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Temporal Variation in Microhabitat Use by Age‐0 Smallmouth Bass in the North Anna River, Virginia
Author(s) -
Sabo Matthew J.,
Orth Donald J.
Publication year - 1994
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(1994)123<0733:tvimub>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - micropterus , brood , bass (fish) , juvenile , biological dispersal , larva , fishery , biology , ecology , spawn (biology) , substrate (aquarium) , environmental science , population , demography , sociology
Microhabitat use by age‐0 smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu in the North Anna River was quantified from 10 snorkel surveys conducted between May and August in 1990 and 1991. Depth, mean velocity within the water column, substrate, and cover were quantified in 25 larval brood sites, and the same variables (plus focal‐point velocity) were quantified at 634 points where dispersed individuals were located. Larvae in broods occupied a wide variety of microhabitats, but after larvae dispersed from brood sites they primarily occupied low‐velocity areas with large substrate or cover. During the first 4–6 weeks after dispersal, juveniles continued to use relatively deep, low‐velocity microhabitats. Thereafter, juveniles occupied shallower microhabitats with greater focal‐point velocities. Fish size was generally not related to microhabitat use within a sampling period, except during two periods when there was a positive relationship between size and depth use. Microhabitat use of the age‐0 cohort of smallmouth bass changed as these fish grew, but the microhabitat use of an individual juvenile could not be predicted solely by the size of the individual.