Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

To assess the taxonomic status of the coyote (Canis latrans) in Tennessee, the relationship of 61 Tennessee canids (unknown taxonomically) were compared to specimens of coyotes, dogs (C. familiaris), and red wolves (C. rufus). Twelve skull measurements were used in the assessment. Discriminant function analysis showed a well-defined separation of canid groups sampled. Tennessee canids clustered distinctly and were statistically separable from dog and red wolf groups. Hybridization between taxa was minimal. The wild coyote-like canids occurring in Tennessee are taxonomically coyotes.

In order to devise an ecologically sound management plan for the wild boar herd in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, data on the impact of these animals on the environment are essential. Soil chemical properties and nutrient concentrations were examined for possible boar impact from 9 high elevation beech gap communities ranging in severity of boar disturbance. Levels of soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and acidity, increased on boar-rooted sites, whereas percent base saturation declined. These changes suggested that boar rooting stimulated organic matter decomposition and soil nutrient mobilization; both A and B horizons were susceptible with the extent of change being a function of the intensity and length of disturbance. Potential long-term implications for the growth and productivity of these forest communities are presented.

Two distinct patterns of bedding behavior of black bears (Ursus americanus) were observed; all summer beds (N =25) were surface depressions which required no preparation and all winter beds (N =9) were elaborately constructed nest-type structures. Seven summer beds were depressions in association with fallen trees, 3 were at the base of large standing trees, and 1 was adjacent to a large rock. Fourteen beds were not in the immediate vicinity of similar structures. Eight summer beds were in game trails. Eight of 9 winter beds were adjacent to obviously selected structures such as large logs, trees, and rocks. Dimensions of summer and winter beds averaged 1.35 X 0.73 X 0.23 m and 0.79 X 0.62 X 0.21 m (length X width X depth), respectively. Scats (x =2.5, range = 1-4) were present at all summer beds and therefore may be indicative of the time spent in beds and reflect the importance of bedding sites as micro-habitat components. Scats were present at only 3 of 9 winter beds.

A telephone survey of 3,081 Texas hunters was conducted after the 1981-1982 hunting season. The typical hunter was white, urban, middle aged (x =40, SD = 15 years), male, was a college graduate, had an average income of $28,150 (SD =$6,100), and held a white-collar job. The average age of hunting initiation was 14 (SD =8) years. Respondents hunted an average of 22 (SD = 14) years and learned about hunting mostly from experiences in Texas. Mixed bag hunting was the norm, but 75% hunted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The recreation and sport associated with the hunt rather than the harvest was the reason why 70% of the respondents hunted. High lease cost (23%) was the main factor which would contribute to desertion from hunting. Respondents who hunted without leases (62%) used land owned or leased by friends or relatives. Nonlease hunting expenditures averaged $445 (SD = $935) per hunter and white-tailed deer leases averaged $395 (SD =$547) per leasee.

The use of otoliths for aging hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops x M. saxatilis), proved successful in central Florida where reading scales is not a reliable method. Verification of annulus formation was accomplished by checking known-age fish, determining the time of annulus formation and comparing assigned ages of fish with stocking records to verify that the number of annuli was not greater than expected. Aging by reading otoliths revealed that hybrids live at least 3 years longer than indicated by reported growth rates and length frequency analysis.

The optimum stocking rate in hatchery rearing ponds was determined for female striped bass (Marone saxatilis) X male white bass (Marone chrysops) hybrid fry that would yield the highest number of fingerlings/ha of acceptable size and condition. Five fry stocking rates ranging from 494,000 to 2,470,000/ha were tested to determine the effect on number of fingerlings produced, average total length, average weight/I ,000, total weight, and condition. The optimum stocking rate was calculated to be 1,875,000 fry/ha, which would yield 537,000 fingerlings/ha. Average total length and average weight! 1,000 fingerlings was 25.4 mm and 191.7 g, respectively, at the optimum stocking rate. Total weight and condition of the fingerlings produced were not affected by the 5 stocking rates. Efforts to maximize production of acceptable quality fingerlings has become an economic necessity as the demand for Marone fingerlings in Georgia has increased.

Hybrid bass (Marone saxatilis X Marone chrysops) age, growth, survival, and condition indices were studied in 1980 and 1981 to gain information needed to refine the hybrid bass stocking program on Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia. Age and growth data and survival estimates were derived using scales taken from fish collected with gill nets over a 12-month interval. Average calculated lengths for 1975-1980 year classes were age I, 279 mm; age II, 429 mm; age III, 491 mm; age IV, 536 mm; age V, 598 mm; and age VI, 561 mm. Relative mortality rates were positively correlated with increased stocking densities and catch curve analysis yielded survival estimates of 0.3085 to 0.3985. Condition indices suggested a decrease in hybrid bass condition since 1972. Hybrid bass growth potential and life expectancy are discussed regarding reservoir management and sport fishery utilization.

Water temperature appeared to be a major factor influencing the distribution of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) during 1978 in Lake Norman, North Carolina, while size of striped bass, dissolved oxygen concentrations, available forage, and current also had some influence on their distribution. Large striped bass [~400 mm TL) appeared to be more restricted to the cooler waters than small striped bass « 400 mm TL) when water temperature exceeded 17.0 0 C and stratified conditions existed. These factors should be considered when establishing or managing a striped bass fishery in a reservoir or lake.

Of 109,675 striped bass (Morone saxatilis) stocked in June 1979 in Cherokee Reservoir, Tennessee, only 72 were recaptured. They were stocked at a mean total length of 3.5 cm and averaged 21.7 cm after I year of growth. After stocking, striped bass consumed mostly Crustacea, with Chironomidae being the primary food source for the rest of the year. Striped bass switched from invertebrates to fish (primarily Clupeidae) at 20 cm or approximately 1 year after stocking. Condition values (K) ranged from 0.8 to 1.3.

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.

Physiochemical characteristics of Lake Frierson were monitored biweekly from 15 May to 14 September 1979. Lake Frierson revealed intense thermal stratification in late May. Stratification continued until fall turnover in mid-September. The anoxic hypolimnion started at the 3.0 to 3.5 m sampling depth and continued to the bottom. During this time, evaporation accounted for the loss of 1.0 m of water. Data from the shallow stations revealed anoxia and oxygen values of 2.0 mgll or less on 2 dates, 10 July and 8 August 1979.

An experimental pricing study using a Latin square design was conducted to determine the relative sales potential of fresh, pond-raised tilapia (Tilapia aurea) in supermarkets in north Alabama. Six prices ranging from $3.06/kg to $4.611kg were tested in 6 supermarkets during a 6-week period in September and October 1980. The effect of price on average sales of the sample of stores was estimated by simple linear regression. Sales potential varied from 4.11 to .97 kg liveweight! 1,000 customers over the price range, or approximately 617 to 146 kg/week for the 4 city study region. Retail prices which yielded maximum net revenue to the retailer and farmer were estimated to be $2.84/kg and $4.83/kg respectively.

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 mean volume of organisms in either.

Replacement of supplementary feeding with enhancement of natural productivity by pond fertilization for growout of the Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) was evaluated in 2 successive trials stocked at 330,000 fish/ha and 150,000 fish/ha, respectively. The first trial compared fertilization only, fertilization plus feeding at 3% body weight, and feeding at 3% body weight only in replicated 0.1 ha ponds. Growth rates were not significantly different, although days to marketable fish were 80-94 in the fertilized treatments and 100-107 in the fed-only ponds. Overall production averaged 710 kg/ha; 689 kg/ha in fertilized-only ponds. The second trial compared fertilization only, feeding at 5% body weight, and feeding at 5% body weight split into 2 daily feedings. Again growth rates did not significantly differ. Low fall temperatures prevented attainment of marketable fish. Both labor and material costs are substantially reduced by using fertilization only.

Winter growth of young-of-the-year bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) and male bluegill X female green sunfish (L. cyanellus) hybrids was compared. After 112 days in ponds with a mean afternoon surface water temperature of 10.4 0 C, and under monospecies and bispecies culture conditions, the hybrids were significantly (P < 0.01) longer and heavier than the bluegiIls, outgrowing the bluegills by a ratio of approximately 2: 1.

Selection responses were compared in 4 lines of channel catfish (lctalurus punctatus) selected for: (1) large 40-week body weight (W+), (2) large spawn weight (S+), (3) sma1l40-week body weight and large spawn weight (W-S+), and (4) large 40-week body weight and small spawn weight (W+S-). Each line comprised 4 spawns hatched into 4 sibling sets. Ten randomly selected fish from each sibling set (40 fish per line) were included in the study and were grown in 2 segments of a recirculating raceway system. Results indicated that single-trait selection for 40-week body weight was most effective in increasing body weight and total length 9 and 28 months after selection was made. Joint selection for body weight and spawn weight (W+S-) was not as effective as selection for body weight alone (W+) on improving growth. Both lines were, however, more effective in growth improvement than S+ and W-S+ lines. Selection for increased spawn weight (S+ or W-S+) reduced subsequent growth severely.

Growth and food conversion patterns of Tilapia aurea raised in aquaria and fed diets containing 10% lipid from 4 different sources showed that growth and food conversion were significantly better on menhaden oil than on beef tallow. No significant differences were detected in growth of tilapia on catfish oil or soybean oil and either beef tallow or menhaden oil. No mortalities occurred during the course of the lO-week feeding trial. T. aurea responded similarly to channel catfish with respect to their ability to utilize menhaden oil as a suitable source of dietary lipid. Tilapia did not grow well on a diet supplemented with beef tallow, whereas channel catfish have been shown to perform equally well on both dietary lipids.

Defatted, glandless cottonseed flour and meal appear to be of relatively high nutritive value for fingerling channel catfish. Growth and feed conversions were not significantly different in fish fed diets in which glandless, defatted cottonseed flour or meal replaced varying amounts of solvent extracted soybean meal. Supplemental lysine did not significantly improve fish performance.

Average depths of 35 ponds were computed by reliable mapping techniques. Average depths were also estimated from maximum depths X 0.4, soundings made along several transects across ponds, and sounding made along a single S-pattern over ponds. Assuming that average depths by mapping were accurate, averages of relative errors by other procedures were: maximum depth X 0.4, 12.60/0; transects, 9%; and S-pattern, 5.4%. The S-pattern required fewer soundings and.was the most reliable. If mapping is not feasible, 12 to 24 soundings made along an S-pattern over a pond will provide a suitable value of average depth for computing pond volume.

Najas, Chara, and several filamentous algae species were controlled or eliminated by a single 0.1 mg!l (active ingredient) application of the herbicide Igran 80W, an 80% wettable powder formulation of terbutryn (2-tert-butylamino-4-ethyl-amino-6-methyl-thio-s-triazine), a commercial product registered for control of terrestrial vegetation but not now approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for use in ponds or other waters. The chemical, applied in summer, eliminated target plants within 2 weeks of application. The chemical is relatively nontoxic to fish at concentrations recommended for vegetation control.

Liquid ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer (Poly NR) was evaluated at state-owned public fishing lakes in Alabama. Initial evaluation indicated that only one-third the quantity of phosphate that would normally be applied in granular fertilizer (9 kg/ha P20 5 ) to fishing lakes was necessary to produce acceptable Secchi disc visibilities (≤ 60 cm) during the fertilization season. Further evaluation at 20 public fishing lakes demonstrated that significant financial savings could be achieved in conjunction with acceptable Secchi disc visibilities with a liquid fertilization program.

Rising costs and increasing demands for limited marine resources dictate that managers monitor the status and utilization of these resources efficiently. Seventy-two percent to 100% of aU weekend sport boat anglers completing a trip from 0700-1800 hours could be interviewed from 1000-1800 hours in Texas bay systems. A comparison of mean daily trailer boat counts suggest that optimum estimates of fishing pressure within a year can be made by stratifying data into 2 periods (13 November to 8 April; 9 April to 12 November).

The retention of Floy FD-68B anchor tags and survival of 200 tagged and fin-clipped white catfish (Ictalurus catus) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were determined over a 184-day period in 2 0.20-ha ponds. In 1 pond, 50 tagged fish and 50 fin-clipped fish were stocked. In the second pond, 50 tagged and fin-clipped fish and 50 fin-clipped fish were stocked. Of the 70 tagged fish recovered (all tagged fish received 2 tags), all had retained at least 1 tag. Four Floy tags were lost, yielding an overall tag retention of 97.1 %. No separation of plastic sleeves was observed from the remaining 136 tags. Floy-tagged fish exhibited the highest rate of survival (86% ), followed by fin-clipped fish (66% ), then Floy-tagged and fin-clipped fish (54% ). The results indicated that use of Floy tags was less detrimental than removing a pectoral fin and spine from catfish.

Six hundred sixty fingerling largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were stocked into a 0.1 ha hatchery pond for 69 days to determine if micromagnetic wire tags or the tagging process affected survival and growth rates. Two hundred twenty fingerlings were tagged internally in the vomerine (nasal) cartilage and 220 in the forebrain area. These were costocked with 220 control fingerlings. At recovery, survival rates of vomerine and forebrain tagged bass were comparable (70.5% and 75.9%), but were less than the rate for control fish (93.6%). Tag retention rates for vomerine and forebrain tagged fish (25.0% and 10.0%) were far less than desirable. Both vomerine and forebrain tagged fish (those retaining tags for 69 days) exhibited slower growth rates than controls, but only the forebraintagged fish grew significantly slower (P < 0.005).

Cost:benefit of 3 walleye fisheries were evaluated in 3 Texas reservoirs. Costs to establish walleye fisheries included expenses for equipment and for labor to procure and hatch eggs, to rear fry or fingerlings, and to stock reservoirs. Benefits of walleye fisheries were determined by multiplying the monetary value of a man-hour of recreational fishing by number of manhours of walleye fishing as determined by creel surveys. At Meredith Reservoir, where low densities of fry were stocked as the lake initially filled, costto- benefit of 1:89 was achieved in 3 years. At Greenbelt Reservoir, where fingerlings were stocked at low densities into an established fish community, it took 7 years to achieve a cost-to-benefit of only I :21. At White River, a reservoir which also had an established fish community, mass stocking (introducing large numbers of frys) achieved a cost-to-benefit of 1:42 in only 2 years.