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Proposed Standard Weight ( W s ) Equation and Standard Length Categories for Suwannee Bass
Author(s) -
Bonvechio Timothy F.,
Bonvechio Kimberly I.,
Cailteux Richard L.
Publication year - 2010
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/m10-034.1
Subject(s) - percentile , bass (fish) , mathematics , standard deviation , population , statistics , fishery , biology , demography , sociology
We developed standard weight ( W s ) equations for Suwannee bass Micropterus notius using the traditional regression‐line‐percentile (RLP) technique and the newer empirical‐percentile (EmP) method. Length and weight data for 2,137 Suwannee bass at least 11 cm total length (TL) collected from all 10 populations within the species' narrow geographic range were used to develop the equations. The resulting W s equations were log 10 W = −5.548 + 3.303 × log 10 L and log 10 W = −1.014 − 0.583 × log 10 L + 0.828 × (log 10 L ) 2 (where W is weight in grams and L is TL in millimeters) for the RLP and quadratic EmP techniques, respectively. The RLP‐derived W s equation exhibited a small (<4%) bias that varied by length‐group but that was insignificant for management purposes. To assess fish population size structure, we also propose minimum lengths for five standard length categories of 15, 25, 30, 35, and 40 cm TL for stock, quality, preferred, memorable, and trophy sizes, respectively. Urban development and the recent introduction of nonnative species into some of these systems pose threats to the conservation of this rare black bass. Thus, the development of a W s equation and standard length categories will aid biologists in evaluating and monitoring Suwannee bass populations as part of continuing conservation efforts.