Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2017 SEAFWA Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the SEAFWA website, go to: www.seafwa.org/conference/overview
Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Adam D. Martin. Fisheries Biologist III, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
ABSTRACT: Crappie populations in southeastern reservoirs are often observed to be highly inconsistent. Numerous studies have attempted to evaluate which factors affect crappie year class strength, however the mechanisms generally remain speculative or unknown. Kentucky Lake, is a 160,309 acre reservoir with highly variable recruitment of both black and white crappie. Previous research utilizing long term (>25 year) trapnet data from Kentucky Lake suggested that seasonal differences in environmental variables such as discharge, turbidity, and algal productivity likely contributed to the variation in crappie year class strength. In an effort to further explore these mechanisms on a finite scale; in 2014 the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began a long term pelagic ichthyoplankton survey at Kentucky Lake. This data will be coupled with long term environmental data collected by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Murray State University’s Center for Reservoir Research. The focus of the project has been on understanding crappie recruitment; however, long term ichthyoplankton studies also have the potential to provide a wealth of information on the ecological effects of invasive species, habitat changes, and climate change. Additionally many agencies have designed new icthyoplankton studies to identify invasive fish distributions, which brings a new opportunity to explore the early life history of crappie with minimal added work. We feel that long term icthyoplankton surveys are underutilized and recommend a few techniques to maximize the amount of useful information collected in these surveys.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 11:00am - 11:20am EDT
French