Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Ammonia is the primary nitrogen-containing waste product of fish. Under natural conditions, ammonia is converted first to nitrite and then to nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish at low levels, but nitrate is relatively non-toxic. Ammonia has a variety of toxic effects, including reduced growth rates, whereas nitrite primarily interfers with oxygen transport. The literature pertaining to toxic levels and effects of environmental ammonia and nitrite as well as experimental methods of inhibiting these toxicities are reviewed. Prevention of elevated pH for high ammonia conditions, and the addition of sodium chloride for elevated nitrite levels are suggested as possible inhibitors of these toxicities in channel catfish production.

Two .05 ha ponds were planted with water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) corms in March 1978. After the waterchestnuts had sprouted the ponds were flooded in late March to an average depth of 15 em, and remained flooded until mid-October 1978. The ponds were drained and left dry until February 1979 when they were harvested. One pond had excellent production throughout, leading to an extrapolated level of 13,600 kg! ha. The other pond had good production only along the sides and in the shallow end due to high turbidity and unfavorably low soil pH. Production in the second pond was at the rate of 13,200 kg!ha. Production figures for intensive culture in China range from 17,000 to 34,500 kg! ha. The Chinese waterchestnut grows well in the southeastern United States and the necessary technology for mechanical harvesting and peeling have recently been developed.

Ultrasonic transmitters were surgically implanted into 50 sexually mature walleye Stizostedion vitreum vitreum (mean weight 1.9 kg) in Canton Reservoir during March 1977. The locations of these fish were determined bimontly from March through November 1977, as an indication of walleye concentration areas in the reservoir. Temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH profiles were also obtained bimonthly at 2 stations during this time. During the March spawning season walleye were all located near the riprap of the dam. The rest ofthe year the fish showed a preference for areas near submerged islands. There was also a tendency for the walleye to concentrate farther upstream along the perimeters of these islands as the year progressed. This apparent upstream movement by transmitter-equipped walleye may have been related to low dissolved oxygen concentrations near the bottom in the deeper portion of the reservoir during the summer months.

Effects of temperature on survival of peacock bass ( Cichla ocellaris) fingerlings were examined in the laboratory. Fish were acclimated to 25, 30 or 35 C prior to testing. The ultimate lower and upper lethal temperatures in freshwater were 15.6 and 37.9 C when the temperature change from acclimation was I C/ day. Salinity (10% 0) significantly reduced (P<0.05) the ultimate lower lethal temperature to 14.4 C. Acclimation temperature significantly affected the temperature at which peacock bass began losing equilibrium (LEso) and dying (CTMin) when fish were exposed to a I Cf h decrease. LEso's for the 35, 30 and 25 C acclimation temperatues were 18.9, 16.2 and 14.5 C, respectively. When fish were transferred abruptly from acclimation to 20,15 and 10 C, median resistance times were longer when there was less difference between acclimation and test temperatures.

the fish communities of the middle Savannah River and 2 cooling water intake canals connected to the river had equal species richness and were equally diverse. However, the relative abundance of functionally similar species groups differed between the localities. Sunfishes were more dominant in the canal communities. Suckers contribued 55% of the biomass in all 3 communities. Impingement was very low and spread over 32 species. Three species of c1upeids comprized 32% of the total number of fish impinged. The impingement of a number of species was disproportionate to their relative abundance in the intake canals

Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) impingement at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Cumberland Steam-Electric Plant followed a seasonal pattern related to the abundance and length distribution of young-of-year fish. Electrofishing samples taken near the plant showed a similar pattern. The number ofimpinged fish (larger than 50 mm) decreased rapidly with increasing length due to reduction in abundance by natural mortality. Impingement mortality was found to be length dependent. Most individuals. less than 50 mm in length passed through the screens, while increasingly larger individuals were more likely to become impinged. Impinged fish less than 100 mm total length tended to be more plump than fish collected in rotenone samples, while impinged fish larger than 100 mm tended to be in poorer condition.

Seasonal abundance of larval fishes in Normandy Reservoir, Tennessee, was determined during the first 3 years (1976-1978) following impoundment. Relative abundance of major taxa collected with a 0.5 m frame net was compared with results of cove rotenone samples to measure year-class strength. Centrarchids dominated both larval and cove rotenone populations throughout the investigation. The strongest year class of crappie (Pomoxis spp.) was observed in 1976, even though greater larval abundance (5 times) was recorded in 1978. Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) were stocked and subsequently spawned in 1977, but failed to survive the winter; gizzard shad (D. cepedianum) were the only clupeids collected in'1978.

The data from 3 years of ichthyoplankton sampling during the initial impoundment of Little Bear Creek Reservoir are presented. Trends of percentage composition and abundance are discussed by family and taxon. The Centrarchidae greatly outnumbered other families of fishes throughout the study, while c1upeids failed to become established. Strong year classes of Lepomis and Pomoxis were produced during the first year of impoundment. Relative failures of the second and third years are attributed to lack of spawning success in the case of Lepomis and predation in the case of Pomoxis. The ichthyoplankton data are compared to a preimpoundment adult survey and 3 years of concurrent postimpoundment rotenone surveys.

A cooperative study was conceived, organized and implemented by the Reservoir Committee and its member agencies, Southern Division, AFS. The Crooked Creek Bay (85 ha) of Barkley Reservoir was divided into various cove and open-water areas and treated with rotenone. Overall. 990 kg/ ha of fish were recovered.

Recovery rates were determined for marked fish released into 10 of 15 cove areas and 2 of 6 open water areas during the cove rotenone study at Crooked Creek Bay, an 85 ha arm of Barkley Lake, Kentucky. Fish were tagged with a F10y FD-68B dart tag and either released back into the same study area or introduced from an outside area. Of 986 fish tagged in the embayment, 89% were recaptured. Seventy-five percent of the marked fish were recovered in 9 cove areas, where marked fish were released back into the same cove section. Only 32% were recovered from a back-cove area in which marked fish were introduced from an open water area. Sixty percent were recovered outside this area, indicating a strong tendency for displaced fish to escape. Percentage escapement of marked fish from the other 9 cove areas was only 16%. Escapement increased in each cove section that was progressively farther from open water. Escapement also decreased as mean depth of coves increased.

Tire and brush fish attractors were sampled during the Barkley Lake Rotenone Study. Standing crop comparisons were made between tire and brush attractors and control areas. Channel catfish (lctalurus punctatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) were effectively concentrated by both types of attractors, although brush exceeded tires in concentrating all 4 species. Fish attractors were particularly effective in concentrating harvestable-sized fish.

Available prey-predator ratios (API P) in Crooked Creek Bay indicated a deficiency of prey for predators (largemouth bass equivalents) 200 mm long (total length) or less. Analysis of samples collected after the application of rotenone to small coves led to overestimates of available prey. Application of adjustment factors to account for differences in fish distribution in coves and in open water improved AP/ P estimates based on small-cove samples. After reviewing previous food studies, we redefined crappies longer than 210 mm and catfishes longer than 390 mm as predators. Revised AP/ P calculations then indicated no shortage of prey in the Bay. Comparison of these data with those from a 1965 study in Douglas Lake, Tennessee, showed that predators in Douglas Lake were more efficient in cropping available prey.

Estimates of the number of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) 153 mm and longer in Crooked Creek Bay made by mark-recapture techniques were compared with rotenone estimates. Electrofishing was used to collect bass for marking, while electrofishing and angling provided recaptures. Estimates obtained by Petersen and Schnabel methods generally were lower than rotenone estimates. Both methods estimated the number of intermediate-size bass more accurately than adult bass. Size distributions of bass captured by angling, electrofishing, and rotenone recovery showed no differences in the location of their central tendencies. All 3 sampling methods were selective for bass in the 293 to 368-mm size group. Electrofishing and rotenone also showed selectivity for 445 to 521-mm bass.

The technique of sampling fish in coves by the application of rotenone ("covesampling") was evaluated in Barkley Lake, Kentucky, 26-28 September 1978. In 85 ha Crooked Creek Bay (which was subdivided into 24 coves and other subareas), 776 kg/ ha of fish were recovered; the total adjusted for non-recovery of marked fish was 865 kg/ ha. The numbers and biomass of fish in various coves within the Bay did not closely approximate the standing crop in the total area. Most major species of fish were either overrepresented or underrepresented in the cove samples. Larger coves (mean area, 4.9 ha) produced a more representative sample of the 85-ha Bay with respect to species composition, abundance, standing crop and length distribution. Results of the Barkley Lake study and those of a similar study in Douglas Lake, Tennessee, in 1965 indicated that many adjustment factors are required to equate small-cove standing crop estimates to those of a large bay or an entire reservoir.

Population growth differences were demonstrated for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) and freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) from mainstream bays of Barkley Lake, as well as between these bays and adjoining subimpoundments. Growth in Crooked Creek Bay fish was atypical, with those fish exhibiting overall superior growth. Subimpoundments contained viable fish populations, but those fish were generally in poorer condition than mainstream fish. Great heterogeneity in growth existed within a large flood control reservoir.

Methods proposed in Pollution Committee Guidelines for estimating numbers and values of dead fish in open water are practical under field trial.

Large deposits of recoverable lignite (> 16 billion tons) occur in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Commercial surface mining of these reserves has occurred only in eastern Texas, but additional mining has been proposed for Texas and the other states during the 1980's. Almost all of the new mining would occur in the Southeastern Mixed Forest· (Pineywoods) ecoregion, and the Prairie Parkland ecoregion of eastern Texas. Potential impacts on fish and wildlife will be lessened because of the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (P.L. 95·87) and the permanent program regulations. However, major impacts on fish. and wildlife may still occur as a result of habitat destruction and inadequate reclamation strategies.

This report summarizes information on approaches by states to educating future licensed drivers to handle problems created by free roaming animals on highways.

Fisheries and wildlife education is plagued by the impossibility of giving students the extensive field experience which future employers desire. A practical solution is the creation of specially prepared videotape programs illustrating actual field techniques. A series of approximately 10 programs in each discipline would provide a standardized instructional unit for undergraduate training at more than 500 colleges and universities and for in-service training in state and federal agencies. Such programs offer several advantages over traditional lectures or slide programs. Video-tape programs can be used in both auto-tutorial and standard format classes. Slide programs and films can be put in video-tape format, eliminating technical and theft problems. Current cost of professional services and materials for producing a 10-20 minute program, including field taping, editing, narration, aDd special effects is approximately $4,500.

Declining license sales and unchecked inflation are causing severe financial problems for most state fish and wildlife agencies. One of the methods used by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to help balance the budget is to increase the number of fishing and hunting license buyers. A promotional campaign by the Information Section was begun in 1977 to increase the number of resident and non-resident license buyers. Emphasis has been placed on promoting warm water fishing, where the agency planning process has identified that the supply is greater than the demand. The results of this campaign cannot yet be fully analyzed, but early license sales indicate that a continuous 3 year decline in license sales has been reversed. There are many problems associated with treating hunting and fishing as marketable commodities, but a well planned promotional campaign can be very beneficial.