Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Maximum Size Of Fish Caught With Standard Gears And Recreational Angling, Kevin L. Pope, Gene R. Wilde, Daryl L. Bauer

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We correlated maximum lengths of freshwater fishes captured during 10 years with standard gears (i.e., gill nets, boat electrofishers and trap nets) and angling from Nebraska water bodies to determine which methodology provided better estimates of maximum size of fishes produced within a given water body. In general, maximum length of fishes captured with standard gears was smaller than maximum length of fishes captured with angling. Although significant (based on sequential Bonferroni adjustment) correlation was found in only one of nine sport fishes assessed, all correlations were positive indicating a general trend between maximum size of fishes captured with these …

Alaska Reflections, Volume 17, Number 2 - Fall 2005

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Table of Contents:
Reflecting
Outreach News
Dead Thing Duty
It Ain’t Easy
A Slowed Burn
Fish Schticks

Differences In Pah Tolerance Between Capitella Species: Underlying Biochemical Mechanisms, Lis Bach, Annemette Palmqvist, Lene Juel Rasmussen, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

The polychaete Capitella capitata consists of a species complex within which differences in tolerance to tox­icants have been observed. For example, it has been shown that Capitella sp. S is more sensitive (e.g., in terms of survival, growth and reproduction) to PAH and other stressors than the more opportunistic Capi­tella sp. I, which is able to take up and biotransform the PAH fluoranthene (Flu). In the present study, an in­vestigation was performed to examine whether differences in tolerance between Capitella species sp. I and sp. S are due to differences in biotransformation, measured as the amount of Flu-metabolites produced by …

Ecology Of The Missouri River: Missouri River Creel Survey, Bellevue Bridge To Camp Creek, 3 April Through 29 May 2004, Gerald Mestl

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's strategic plan has stated the following management goal for the Missouri River: Restore, protect, and maintain the diversity of historic Missouri River habitats, resources, and ecosystem functions in order that present and future generations may enjoy consumptive and non-consumptive outdoor recreational opportunities (NGPC 1996). To accomplish this goal the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission identified the following five objectives: • To restore terrestrial and aquatic floodplain habitat types by 2008. This would include old oxbows, chutes, side channels, sand bars, backwaters, wetlands, and other shallow water habitats. To restore ftows that reflect the natural …

Risk And Consequence Analysis Focused On Biota Transfers Potentially Associated With Surface Water Diversions Between The Missouri River And Red River Basins, Greg Linder, Ed Little, Lynne Johnson, Chad Vishy, Bruce Peacock, Heather Goeddecke

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Section 1 provides a brief overview of the project, including a cursory summary of the history of the “Garrison Diversion” and how that history relates to this work focused on the analysis of risks and consequences potentially associated with interbasin biota transfers. The present study was initiated under the auspices of the Dakota Water Resources Act (DWRA) of 2000, which directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a comprehensive study of the water quality and quantity needs of the Red River Valley and the options for meeting those needs. As such, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) requested technical support …

Whooping Cranes: The Road To Survival

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Whooping cranes are one of the best known of all endangered species and symbolize the struggle to maintain the vanishing creatures of this world. One scientist estimated that only 1400 whoopers survived by 1860. Their population continued to decline due to drainage of wetlands, conversion of grasslands to agriculture, and hunting until only 15 or 16 cranes survived the winter of 1941-42 in Texas. The present world population is about 450 wild and captive whooping cranes (2005). Only one self-sustaining population survives in the wild; these birds spend the winter at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas coast and …

2002 Licensed Angler Survey: Summarized Results, Keith L. Hurley, Kristin L. Duppong-Hurley

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

On October 22, 2002, 5000 six-page surveys (Appendix 3) were sent to a stratified-random sample of Nebraska anglers drawn from the 2001 licensed anglers database. The database included all anglers who purchased a fishing license in 2001 as well as all lifetime fishing permit holders who purchased their license before or during 2001. The database did not include those possessing a free permit, such as veteran’s or senior citizen permits. The survey subsample (2.6% of the 2001-licensed angler database) was stratified such that the proportions of surveys in the subsample (4366 residents and 634 non-residents) matched the proportions of resident/non-resident …

Nebraska Catfish Anglers: Descriptions And Insights Derived From The 2002 Nebraska Licensed Angler Survey, Keith Hurley, Kristin Duppong-Hurley

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

Analyses in this report will refer to number of different groups. Catfish seeking anglers are defined as any angler who has spend at least 1 trip during 2002 in pursuit of a catfish species (channel, blue, flathead, or bullhead). This is the most general group included in the analyses and is also the least avid group of anglers in regards to their relationship to catfish angling. Catfish anglers are defined as those respondents who identified a catfish species as the species they most prefer to target. Catfish anglers represent a smaller group of respondents with a higher avidity for catfish …

Factors Affecting Regional Variation In Growth Of Channel Catfish, Bart W. Durham, Kevin L. Pope, Gene R. Wilde

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We related the length at age of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, an indirect measure of growth, to three climatic and five morphoedaphic variables in 144 Texas reservoirs. Growth of channel catfish ages 3 through 6 was negatively related to longitude, a factor that explained as much as 34% of the variation in length at age. Channel catfish length at age was not significantly related to latitude, conductivity, morphoedaphic index, mean depth, and maximum depth in all age-classes. Among age-7 channel catfish, length at age was positively related to reservoir area, which explained 35% of the variation in growth. A …

The Use Of Discontinuities And Functional Groups To Assess Relative Resilience In Complex Systems, Craig R. Allen, L. Gunderson, A. R. Johnson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

It is evident when the resilience of a system has been exceeded and the system qualitatively changed. However, it is not clear how to measure resilience in a system prior to the demonstration that the capacity for resilient response has been exceeded. We argue that self-organizing human and natural systems are structured by a relatively small set of processes operating across scales in time and space. These structuring processes should generate a discontinuous distribution of structures and frequencies, where discontinuities mark the transition from one scale to another. Resilience is not driven by the identity of elements of a system, …

Th E Conservation Reserve Program And Duck Product Ion In The U.S. Prairie Pothole Region, Ronald Reynolds

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Th e Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America has historically been considered the most important area of the continent for many species of waterfowl, particularly upland nesting ducks (Bellrose 1976). However, during the time since settlement of this area by Europeans, productivity by species such as mallard, gadwall, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, and northern pintail has apparently declined. Beauchamp and others (1996) reported a system-wide decline in nest success of upland nesting duck species in the PPR between 1935 and 1992. Nest success has been identified as the single most important factor influencing population change of mallards breeding in …

A Survey Of Elemental Contaminants And Organochlorines At North Platte National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska, 1993., Matthew S. Schwarz, Brent J. Esmoil, Timothy E. Fannin

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

The North Platte National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) is located 8 miles northeast of Scottsbluff, in Nebraska's Panhandle. It was established by Executive Order in 1916, and was managed by the Bureau of Reclamation (BR) until 1986, when primary jurisdiction was granted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). The 2,909 acre Refuge includes three reservoirs: 1) Lake Alice, 2) Winters Creek Lake, and 3) Lake Minitare (Figure 1). Water levels in all three reservoirs are managed by BR for irrigation and Lake Minitare is managed as a State Recreation Area under a lease agreement with the Nebraska Game and …

Efficacy Of Translocations For Restoring Populations Of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Jo Ann L. D. Dullum, Kerry R. Foresman, Marc R. Matchett

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

We evaluated translocation as a method to promote recovery of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) after plague-induced population declines in colonies at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Montana. We translocated prairie dogs in June of 1999 and evaluated the effects of translocation on colony area 1 year and 4 years later. We also assessed effects of release group size and estimated rates of population growth and survival. Initial size of experimental colonies was categorized as inactive (0 ha), small (0.1-2.0 ha), or large (2.0-6.6 ha); numbers of prairie dogs translocated to each colony size class were …

Endangered And Threatened Wildlife And Plants; Determination Of Endangered Status For The Salt Creek Tiger Beetle (Cicindela Nevadica Lincolniana)

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status for the Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (Act). This species is endemic to the saline wetlands of eastern Nebraska (NE) and associated streams in the northern third of Lancaster County and southern margin of Saunders County. Only three small populations of this subspecies remain, and the known adult population size in 2005 was only 153 individuals. This final rule extends Federal protection and recovery provisions of the Act to the Salt Creek tiger beetle.

Risk And Consequence Analysis Focused On Biota Transfers Potentially Associated With Surface Water Diversions Between The Missouri River And Red River Basins, Greg Linder, Ed Little, Bruce Peacock, Heather Goeddeke, Lynne Johnson, Chad Vishy

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Under the auspices of the Dakota Water Resources Act (DWRA) of 2000, the Secretary of the Interior has been directed to conduct a comprehensive study of the water quality and quantity needs of the Red River Valley and the options for meeting those needs. As such, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) requested technical support from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) for an evaluation of the risks and economic consequences of biota transfers potentially associated with interbasin water transfers that might occur between the Upper Missouri River and the Red River of the North (Red River) …

Contaminant Exposure And Reproductive Health Of Sandhill Cranes In The Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska., Matthew S. Schwarz, Christina D. Lydick, Karen J. Nelson, Timothy S. Gross

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

The central Platte River Valley provides crucial staging habitat for the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana) and the mid-continent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Platte River flow depletions and the conversion of native wet meadows for agriculture and other purposes has decreased the cranes natural habitat in the central Platte River Valley, and waste corn now makes up most of the cranes diet while they are in the Valley.

The purpose of this research was to measure organochlorine, elemental contaminant, and pesticide exposure to sandhill cranes from the central Platte River Valley, and to evaluate their reproductive condition. Pesticides …

Secondary Lead Poisoning In Golden Eagle And Ferruginous Hawk Chicks Consuming Shot Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wyoming, Robert M. Stephens, Aran S. Johnson, Regan Plumb, Kimberly K. Dickerson, Mark C. Mckinstry, Stanley H. Anderson

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Recreational shooting of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a common activity at Thunder Basin National Grassland (TBNG), Wyoming. The prairie dog carcasses left in the area are scavenged by coyotes (Canis latrans), raptors, and other animals. These scavengers are susceptible to lead (Pb) poisoning if they consume Pb bullet fragments or Pb shot when scavenging the shooter-killed prairie dogs. In 2000, a local rehabilitator noted an increase of Pb poisoning cases in raptors (L.Layton, pers. comm. 3/30/01) from the area. We collected several shooter-killed prairie dog carcasses from TBNG for determining if Pb fragments remained …

Ecology Of The Missouri River. Progress Report, Dingell-Johnson Project F-75-R-23, Supplement I - Missouri River Creel Survey, Bellevue To Camp Creek, 2 April Through 14 October 2005, Gerald Mestl

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This report describes Missouri River activities and results related to a channelized Missouri River creel survey conducted from 2 April through 14 October 2005. This is the sixth of a planned annual creel survey to be conducted on alternating sections of the channelized Missouri River to measure changes in recreational fishing activity, especially those changes due to large scale habitat restoration efforts. We returned to the Bellevue to Camp Creek reach in 2005 because we had to cancel the creel on this reach in 2004 after the second creel period due to lack of personnel. Future reports will contain additional …