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Evidence of In‐Reservoir Spawning of Striped Bass in Lake Powell, Utah‐Arizona
Author(s) -
Gustaveson A. Wayne,
Pettengill Thomas D.,
Johnson James E.,
Wahl James R.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1984)4<540:eoisos>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - spawn (biology) , bass (fish) , canyon , fishery , morone saxatilis , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , geology , biology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering
Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) traditionally spawn in areas of swift turbulent current in major rivers where their eggs remain suspended by the current for approximately 48 hours before hatching. Striped bass were introduced into Lake Powell in 1974 and reproduced in 1979. Reproduction was initially attributed to fish ascending the Colorado River and spawning in the traditional manner, although evidence of in‐reservoir spawning was detected in 1979. In 1981, spawning striped bass were collected in the lower reservoir near Glen Canyon Dam. Larval and fingerling striped bass were subsequently collected with midwater trawl and seine some 300 km down the lake from the Colorado River inflow. The overflow density current proved to be too weak to transport young‐of‐the‐year striped bass the length of the reservoir. Striped bass had apparently successfully spawned within Lake Powell without the aid of turbulent current. Subsequent gillnetting results confirmed a strong year class of striped bass had been produced in 1981, with relative abundance highest on each end of the reservoir. Young of the year near the inflow were presumed to be the result of river spawning, while those found near the dam evidently were spawned within the reservoir. Young fish were found at midlake stations but in lower numbers than the stations at opposite ends of the reservoir.