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Winter and Summer Growth of Bluegills in Fertilized Ponds
Author(s) -
Smith E. V.,
Swingle H. S.
Publication year - 1941
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1940)70[335:wasgob]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - acre , human fertilization , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , fishery , cold winter , body weight , environmental science , agronomy , geography , meteorology , endocrinology
The use of fertilizers to increase the production of fish in ponds has become widespread in recent years. Since fish are cold‐blooded animals, their metabolic activities are slowed by cold weather and accelerated by hot weather. Experiments were conducted to study the winter and summer growth of bluegill bream. In December, small fertilized ponds were stocked with bluegill fingerlings at the rate of 1,750 per acre, individuals averaging 3.8 grams in weight. Three months later their average weight had increased to 11.4 grams, a gain of 200 per cent. The water temperature during this period varied from 3° C. in January to 15° C. in March. Another fertilized pond was stocked in March at the rate of 1,500 fingerlings per acre, individuals averaging 4.5 grams in weight. Samples of bream taken from this pond in June averaged 80 grams, a gain of 1,700 per cent. The water temperature during the latter period ranged from 19° C. to 24° C. Thus, bream do grow during the winter in the South, but the growth is so slow that winter fertilization of ponds generally is not practical. Ponds stocked in the fall or winter should be fertilized lightly during this period to produce sufficient food to support the fish until spring.