Interrelationship Of Vegetative Cover And Sunfish Population Density In Suppressing Spawning In Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fail to spawn in association with dense populations of sunfish (Lepomis sp.). Previous studies have demonstrated that suppression is behavioral in nature and linked to interspecific competition for space within spawning areas. In 1976 a series of ponds were stocked with 3 pairs of bass and densities of sunfish from 0-458 kgJha to determine the density necessary to effect suppression. Results were inconclusive with spawning occurring in all ponds but only late in the season in ponds stocked at 250 kgJha or above. It was not clear whether the growth of...
