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Home Range and Space Use Patterns of Flathead Catfish during the Summer–Fall Period in Two Missouri Streams
Author(s) -
Vokoun Jason C.,
Rabeni Charles F.
Publication year - 2005
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/t04-064.1
Subject(s) - home range , flathead , catfish , range (aeronautics) , overwintering , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , environmental science , ecology , kernel (algebra) , streams , geography , statistics , hydrology (agriculture) , habitat , biology , mathematics , geology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , computer network , computer science , combinatorics , composite material
Flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris were radio‐tracked in the Grand River and Cuivre River, Missouri, from late July until they moved to overwintering habitats in late October. Fish moved within a definable area, and although occasional long‐distance movements occurred, the fish typically returned to the previously occupied area. Seasonal home range was calculated with the use of kernel density estimation, which can be interpreted as a probabilistic utilization distribution that documents the internal structure of the estimate by delineating portions of the range that was used a specified percentage of the time. A traditional linear range also was reported. Most flathead catfish (89%) had one 50% kernel‐estimated core area, whereas 11% of the fish split their time between two core areas. Core areas were typically in the middle of the 90% kernel‐estimated home range (58%), although several had core areas in upstream (26%) and downstream (16%) portions of the home range. Home‐range size did not differ based on river, sex, or size and was highly variable among individuals. The median 95% kernel estimate was 1,085 m (range, 70– 69,090 m) for all fish. The median 50% kernel‐estimated core area was 135 m (10–2,260 m). The median linear range was 3,510 m (150–50,400 m). Fish pairs with core areas in the same and neighboring pools had static joint space use values of up to 49% (area of intersection index), indicating substantial overlap and use of the same area. However, all fish pairs had low dynamic joint space use values (<0.07; coefficient of association), indicating that fish pairs were temporally segregated, rarely occurring in the same location at the same time.