Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Distribution, Density, Movement, And Support For Management Of Mountain Sucker, Pantosteus Jordani, In The Black Hills Of South Dakota, Seth J. Fopma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mountain Sucker, Pantosteus jordani, is a cold-water species native to the Intermountain West. Fringe populations of Mountain Sucker have experienced declines in recent decades. The population of Mountain Sucker found in the Black Hills of South Dakota represents the eastern fringe of the species’ native range. Recognized as both an indicator of biologic health and as a species of greatest conservation need in South Dakota, recent studies have suggested significant declines in both distribution and abundance. Despite the recent study of Mountain Sucker in the region, increased understanding of Mountain Sucker ecology is needed to effectively manage for the conservation …

Cold-Water Prey Fish Monitoring And Ecology In Lake Oahe, Nicholas B. Kludt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Lake Oahe, a large mainstem Missouri river reservoir that spans 375 river kilometers in central North and South Dakota, naturalized Rainbow Smelt are the primary forage species for a regionally important Walleye Sander vitreus fishery. Walleye condition in Lake Oahe is highly correlated to Rainbow Smelt relative abundance through time, the latter species being typified by erratic abundance trends since accidental introduction in 1971. Cisco Coregonus artedii were introduced in the early 1990s to augment the cold-water prey base. We evaluated Lake Oahe cold-water prey base monitoring and dynamics through: 1.) a comparison of two hydroacoustic survey designs, 2.) …

Modification Of Plant Proteins And Their Potential Application As Fish Meal Replacements In Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss Feeds, Miran Jaza Hama Salh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soybean meals (SBM) and its by-products are the most common plant feedstuffs that are used in feeds for a variety of fish species of fish over the last three decades due to high protein levels and good amino acid profile, in comparison with other plant protein sources. In the last two decades the production of soybean was around zero metric tons (Index, 2020). Barley is another plant protein that has been tested in some species diets. While barley is used in many areas such as brewing industry, animal feeding, human consumption, it is mainly used for animal feeding in Kurdistan. …

The Effects Of Sediment Acidification And Temperature On The Immune Capacity Of The Atlantic Jackknife (Razor) Clam (Ensis Leei M. Huber, 2015), Brian Preziosi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sediment acidification has been shown to negatively impact clams of economic importance such as the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria Linnaeus, 1758, and hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758). Effects of sediment acidification on razor clams, including the Atlantic jackknife clam Ensis leei M. Huber, 2015, are unknown. E. leei has been identified as a species with potential for aquaculture operations on the New England coast. E. leei may be resilient to acidification and thus persist in acidified sediments where other clams cannot. To this end, the impact of acidified surface sediment on the internal immune capacity of adult (mean shell …

Fish Passage And Hydropower: Investigating Resource Agency Decision-Making During The Ferc Hydropower Relicensing Process, Sarah Vogel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydropower dams represent a significant challenge for the successful migration of sea-run fish, many species of which are in decline. Most hydropower dams in the United States are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent federal agency responsible for granting 30 to 50-year licenses to projects for their continued operation. Licenses typically include conditions for the conservation of sea-run fish such as fish passage construction, operational changes, monitoring of effectiveness, and other mitigative conditions. While FERC remains the primary authority in licensing, the current regulatory framework stipulates input from other federal and state resource and regulatory agencies, …

Getting Over The Dam: Overcoming Institutional Barriers To The Recovery Of Atlantic Salmon By Navigating The Social-Science/Policy Interface, Melissa E. Flye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term governance has undergone somewhat of an evolution since its inception, originally describing the act of governing, it has come to represent a more collaborative form of governing which is distinct from hierarchical control models (Marin and Mayntz, 1991). Collaborative governance refers to the systems associated with public policy decision making and resource management which span the jurisdictional boundaries of public agencies, levels of government, and/or public and private spheres in order to pursue a public policy goal or outcome (Emerson et al., 2012). Environmental management is often considered an inherently collaborative effort, as ecological systems and species rarely …

Assessing Migrations And Habitat Connectivity For Two Anadromous Species Following A Major Restoration Effort In The Penobscot River, Maine, George A. Maynard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The construction of industrial dams across major rivers in New England began in the early 1800s with textile mills in Massachusetts. Because of its legacy of mill dams and log driving dams, New England has the highest density of dams anywhere in North America, averaging one dam for every 44 km² of drainage area. By the early 1900s, these dams drastically limited migrations by diadromous fishes, resulting in declines in populations of migratory fishes, including Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and American shad Alosa sapidissima. Since that time, different fishway designs and river management plans have been tried around …

Examining Citizens' Preferences For Aquaculture Using Discrete Choice Experiments, Olga Bredikhina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few decades, discrete choice experiments (DCEs) have become increasingly popular across different subfields of economics as a way to elicit citizens‟ stated preferences for product and service attributes as well as various environmental and infrastructure features. The DCE framework could be seen as a time- and cost-effective alternative to the revealed preferences framework that is based on data obtained using transactions observed in real-world markets. DCEs offer the advantage over revealed preferences data because they allow learning about consumer preferences for hypothetical products or product attributes without bearing the costs of introducing new products to the market. …

Effects Of Temperature On Microbial Parameters Associated With Decaying Plant Litter In A Stream Microcosm Experiment, Hunter David Pates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increases in mean surface air temperature under climate-change predictions are expected to affect microbial activity, as well as carbon dynamics in aquatic ecosystems. I explored responses of litter-associated decomposers along temperature ranges typical of temperate streams in laboratory microcosms simulating stream conditions. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether the effects of temperature on stream leaf-associated microorganisms can be explained by the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE); (2) if the effects of temperature are the same across temperatures commonly found in temperate streams; and (3) if there are differences in the magnitude of responses to temperature among …

Improvement Of Dried Distillers’ Grains With Solubles Utilizing Pretreatments And Fungal Fermentation, Burgandy Zschetzsche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Limited inclusion of distillers’ grains in animal feed is primarily due to low protein and high fiber content. Other elements, such as phytate phosphorus levels in DDGS are still an issue for monogastric animals such as swine, poultry, and fish. Furthermore, unabsorbed phytic acid in manure poses a high risk for environmental pollution, because bacteria can hydrolyze phytic acid into free phosphorus that can result in algal blooms and eutrophication of surface or ground water. The objective of this thesis was to improve the nutritional value of corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS). This was done utilizing submerged fungal …

The Economic And Social Values Associated With Small South Dakota Lakes, Aaron Patrick Sundmark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The valuation of small fishing lakes is a vital component in understanding the importance of fishing and of recreational resources, in general. Knowing the values associated with such lakes is essential when prioritizing management activities. The overall value of a lake as a resource for human benefit is estimated as the summation of both instrumental and non-instrumental values. Instrumental values consist of economic and utilitarian values, as well as the values that a lake provides from ecosystem services. Non-instrumental values consider what the lake is worth as a good of its own, such as aesthetic, moral, and spiritual values gained …

Shrimp Production Environment And The Gut Microbiome: Effects Of Aquaculture Practices And Selective Breeding On The Gut Microbiome Of Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei, Angela Landsman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of the functional role of the gut microbiome in animal health and nutrition may provide solutions to shrimp aquaculture challenges, such as improving disease resistance and optimizing growth particularly with low cost feeds. Successful manipulation of bacteria found in the gut requires a deeper understanding of shrimp microbial communities and how their compositional structure is influenced by environmental conditions, and inherent host factors such as genetics. The initial research investigated the intestinal bacterial communities of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) reared in pond systems compared to indoor aquaculture facilities as an exploration of the effects of aquaculture practices …

Assessing Freshwater Mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) Assemblages And Effects Of Eutrophication On Pyganodon Grandis In Lakes Of Eastern South Dakota, Katherine M. Wollman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, the family Unionidae is the most threatened group of freshwater fauna. South Dakota is well known for its agricultural production, leading to cultural eutrophication from enhanced fertilizers and sediments. This impact can alter species presence, age, growth and mortality. Objectives of this study were to 1) implement the first comprehensive lake survey of freshwater mussels in eastern South Dakota lakes and document distribution, occurrence and relative abundance, 2) evaluate relationships between age, growth and mortality of Pyganodon grandis and lake trophic state. Freshwater mussels were sampled in 2017 from 116 proportionally and randomly selected natural lakes and reservoir basins …

Ribbeting Results: Emergent Infectious Diseases In Wetland Systems, Ariel Horner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North American amphibians have recently been impacted by two major emerging pathogens, the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and iridoviruses in the genus Ranavirus (Rv). Environmental, seasonal and host factors may play important roles in disease dynamics, but few studies incorporate these components into their analyses. Here, we investigated the role of environmental, seasonal, genetic and location effects on driving Bd and Rv infection prevalence and severity in a biodiversity hot spot, the southeastern United States. We used quantitative PCR to characterize Bd and Rv dynamics in natural populations of three amphibian species: Notophthalmus perstriatus, Hyla squirella and Pseudacris ornata and …

Effect Of Water Velocity And Temperature On Energy Use, Behavior, And Mortality Of Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus Albus Larvae, Joseph Thomas Mrnak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus are a federally endangered species endemic to the Missouri River basin. Natural reproduction has been limited for decades and a recruitment bottleneck is hypothesized to occur during the larval stage of development. Understanding factors that affect survival of Pallid Sturgeon larvae is key given their critical status and ongoing recovery efforts. In this study, I evaluated the effects of water velocity and temperature on energy use, behavior, and mortality of endogenously feeding Pallid Sturgeon larvae (< 25 mm TL). In the first experiment, I examined the effect of water velocity (0 – 8.3 cm s⁻¹) on larval growth, energy density, swimming activity, and mortality. Larval growth rate at 16.3 °C was similar across …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Recent Gizzard Shad Introductions In Four South Dakota Small Impoundments, Brandon Vanderbush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Managing fisheries requires balancing predators and prey. Prey stockings are often used when food sources may be limiting to support fish communities with multiple predators. Stocking of prey often results in increased predator size and could potentially lead to the consumption of nuisance species such as Black Bullheads Ameiurus melas. Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum are an often-stocked prey species and have been recently stocked into several small impoundments across South Dakota. One of the focuses of this study was to document the contribution of age-0 Gizzard Shad to predator fish food habits and growth. Gizzard Shad consumption varied between …

The Infection Dynamics Of Sea Lice On Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) In Cobscook Bay, Maine, Usa, Catherine Anne Frederick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus and Caligus spp) are parasitic copepods that infect the external surfaces of fish hosts. Salmon lice (L. salmonis) outbreaks are commonly reported by operations in Canada, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, and the United States and are a primary concern in aquaculture because of their fish health and economic impacts. When farmed fish mortalities and treatments are accounted for, annual losses from sea louse infestations exceed $300,000,000 (Costello 2009). Farms experiencing sea lice infections risk on-site re-infection and transmission to wild populations and other farms that are hydrographically connected. In Maine, Atlantic salmon farms are located in the northeast, …

Black Soldier Fly Larvae As Value-Added Feed For Aquaculture In Maine, Joshua Villazana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black soldier flies (BSF), Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) consume decaying organic waste as larvae (BSFL) and can be used for recycling a variety of biogenic wastes. BSFL can also be processed into value-added animal feeds, including those used in aquaculture. An overarching goal of this project was to obtain additional insights into BSF biology to improve their rearing and handling in future mass-production facilities serving Maine aquaculture.

We tested BSFL growth in the laboratory on seven seafood wastes from Maine fish processing facilities. Substrates potentially suitable for BSFL rearing included finfish trimmings, wet sea cucumber, dry quahog, and sea …

Investigating Present-Day Health Issues Of The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus), Deborah A. Bouchard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, H. Milne Edwards, 1837, supports the most economically valuable fishery along the North Atlantic coast of North America. A collapse in lobster populations in Southern New England (SNE) has coincided with increasing ocean temperatures and emerging diseases. This research investigated the etiologies of limp lobster disease (LLD) and epizootic shell disease (ESD), two diseases that continue to cause significant mortality in natural lobster populations. Mortality from LLD is associated with the bacteria Photobacterium indicum and is more intense in impounded lobsters. To more clearly define the community ecology of this suspected opportunistic pathogen, the microbial …

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Atlantic Cod Bycatch In The Maine Lobster Fishery And Its Impacts On Stock Assessment, Robert E. Boenish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Of the most iconic fish species in the world, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua, hereafter, cod) has been a mainstay in the North Atlantic for centuries. While many global fish stocks have received increased pressure with the advent of new, more efficient fishing technology in the mid-20^th century, exceptional pressure has been placed on this prized gadoid. Bycatch, or the unintended catch of organisms, is one of the biggest global fisheries issues. Directly resulting from the failed recovery of cod in the GoM, attention has been placed as to possible sources of unaccounted catch. Among the most …

Incorporating Environmental Variability Into Assessment And Management Of American Lobster (Homarus Americanus), Kisei Tanaka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) support one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. A growing body of literature recognizes the importance of environmental variables in regulating this species’ biogeography and population dynamics. However, the current lobster stock assessment and management do not explicitly consider the impact of environmental variables such as water temperature and assumes spatiotemporal variabilities in the lobster environment as random background noises. Furthermore, while climate-induced changes in marine ecosystems continue to impact the productivity of lobster fisheries, studies that model lobster response to altered environmental conditions associated with climate change are lacking. …

Assessing Economic Performance Of Maine's Lobster Fleet Under Changing Ecosystem Conditions In The Gulf Of Maine, Alexa M. Dayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluates lobster producer efficiency and considers fleet wide economics and policy implications in support of changing marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine. We conducted a comprehensive lobster industry survey to assess costs and effort expended at the producer level for a representative fishing year, and establish a series of production function performance baselines for future comparison. The demographic data, attitudes and valuations collected allow us to characterize the fishing effort and regional dependency on the resource. We look at the Maine Lobster limited entry licensing system, to understand how the future participation in the fishery might change, …

Social Conflict On The Seas: Links Between Overfishing-Induced Marine Fish Stock Declines And Forced Labor Slavery, Jessica L. Sparks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite media attention detailing labor abuses in fisheries, social-ecological systems research has largely failed to consider whether fish stock declines could be contributing to increases in forced labor slavery. Empirical fisheries data suggests, though not a ubiquitous response to declining stocks, many vessels will fish longer, farther from shore, and deeper in waters to maintain yields. This effort intensification increases production costs, and Brashares et al. (2014), consistent with slavery theory, posited cheap and/or unpaid labor as an approach to offset increasing costs and continue harvesting fish species at a rate otherwise cost-prohibitive.

Using fuzzy cognitive mapping - a participatory, …

Impacts On Salmonid Rearing Performance With Use Of Dietary Bioprocessed Plant-Based Protein And Water Velocity, Jill Voorhees

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inclusion of bioprocessed soybean (Glycine max) meal was evaluated in five experiments using either Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) or Brown Trout (Salmo trutta). In the first experiment, adult Erwin x Arlee strain Rainbow Trout were fed diets formulated so that bioprocessed soybean meal (BSM) replaced 0, 60, or 80% of the dietary fishmeal. There were no significant differences in gain, percent gain, feed conversion ratio, specific growth rate, intestinal morphology, relative fin lengths, or organosomatic indices. In the second experiment, juvenile Plymouth strain Brown Trout were fed diets formulated so that BSM replaced 0, 60, 80, or 100% of …

Evaluating Elasmobranch Bycatch And Shark Depredation In The Georgia Shrimp Fishery, Matthew M. Scanlon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Georgia shrimp fishery has seen a dramatic decrease in profit and productivity since the 1980’s due to a number of economic factors. Additional, yet undocumented, pressures on this fishery include interactions between foraging sharks with trawl gear. Fishermen report that sharks frequently bite nets in an attempt to prey on netted fish, resulting in large holes in the gear. Further elasmobranch interactions with trawl gear occur as bycatch; shrimp trawls represent nearly 100% of elasmobranch commercial bycatch in Georgia state waters, the species composition of which is largely unstudied. Shark interactions with nets were detailed through fishery-dependent observations on …

Predictors Of Fish Assemblage Structure And Dynamics In Atlantic Coastal Plain Streams, Rebecca Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective management of freshwater fishes requires a mechanistic understanding of the drivers of assemblage composition; in other words, what determines who is where and when. Stream fish assemblages are potentially influenced by environmental factors that act on multiple spatiotemporal scales, but the relative influence of these drivers may vary between geophysically distinct regions. This study sought to determine the patterns and drivers of fish taxonomic and functional assemblage composition in the coastal plain, a region possessing unique hydrologies, faunas, and physiochemical conditions. I addressed this goal using two complementary chapters, both of which utilized environmental and biotic data collected from …

Western Prairie Stream Fisheries: An Assessment Of Past And Present Fish Assemblage Structure, Biotic Homogenization, And Population Dynamics In Western South Dakota Streams, Stephen Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is declining globally, especially in in aquatic systems. Prairies are one of the most endangered ecosystem types in North America, and their conversion into agriculture or development as a result of urbanization has had negative effects on prairie stream fish communities. Continued monitoring of fish assemblage change and the population dynamics of prairie stream fishes will provide researchers and managers with valuable information needed to detect and mitigate past and future negative impacts on prairie stream aquatic ecosystems. Sampling was conducted in the mainstem and tributaries of the Grand, Moreau, Cheyenne, Bad, and White rivers within western South Dakota. …

Nutritional Value Of Modified Novel Oilseed Meals In Teleost Diets, Tom Kasiga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carinata Brassica carinata and camelina Camelina sativa are being genetically modified to improve their composition for biofuel production and other agricultural applications. After oil extraction, the residual de-oiled meals (40%) in protein. However, their inclusion in animal feeds is limited to 10% because of high levels of antinutritional factors (ANFs), mainly glucosinolates (GLS), sinapine, and crude fiber that limit diet intake, nutrient utilization, and lower thyroxine production, resulting in reduced growth. The nutritional value of carinata and camelina seed meals to fish were assessed by subjecting cold pressed (CP) carinata and camelina meals to extrusion (EX), solvent extraction (SE) and …

Walleye Fishery Ecology In Lake Oahe Of The Dakotas, Eli Felts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Walleye Sander vitreus is among the most popular sport fishes in North America and is the most sought-after fish in both South Dakota and North Dakota. Lake Oahe, a large main stem Missouri River reservoir, spans state boundaries and provides one of the most popular and productive Walleye fisheries in both Dakotas. The Walleye population of Lake Oahe has experienced wide fluctuations in abundance and size structure over the last 25 years which has caused high variability in angler use and satisfaction. Much of this variation is thought to be driven by Rainbow Smelt Osmserus mordax, which are the dominant …

Effects Of Large-Scale Density Reduction On Brown Trout Growth And Movement In Spearfish Creek, South Dakota, Travis Rehm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Density-dependent growth is often observed in stream-dwelling Brown Trout Salmo trutta populations. In Spearfish Creek, South Dakota, biomass of adult Brown Trout (>200 mm) is about three times greater than that reported for similar Black Hills streams while mean length of adult fish is about 30% less. Here, we evaluate large-scale density reduction as a management tool for improving growth rate of stream-dwelling Brown Trout. We compared age-specific growth of wild Brown Trout in stream sections receiving 50% reductions in fish abundance. We also assessed the effect of fish density manipulation on Brown Trout movement patterns and home range …