Premium
Effects of sampling techniques on population assessment of invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus
Author(s) -
Brandner J.,
Pander J.,
Mueller M.,
Cerwenka A. F.,
Geist J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.12137
Subject(s) - electrofishing , neogobius , round goby , catch per unit effort , biology , fishery , fishing , population , ecology , abundance (ecology) , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , sociology
In this study, a comparison of point abundance sampling ( PAS ) electrofishing, angling with two different hook sizes and trap‐based fishing was performed in a non‐wadeable river to analyse their effects on catch per unit effort ( CPUE ) and population characteristics of invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus . PAS electrofishing was identified as the most effective (mean ± s.e . CPUE = 57 ± 4 N. melanostomus min −1 ) and least selective method in terms of size, feeding status and species composition. Angling had the second highest CPUE , but was more size selective and resulted in a higher proportion of males compared to electrofishing [overall sex ratio angling (female:male) = 1:0·92, electrofishing 1:0·65]. Owing to low CPUE (0·012 ± 0·004) and low frequency of occurrence, minnow traps were least suitable for N. melanostomus population assessment. The results of this study suggest that a higher degree of standardization and inter‐calibration is useful to achieve better comparability of population data of invasive N. melanostomus and other benthic fish species.