Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Effects Of Wastewater Effluent On Fish Fin Morphology Of Larval Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) And Swimming Performance Of Smallmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus Bubalus), Seth Michael Bogue Jan 2021

Effects Of Wastewater Effluent On Fish Fin Morphology Of Larval Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) And Swimming Performance Of Smallmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus Bubalus), Seth Michael Bogue

Masters Theses

The Sangamon River flows across central Illinois and is mostly free flowing except in the city of Decatur where it is impounded to form Lake Decatur. The Sanitary District of Decatur (SDD) is located approximately three miles downstream of the Lake Decatur dam. For a significant portion of the year, the stretch of the Sangamon River downstream of SDD is dominated by effluent due to limited discharge from the Lake Decatur dam. This has resulted in heavy nutrient loading, most notably phosphorus, and elevated levels of nickel and other compounds in the downstream section of the river. Smallmouth buffalo ( …


Bigheaded Carp Spatial Reproductive Dynamics And Population Genetics In Large River Tributaries, Samuel J. Schaick Jan 2020

Bigheaded Carp Spatial Reproductive Dynamics And Population Genetics In Large River Tributaries, Samuel J. Schaick

Masters Theses

Fisheries managers are devoting considerable effort, time, and funding towards limiting the spread of invasive Bighead and Silver (bigheaded) Carp. A better understanding of factors that influence spatial patterns of bigheaded carp reproduction can help fisheries managers prevent their spread. To examine factors that influence spatial patterns of reproduction, we sampled ichthyoplankton using drift nets and larval push nets in three tributaries of the Illinois and Wabash Rivers March-September 2016-2018. We compared relative abundances of bigheaded carp eggs and larvae among tributaries using catch per unit effort (CPUE). Abiotic data were analyzed from individual study tributaries and pooled among tributaries …


An Assessment Of Night Time And Seasonal Electrofishing In The Lower Wabash River, Eric Christopher Hine Jan 2019

An Assessment Of Night Time And Seasonal Electrofishing In The Lower Wabash River, Eric Christopher Hine

Masters Theses

Large rivers are highly important systems; being exploited both commercially and recreationally. Because of this usage by humans, close monitoring of the ecology of theses rivers is of the utmost importance. The Long-Term Electrofishing project (LTEF) monitors the fish communities of the Illinois, Mississippi, Wabash, and Ohio rivers using day time, pulsed-DC electrofishing during the late Spring through the early Fall each year. Given that previous studies have noted diel and seasonal changes in catch and composition of fish communities, the addition of night time electrofishing may be beneficial to the overarching goals of the LTEF. This study sought to …


Mechanisms Of Freeze Avoidance In Eggs Of The Antarctic Naked Dragonfish (Gymnodraco Acuticeps) And Atlantic Tomcod (Microgadus Tomcod), Jeremy M. Carlson Apr 2013

Mechanisms Of Freeze Avoidance In Eggs Of The Antarctic Naked Dragonfish (Gymnodraco Acuticeps) And Atlantic Tomcod (Microgadus Tomcod), Jeremy M. Carlson

Student Honors Theses

A remarkable number of marine teleosts belonging to the perciform suborder Notothenioidei and the paracanthopterygian suborder Gadoidei (cods and their allies) have evolved biophysical and physiological adaptations that promote freeze avoidance to temperatures as low as 1oC below the equilibrium freezing point of their body fluids (Cheng et al. 2003; Costanzo et al. 1995; Howes 1991; Raymond and DeVries 1977). Among the Notothenioids endemic to the Antarctic Ocean, the naked dragonfish (Gymnodraco acuticeps, Figure 1) inhabits the ice-laden waters near McMurdo Sound where the annual water temperature remains stable at -1.87 ± 0.1oC (Komatsu et al. 1970; Bargelloni et al. …


Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert E. Colombo Jan 2004

Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert E. Colombo

Robert E. Colombo

Catfish are a major component of the Wabash River fish assemblage and are commercially fished below river kilometer (Rkm) 500. From Rkm 322 through 499 the commercial fishery is subjected only to Indiana fishing regulations. In this reach of river, there is a 254-mm minimum total length limit on both sport and commercially harvested catfish. Below RM 322, the Wabash River forms the state boundary of Indiana and Illinois. In this region of river there are two different length limits on commercially harvested catfish with Indiana having a 254-mm length limit and Illinois having a 381-mm length limit. There is …


Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert Colombo Jan 2004

Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert Colombo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Catfish are a major component of the Wabash River fish assemblage and are commercially fished below river kilometer (Rkm) 500. From Rkm 322 through 499 the commercial fishery is subjected only to Indiana fishing regulations. In this reach of river, there is a 254-mm minimum total length limit on both sport and commercially harvested catfish. Below RM 322, the Wabash River forms the state boundary of Indiana and Illinois. In this region of river there are two different length limits on commercially harvested catfish with Indiana having a 254-mm length limit and Illinois having a 381-mm length limit. There is …


Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert E. Colombo Jan 2004

Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert E. Colombo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Catfish are a major component of the Wabash River fish assemblage and are commercially fished below river kilometer (Rkm) 500. From Rkm 322 through 499 the commercial fishery is subjected only to Indiana fishing regulations. In this reach of river, there is a 254-mm minimum total length limit on both sport and commercially harvested catfish. Below RM 322, the Wabash River forms the state boundary of Indiana and Illinois. In this region of river there are two different length limits on commercially harvested catfish with Indiana having a 254-mm length limit and Illinois having a 381-mm length limit. There is …


Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert E. Colombo Jan 1998

Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert E. Colombo

Robert E. Colombo

Due to the collapse of the historic caviar fisheries in the Volga River and Caspian Sea, the demand on domestically produced caviar has increased. To supply the increased demand, the harvest of the shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus latorynchus has increased. Because caviar fisheries preferentially harvest females, information regardingthe sexual demographics of these populations is essential for effective fisheries management. To date, knowledge regarding the sex ratios and reproductive development of the shovelnose sturgeon population in the Middle Mississippi River is lacking. In Chapter 1, I describe this problem in detail and in subsequent chapters I explain how I addressed this problem …


Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert E. Colombo Jan 1998

Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert E. Colombo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Due to the collapse of the historic caviar fisheries in the Volga River and Caspian Sea, the demand on domestically produced caviar has increased. To supply the increased demand, the harvest of the shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus latorynchus has increased. Because caviar fisheries preferentially harvest females, information regardingthe sexual demographics of these populations is essential for effective fisheries management. To date, knowledge regarding the sex ratios and reproductive development of the shovelnose sturgeon population in the Middle Mississippi River is lacking. In Chapter 1, I describe this problem in detail and in subsequent chapters I explain how I addressed this problem …


Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert Colombo Jan 1998

Reproductive Demographics And Early Life History Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Robert Colombo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Due to the collapse of the historic caviar fisheries in the Volga River and Caspian Sea, the demand on domestically produced caviar has increased. To supply the increased demand, the harvest of the shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus latorynchus has increased. Because caviar fisheries preferentially harvest females, information regardingthe sexual demographics of these populations is essential for effective fisheries management. To date, knowledge regarding the sex ratios and reproductive development of the shovelnose sturgeon population in the Middle Mississippi River is lacking. In Chapter 1, I describe this problem in detail and in subsequent chapters I explain how I addressed this problem …