River from 2001-2002. Stomachs were described using the Relative Importance Index. Small blue catfish consumed mainly molluscs in tailwaters and insects in reservoir habitats. Insects were most important to larger blue catfish in both habitats. Channel catfish consumed mostly insects in both habitats but a...