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Effect of Aquatic Plant Control on the Microdistribution and Population Characteristics of Largemouth Bass
Author(s) -
Bain Mark B.,
Boltz Suzanne E.
Publication year - 1992
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(1992)121<0094:eoapco>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - micropterus , electrofishing , bass (fish) , fishery , population , aquatic plant , biology , ecology , macrophyte , abundance (ecology) , demography , sociology
Aquatic plants have been controlled in a series of relatively small public‐use areas in Guntersville Reservoir on the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. We investigated the effects of herbicide use (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, diquat dibromide, copper‐ethylenediamine complex) and vegetation reduction on movements and population characteristics of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides at six sites (5–10 hectares) in this 27,479‐hectare impoundment. Fish were sampled by electrofishing, and relative vegetation density was monitored periodically through a 100‐d period in late summer and fall of 1989. The locations and movements of 29 largemouth bass were monitored at four study sites with radiotelemetry. Three sites were treated with herbicides applied from airboats, and three control sites were traversed by airboats to simulate herbicide application. Largemouth bass catch rates (catch/ 1,000 s of electrofishing) did not change in response to herbicide treatment; mean total length of largemouth bass did not differ by site or time relative to herbicide treatment. Largemouth bass condition declined during the study period, and the rate of decline did not differ among sites. Movements of radio‐marked largemouth bass were limited (<300 m) and largely confined to the study sites. Differences among sites, herbicide treatments, and vegetation density had no measurable effect on the movements of largemouth bass. Overall, the results of this study provide no evidence that localized herbicide applications changed the abundance, size structure, condition, or movement of largemouth bass.