Biology Commons^™

Population Structure And Habitat Use Of Bluegill In The Upper Mississippi River, Ethan Allyn Rutledge

MSU Graduate Theses

Fish populations are driven by the dynamic rate functions (i.e., recruitment, growth, and mortality). Knowledge of these vital rates can provide critical information to determine spatiotemporal population-level changes in the system. Therefore, understanding these vital rates are important in the proper management of any fishery. Anthropogenic modifications to the environment have had damaging effects on the organisms within these ecosystems. Specific to Upper Mississippi River fishes, channelization, dams, and loss of floodplain connectivity have all been purported as deleterious. In the face of these modifications, understanding habitat use and vital rates of individual species is needed to help guide management …

Trophic Interactions And The Efficacy Of Milfoil Weevils For Biocontrol Of Eurasian Watermilfoil In Wisconsin Lakes, Kristopher Andrew Maxson

MSU Graduate Theses

Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L., henceforth “EWM”) is the most heavily managed nuisance submersed aquatic plant in the United States. EWM’s rapid spring growth and formation of dense surface mats inhibits native macrophyte communities, serves as poor-quality habitat for fish and macroinvertebrates, impacts recreation, and can clog water supply infrastructure. The milfoil weevil (Euhrychiopsis lecontei Dietz) has been associated with EWM declines in several states, though natural weevil densities are generally too small to effect control. Augmentative biocontrol has had varied success and fish predation may account for high weevil mortality. Weevils were augmented in 4 northern Wisconsin lakes in …

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, A. P. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. E. Colombo, Michael A. Menze

Michael Menze

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, A. P. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. E. Colombo, Michael A. Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms : Live Fast, Die Young?, A. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. Colombo, Michael Menze

Faculty Scholarship

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …

Comparison Of Creel Survey Data To Traditional Sampling Techniques In Pit-Lake Fisheries Of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Derek L. Rupert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Populations of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, were evaluated from five pit-lakes in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, to determine if accurate proportional stock density (PSD) data can be obtained from a mandatory creel survey. It was hypothesized that the proportion of stock-to-quality (300-400mm) and quality (+400mm) largemouth bass from four years (2007-2010) of creel survey data would be statistically similar to those generated through on-site sampling in 2011. Fish were collected via a combination of gill netting, seining, hook-and-line fishing, and boat-mounted electro-fishing. In two of the pit-lakes, the sampling-generated length frequency data was not significantly …

Community Responses To Variable Predation: Field Studies With Sunfish And Freshwater Macroinvertebrates, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The impact of variable predation by bluegill sunfish on macroinvertebrate prey in a North Florida lake is examined. Variable predation may occur in many systems and may contribute substantially to the spatial heterogeneity, temporal inconstancy and species composition of prey communities.

Patchy, temporally variable predation characterized middepth and deep lake habitats, whereas in the shallow zone predation was relatively constant and homogeneous. Predation varied significantly every 2-4 wk in the mid-depth zone, but varied little between consecutive weeks or days. Caging experiments revealed that variable predation altered prey community composition and increased the mean size and size range of some …

Effects Of The Toxins Of The Ectoproct, Lophopodella Carteri, On Oxygen Consumption In Gill Tissues Of The Bluegill, Lepomis Macrochirus, Barbara Harper Green

Master's Theses

Large and small bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, were exposed to homogena tes of Lophopodella carteri, an ectoproct that contains substances toxic to some gilled vertebrates. Oxygen consumption tests on the excised gill tissues of the bluegill indicated that the ectoproct toxins caused a lowering of oxygen consumption of the gill tissues. Oxygen consumption of the gill tissues of the smaller fish was reduced to a greater extent than that of larger fish. An inverse relationship was found be tween the temperature of the medium and the period of time for death to occur. It is proposed that the toxins cause physiological …

Effects Of The Toxins Of Lophopodella Carteri (Ectoprocta), On Blood Lactate And Electrolytes Of Lepomis Macrochirus (Bluegill), Robert Fisher Dance

Master's Theses

Specimens of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) were exposed to homogenates of Lophopodella carter, an ectoproct that contains substances toxic to some gilled vertebrates. The homogenates caused significant decreases in blood Na+ and Cl - and a significant increase in lactate. Potassium levels were unaffected. It is proposed that these changes in blood. properties were caused by damage to ion transport mechanisms of the gill epithelium.

The Effects Of The Toxins Of Lophopodella Carteri (Ectoprocta) On The Blood Gas Properties Of The Bluegill Lepomis Macrochirus, Robert Allen May

Master's Theses

Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill) were exposed, in small containers, to homogenates of Lophopodella carteri, an ectoproct that contains substances toxic to gilled vertebrates. Blood pH, pco₂, and po₂ were determined with a blood gas analyzer. Blood carbonic anhydrase activity was measured manometrically.

The ectoproct toxins caused significant decreases in blood pH and po₂ and a significant increase in blood pco₂ and carbonic anhydrase activity. It is proposed that these changes in blood properties were initiated by a film of mucus covering the gill epithelium. The secretion of mucus is thought to be a response to irritation …

A Survey Of The Food Habits And Distribution Of The Fishes Of Tuckahoe Creek, Virginia, With Special Emphasis On Lepomis Macrochirus Rafinesque, David Andrew Flemer

Master's Theses

An integral part of the ecological study of any organism is a good understanding of the food relationships. Basic studies of the distribution and ecology of common fresh-water fishes are necessary before a more detailed analysis can be made of the fishes in a particular area. Lagler (1956) states that food habit studies help determine population levels, rates of growth, and condition of the fishes. He also concludes that they serve as a partial basis for determining the status of various predatory and competing forms. Raney (1942) states that an intelligent fishery management program depends heavily upon information gained through …