Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Detection And Observed Correlations Of Statin And Beta-Blocking Pharmaceuticals In West Virginia Surface Waters And Ichthyofauna, Joseph W. Kingsbury

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Within this thesis the source, presence, and the estimated ecotoxicological effects of cardiovascular medicines, specifically statins and beta-blockers are described within the Buckhannon, Tygart Valley, and West Fork Rivers of West Virginia. Included within this thesis is a general introduction providing key background information and relevant research related to the source, presence, and known toxicity of statins and beta-blockers. Following the general introduction there are 3 distinct chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on the estimated demographic based source loadings and the surface water concentration characteristics of statins and beta-blockers within the three rivers. Chapter 2 investigates the effects of statins and …

Summer Habitat Use, Home Range, And Effect Of Catch And Release Mortality On The Trophy Potential Of Muskellunge, (Esox Masquinongy, Mitchill, 1824), In A Southern Reservoir Population, Peter Isaac Jenkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Research on Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy, Mitchill, 1824) catch-and-release mortality has been historically focused on the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Ontario. In the southern portion of their range, which we consider to be the portion of the species distribution south of the Mason-Dixon Line (~40°N), Muskellunge, may experience significantly warmer temperatures than those in previous studies and anglers have expressed concern about summer catch-and-release mortality. As part of a broader study to quantify catch-and-release summer mortality in the southern range of Muskellunge, we utilized radio telemetry and active tracking to verify individual movement and survival of Muskellunge in Stonewall …

Genetic Analysis And Telemetry Study Of Migration Habits Of The Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon, Cassia Marie Busch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Atlantic sturgeon are a long-lived anadromous fish that ranged from Labrador, Canada to Florida, US. Due to overharvest in the late 1800’s and 1900’s, Atlantic sturgeon populations across the coast experienced a dramatic population crash. Recovery of this species has faced challenges due to anthropogenic threats, such as vessel strikes, bycatch, and habitat degradation. In 2012, Atlantic sturgeon were added to the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the ESA, populations were listed as five distinct population segments (DPS), reflecting their geographic arrangement and genetic structure: Gulf of Maine DPS (threatened), New York Bight DPS (endangered), Chesapeake DPS (endangered), …

Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) Population Characteristics And An Evaluation Of Management Responses In Two West Virginia Watersheds, Jacob D. Harrell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) population characteristics were examined within the Tygart and Cheat River watersheds of north-central West Virginia. Growth, mortality and recruitment were examined for each individual population prior to modeling potential effects of various management schemes. Smallmouth Bass were sampled for total length and weight, aged using sagittal otoliths and sexed through observations of gonadal or ovarian development. Growth for each population was examined using von Bertalanffy growth models and assessed for variation among populations. Population demographic characteristics differed between and among populations, most noticeably between riverine and lacustrine habitat, whereby growth, mortality and recruitment were higher …

Evaluating Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy) Catch-And-Release Mortality At Elevated Summer Water Temperature, Ian Taylor Booth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Angling for Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) has become widespread and increasingly popular throughout the fish’s range. Current management strategies for Muskellunge include high minimum harvest lengths (>1016mm), closed seasons, and catch-and-release regulations. Due to these strategies and angler sentiments, up to 97% of Muskellunge caught today are released by anglers assuming they will live and be caught again in the future. Previous research on catchand-release mortality in Muskellunge has suggested relatively low mortality rates (0%-5%). However, these studies were all conducted within the fish’s thermal optimum and generally at water temperatures25°C during the summer months, representing a need to evaluate …

Population Characteristics Of Three Black Bass Species In The Upper Ohio River Drainage, Levi Foster Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In West Virginia, species of black bass are economically and ecologically important and support popular fisheries. In the state’s large, navigable river systems, recent information suggests that anglers consider these fisheries diminished relative to their historic stocks. This study sought to describe the population characteristics of Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted Bass in the upper Ohio River drainage and evaluate possible management actions. Low relative abundances coupled with poor growth estimates for Largemouth and Spotted Bass suggests that a suite of environmental and anthropogenic factors may be reducing the quality of their recreational fisheries. Conversely, demographic estimates produced for Smallmouth Bass …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

Effect Of Diet, Age, And Genetics On Rainbow Trout Growth And Fillet Quality, Bahareh Adami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, analyses were conducted to compare fillet quality attributes of 4 rainbow trout families (40, 102, 159, and 187) fed fish meal (FM) and a fishmeal free diet (FMF), to two age endpoints, 9 and 11 months.

Previous studies with rainbow trout have evaluated the effect of age, diet, and family on growth performance and fillet quality. However, a comprehensive analysis of variables is lacking for rainbow trout, one of the main aquatic foods for domestic and international consumers.

Separable muscle as a percent whole body weight was not affected by diet, family, age, and the interaction of …

Evaluation Of Population Structure, Age, Growth, And Mortality Of Blue Catfish And Flathead Catfish Within The Robert C. Byrd Pool Of The Ohio And Kanawha Rivers, Joseph Vincent Siegel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Ohio River is continuing to recover from a long history of anthropogenic impacts. Blue Catfish were considered locally extirpated from the West Virginia sections and have been reintroduced through fingerling stockings beginning in 2002. Flathead Catfish are naturally sustaining in the pool and combined with Blue Catfish provide two popular recreational fisheries. The Blue Catfish and Flathead Catfish studies shared similar objectives: (1) evaluating size structure, (2) estimating growth rates, and (3) estimating annual mortality. From 2017 to 2020, we collected catfish annually through low frequency electrofishing and trotline surveys at 10 fixed locations. Electrofishing catch rates for Blue …

Distribution And Habitat Use Of Benthic Fishes In The Lower Kanawha River, West Virginia, Nathaniel V. Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Kanawha River in West Virginia is a historically diverse system in terms of ichthyofauna although, like many other large rivers, it has been subjected to a suite of anthropomorphic perturbations. These include this system being modified to allow the passage of commercial vessels for industry thus altering flow regimes, increased sedimentation, water depth, and channelization, and decreased interactions with its floodplain. Additionally, the fishes of this system have suffered from deleterious historical water quality issues caused by intensive timber operations, mining, and industrial waste. Post Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act water …

Analysis Of Unconventional Oil And Gas Impacts On Downstream Fish Assemblages And Physiological Stress, Joshua Noah Ankeny

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG) production has been steadily expanding throughout the mid-Atlantic since 2008. Increased sedimentation, degraded water chemistry and an overall decrease in habitat quality due to UOG is anticipated to negatively impact aquatic inhabitants, a common observation in other stressed landscapes (i.e., mining, agriculture, development). We assessed stream health through both community analysis and physiological parameters (i.e., growth and hematocrit). A before-after-control-impact study uncovered three fish metrics that were significantly different following UOG disturbances. The invertivore-piscivore metric decreased following UOG disturbance (p = 0.045) whereas two benthic metrics saw a surprising increase (p = 0.003 and p …

Comparing The Effects Of Swimming Exercise And Dissolved Oxygen On Important Performance Parameters Of Early-Rearing Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar And Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss., Thomas B. Waldrop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Swimming exercise (bodylenghts/sec), and dissolved oxygen (DO), are important environmental variables in aquaculture. While there is an obvious physiological association between these two parameters, their interaction has not been adequately studied in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar and Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Since both variables can be easily manipulated in modern aquaculture systems, we sought to assess the impact of these parameters, alone and in combination, on the performance, health, and welfare parameters of the two species. Atlantic salmon and Rainbow trout were stocked into twelve circular 0.5 m³ tanks and exposed to either high (1.5-2 BL/s) or low …

Thermal Performance Of Growth At Consumption Maximum (C-Max) And Routine Metabolic Rate (Rmr) In Brook Trout Salvelinus Fontinalis From Four Populations In Central Appalachia, Cory Michael Hartman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Growth of an individual is the end result of many physiological processes stemming from the consumption of food items. These processes can be influenced by many variables including temperature. Current bioenergetics models for Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis suggest growth increases with temperature until an inflection point of 20.2°C. With a warming climate, and water temperatures expected to rise, the ability of a population to adapt to the warming environment is crucial to the survival of the species. For this study we sought to see how spatial variation would influence the specific consumption, conversion efficiency, and specific growth at consumption maximum …

Assessment Of Melanistic Lesions In Smallmouth Bass ( Micropterus Dolomieu) Of The Chesapeake Bay, Usa, Kelsey T. Young

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) are an important sportfish in the Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins of the Chesapeake Bay drainage. However, population declines in portions of the Susquehanna, fish kills and reports of visible abnormalities such as melanistic spots have raised concern among the public and resource managers. Although the etiology or risk factors associated with melanistic lesions are unknown, there is a propensity to attribute the abnormality to contaminants. Melanistic lesions of smallmouth bass were assessed using histopathology and gene expression analysis to evaluate the cellular and molecular changes compared to normal skin. The prevalence of melanistic …