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Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons™
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Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Laboratory and Basic Science Research
Emerald Bowfin Amia Ocellicauda Ecology In Three Minnesota Lakes: Abundance, Age Analysis, Diet Composition, And Stable Isotope Food Web, Griffin Blegen
Emerald Bowfin Amia Ocellicauda Ecology In Three Minnesota Lakes: Abundance, Age Analysis, Diet Composition, And Stable Isotope Food Web, Griffin Blegen
Biology Graduate Theses
The Emerald Bowfin Amia ocellicauda is a predatory fish species native to Minnesota that has often been discriminated against. This research expands ecological knowledge of Bowfin in Minnesota and provides population data to guide future management. Bowfin were sampled in the spring of 2024 and 2025 and a multi-census mark–recapture model was used to estimate abundance in three lakes. Estimated populations were 196 individuals in Little Toad Lake (95% CI: 116, 242) or 4.4 fish/littoral ha (95% CI: 2.7,5.7), 657 in Lake Sarah (95% CI: 436, 1014) or 4.2 fish/littoral ha (95% CI: 3.0, 6.7), and 612 in Gun Lake …
Trophic Structure And Mercury Bioaccumulation In Walleye And Yellow Perch In The Upper And Lower Red Lake Basins, Marissa Pribyl
Trophic Structure And Mercury Bioaccumulation In Walleye And Yellow Perch In The Upper And Lower Red Lake Basins, Marissa Pribyl
Biology Graduate Theses
Mercury is a persistent global contaminant that biomagnifies through aquatic food webs, with dietary and environmental factors serving as the primary drivers of accumulation in fishes. Trophic structure and methylmercury dynamics in Walleye (ogaa; Sander vitreus) and Yellow Perch (asaawens; Perca flavescens) were investigated in the Upper and Lower Red Lake basins in Red Lake, Minnesota, during 2024-2025. Diets of Walleye and Yellow Perch were assessed through stomach dissections, and tissue samples from both species were analyzed for total mercury concentrations. Additional analyses included shiners (gigoozens; Notropis spp., Hudsonius spp.) along with a variety of freshwater fish and …
Largemouth Bass Diet Changes Through The Summer In Central Minnesota, Ethan Kunz
Largemouth Bass Diet Changes Through The Summer In Central Minnesota, Ethan Kunz
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans is one of the most widespread fish species in the world, due in part to human introduction for angling. Largemouth Bass are opportunistic predators that will consume the largest prey they can often find; however, it has been shown that their diet mainly consists of invertebrates such as crayfish, with less focus on other fish species. This research aimed to determine what the Largemouth Bass diets in Central Minnesota consist of, and how they may change from the beginning of summer through the beginning of fall. A total of 174 Largemouth Bass were sampled from late …
Evaluating The Condition Of Age-0 Burbot In Relation To Diet, Cian Verbridge
Evaluating The Condition Of Age-0 Burbot In Relation To Diet, Cian Verbridge
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Burbot are becoming more and more popular for angling and aquaculture. However, populations have been declining across the world. Very little information is available about their early life and their interactions in the ecosystem due to challenges in sampling. Condition estimates and diet metrics were used to better understand the status of burbot in Lake Bemidji. Using backpack electrofishing, 45 young of the year burbot were collected. The lengths ranged from 86 to 146 mm and the wet weights ranged from 4.29 to 24.36 g. The stomach contents were removed and stored in ethanol for later analysis. The burbot were …
A Guide To Otoliths Of Minnesota Fishes, Baylor J. Short
A Guide To Otoliths Of Minnesota Fishes, Baylor J. Short
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Investigations into the diet patterns of piscivores can provide crucial information on predator-prey relationships, population dynamics, and responses to changing ecosystems. However, digestive processes often remove or alter physical characteristics that are traditionally used to identify consumed fish. This problem has been addressed to some degree with advances in molecular technologies, although these methods can be costly and require specific training and equipment to do so. In contrast, bony structures such as otoliths, vertebrae, cleithra, and others frequently have morphologies that are unique among families, genera, and species. Because these structures are resistant to digestion, they can be used to …
Effect Of Initial Infestation Of Zebra Mussels On Freshwater Drum Diets In Red Lake, Mn, Marissa M. Pribyl
Effect Of Initial Infestation Of Zebra Mussels On Freshwater Drum Diets In Red Lake, Mn, Marissa M. Pribyl
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha veligers were first found in the Red Lake system in Beltrami County in 2017, however no adult zebra mussels have been documented. When zebra mussels first invade a system, fish often switch their prey use to this new abundant resource. Freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens is one of these fish species known to consume physidae and bivalves, including zebra mussels, using pharyngeal teeth, the molar-like grinders in the back of their throats. This research aims to identify any presence of adult zebra mussels in the system and determine freshwater drum diet composition and feeding patterns by analyzing …
A Diet Comparison Of Bluegill And Bluegill X Pumpkinseed Hybrids, Russell D. Zwiers
A Diet Comparison Of Bluegill And Bluegill X Pumpkinseed Hybrids, Russell D. Zwiers
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus commonly prey upon macroinvertebrates but have been found to show different preferences to what type of macroinvertebrates. Hybrids of the two species have been found to display physical characteristics of both parents but prey selection of the hybrids compared to the parents is unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the diets of bluegill and bluegill x pumpkinseed hybrids to understand what each species’ preference is when it comes to food as well as finding how a hybrid’s diet compares to the pure breed of one of the two crossed …
The Effects Of Diet On Yellow Perch Morphology Throughout Lake Bemidji, Quiana L. Radaich
The Effects Of Diet On Yellow Perch Morphology Throughout Lake Bemidji, Quiana L. Radaich
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Morphology is very important as it looks at the arrangement of an organism’s parts to determine their functionality, development, and how they could have changed through evolution. It is also important for the identification of species as it can show how closely species are related. This study examines if the morphology of yellow perch changes throughout Lake Bemidji. Along with examining a subset of five stomachs for each group (A-F) of yellow perch collected to determine if diet was a driving force behind morphological changes. The data collected in this study suggested that morphology does change throughout Lake Bemidji and …
Predicting Total Length Of Fish In Minnesota Lakes Using Bony Structure Dimensions, Jay Holland
Predicting Total Length Of Fish In Minnesota Lakes Using Bony Structure Dimensions, Jay Holland
Journal of Earth and Life Science
This study seeks to establish a relationship between a fish’s total length to the size of various bony structures of prey fishes. Three important prey fish species in Minnesota were selected for examination in this study, including Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus, Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Length and weight dimensions of each fish’s otoliths, cleithra, and vertebrae were associated to total lengths of the fish they came from. In many dietary studies, the need for these relationships is strongly related to the disfigurement or degradation of prey fish in stomach samples. With accurate enough regression equations, researchers …
Burbot Post-Spawn Diet, Madison Gibson
Burbot Post-Spawn Diet, Madison Gibson
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Burbots have become an increasingly popular game fish among anglers and have become a strong predator within the systems, consuming a wide variety of organisms. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare male and female burbots diets post-spawn in a system. Burbots angled from Bad Medicine Lake were sacrificed and the stomach contents were observed, categorized by the lowest taxonomic key, and then weighed in grams. Percent by weight was calculated for each category of organisms and presented in a pie charts. In all three analyses, crustaceans were the main source of the diet structure at more than …
Using Northern Pike And Yellow Perch To Attempt A Trophic Cascade, Bryan Sea
Using Northern Pike And Yellow Perch To Attempt A Trophic Cascade, Bryan Sea
Journal of Earth and Life Science
In the midwestern USA, water clarity has decreased in shallow lakes as a result of large populations of Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas and agriculture that impact the life that depend on shallow habitats, such as waterfowl, fish, and aquatic plants. Northern Pike Esox lucius and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens were stocked in a few lakes in attempt to create a tropic cascade and reduce populations of nuisance Fathead Minnows. Northern Pike were stocked as fry and Yellow Perch were stocked as adults either pre-spawn or post-spawn. Lake managers hypothesized adult Yellow Perch would spawn and the age-0 Perch would feed …
Goldeye Hidon Alosoides Calorimetry In Red Lake, Jesse Mendel
Goldeye Hidon Alosoides Calorimetry In Red Lake, Jesse Mendel
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Goldeye Hiodon alosoides are found across North America and are a relatively unstudied group of fish as they have had no economic value in the past. Ecologically speaking, these fish could have importance to the waters that they inhabit, as they are prey to fishes like Walleyes Sander vitreus, Northern Pike Esox lucius, and Muskellunge Esox masquinongy. These fish could potentially be vital to predatory fishes because of the amount of oil found in these fish, creating gram for gram more energy than compared to other consumable substances. The average energy density for all Goldeye was 6.73 …
Relationship Between Zooplankton And Walleye Rearing Pond Success, Danny Tuckett
Relationship Between Zooplankton And Walleye Rearing Pond Success, Danny Tuckett
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Walleye Sander vitreus are an important sport fish in Minnesota. This has led to the raising of Walleye in ponds to later be stocked into lakes. This study was done to determine the relationship between Walleye prey (zooplankton) and the success of Walleye in 11 stocked ponds in the Ortonville, MN area. There was no management of the ponds until harvest, which starts in late September and ends in November. There were significant positive relationships between rotifer density (P = 0.03) and nauplii density (P = 0.04) to kg of Walleye harvested. The setting where nauplii and rotifer density are …
Burbot Growth Rates In A Northern Mesotrophic Lake, Samuel J. Peterson
Burbot Growth Rates In A Northern Mesotrophic Lake, Samuel J. Peterson
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Burbot Lota lota has a circumpolar distribution throughout cold-water areas and is the only freshwater member of the family Gadidae. There are currently very few management techniques applied to Burbot throughout their northern extent. Growth is an indicator of fish health, biomass, and habitat quality; therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the growth rate of Burbot in Lake Bemidji. Burbot (n = 45) were collected along three sites on Lake Bemidji for years 2015-2017. Age was determined from sagittal otoliths, the marginal zones of which were opaque from December to May and translucent from June to November. …
Effects Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Egg Densities In Largemouth Bass Nests, Tyler Robinson
Effects Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Egg Densities In Largemouth Bass Nests, Tyler Robinson
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Predation during early life stages of Centrarchidae offspring are a major cause of decreased reproductive success. For five-weeks Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides defend their broods from invaders such as Yellow Perch Perca flavescens and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus. The focus of this study was to determine if predation upon Largemouth Bass broods increased as removal time from the nest via catch-and-release angling increased. Sampling was conducted on the Whitefish Chain, MN from 7 May - 7 June 2016, where a total of 29 nests were located and sampled. Three treatment groups were used; immediate catch-and-release, three-minute, and a seven- minute …
Juvenile Chinook Salmon Diet In Comparison To Invertebrate Drift In The Merced River, California, Tyler Orgon
Juvenile Chinook Salmon Diet In Comparison To Invertebrate Drift In The Merced River, California, Tyler Orgon
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Diets and habitat types of salmonids have been widely studied in disturbed streams and rivers. The Merced River in California has a long history of flooding, damming, levee failures, and channel reconstruction events that has disrupted the aquatic ecosystem. This 30 day study was conducted in the Robinson Reach of the Merced River using juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawtscha). The objectives were to try and understand if juvenile Chinook salmon were selecting certain invertebrate species, determine if there were any differences in diets between habitat types, and determine whether diets and drift samples were different. Diets consisted of …
The Effect Of Barometric Pressure On Feeding Activity Of Yellow Perch, Daniel Vanderweyst
The Effect Of Barometric Pressure On Feeding Activity Of Yellow Perch, Daniel Vanderweyst
Journal of Earth and Life Science
This is the first study to our knowledge that has attempted to relate feeding activity of fish to barometric pressure. This study was conducted with the expectation that a difference in food ingestion would occur in a game fish species at different barometric pressures. The overall objective of this study is to determine if barometric pressure influences the feeding activity of a popular game fish. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were collected by seine and trap net from Lake Bemidji 12 September through 24 October 2013. The range in size and weight of yellow perch used for this study …
Use Of Cast Nets And Seine Hauls To Estimate Abundance Of Age-0 Yellow Perch, Michael Vaske
Use Of Cast Nets And Seine Hauls To Estimate Abundance Of Age-0 Yellow Perch, Michael Vaske
Journal of Earth and Life Science
Knowledge about fish population dynamics is essential for developing management plans and evaluating management success. In many lakes, yellow perch (Perca flavescens) are the main forage for many upper level predators and recreational fish species. To better manage recreational fisheries, an accurate estimate of prey abundance is necessary. The objectives of the study were to sample the littoral and limnetic zone to better estimate population of age-0 yellow perch, and obtain an estimate of the proportion of yellow perch being missed by traditional littoral seining methods. Littoral seines were conducted at three randomly selected locations in the south …
The Ecology Of The Mottled Sculpin, Cottus Bairdii, In The Clearwater River, Beltrami County, Minnesota, Mark A. Hanson
The Ecology Of The Mottled Sculpin, Cottus Bairdii, In The Clearwater River, Beltrami County, Minnesota, Mark A. Hanson
Biology Graduate Theses
No abstract provided.