Reginal M. Harrell

Caging Atlantic Menhaden: Collection, Husbandry, and in situ Bioassays with a Sensitive Estuarine Species

Cages as tools for in situ bioassays have a proven track record in monitoring the effects of effluent and sediment toxicity. Application to biomonitoring, however, has received comparably little attention. With the increasing threat of harmful algal blooms to both humans and aquatic organisms, their use as sentinels for early warning and for the examination of organism response in situ is evident. During efforts to monitor and describe the response of juvenile menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) to the reportedly toxic dinoflagellates of the genus Pfiesteria, we devised a simple, inexpensive...

Catch and Release Mortality of Striped Bass Caught with Artificial Lures and Baits

Mortality of striped bass <20 inches total length (50.8 cm) captured by hook and line was investigated. Both artificial lures and baits were used with single and treble hooks. A control group of fish was captured by electrofishing and handled in a similar fashion. Fish (N = 683) were caught from a freshwater river and a small reservoir during 4 different months of the year (October, February, June, and August). After capture, test fish were transported to holding ponds and held 2 weeks to evaluate total (pre- and post-release) mortality. No fish died prior to release in the holding...

Experimental Marking Techniques for Young-of-Year, Hatchery-Reared Striped Bass

Several experiments were tried with varying results using 5 different marking techniques in an attempt to permanently mark juvenile striped bass (Marone saxatilis). Techniques included: immersion staining, dye injection, tetracycline ingestion, streamer tagging, and fin-clipping. From a practical and economical standpoint, 2 methods were satisfactory, at least for short term marking: fin-clipping and tetracycline ingestion. The latter method showed some promise of permanency in mark retention. Other methods were either too ephemeral, too expensive, or caused considerable mortality.

Age, Growth And Sex Ratio Of The American Eel In The Cooper River, South Carollna

Age-growth analysis was performed on Anguilla rostrata from 2 study sites on the Cooper River, South Carolina. Length ranged from 98 to 834 mm and weight ranged from 1 to 1224 g. Examination of otoliths gave mean age of 5.1 years with a range of 0-15 years. Length-weight relationship was established as: log w = -6.56 + 3.34 log (L). Eels were sexed by morphological and histological examination of gonad tissue. Males comprised only 1.6 percent of the population from Pinopolis Dam and 1.3 percent from Wadboo Creek. Eels smaller than 210 mm could not be sexed.