Fishery Population and Habitat Assessment in Puerto Rico Streams Phase 2 Final Report
Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Project F-50
Thomas J. Kwak, William E. Smith, Elissa N. Buttermore, Patrick B. Cooney, and W. Gregory Cope
U.S. Geological Survey, North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Biology, North Carolina State University
February 2013
Fishery Population and Habitat Assessment in Puerto Rico Streams Phase 2 Final Report
Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Project F-50
Submitted by
Thomas J. Kwak William E. Smith Elissa N. Buttermore Patrick B. Cooney and W. Gregory Cope
U.S. Geological Survey North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Biology North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617
Phone: 919-513-2696 Fax: 919-515-4454 E-mail: [email protected]
To
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Marine Resources Division P.O. Box 366147 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-6147
February 2013
Suggested Citation for this Document Kwak, T. J., W. E. Smith, E. N. Buttermore, P. B. Cooney, and W. G. Cope. 2013. Fishery population and habitat assessment in Puerto Rico streams: phase 2 final report. Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Project F-50 Final Report, Submitted to Marine Resources Division, Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, San Juan.
Cover Photos Left: A waterfall on Río Lajas in the Grande de Añasco river basin. Such natural waterfalls may limit the dispersal and habitat availability of native diadromous fishes, but several goby species are adapted to ascend waterfalls using their fused pelvic fins that form a suction disc. Photo by Patrick Cooney. Upper right: A group of mountain mullet or dajao, Agonostomus monticola, that were captured, tagged with passive integrated transponders (or microchip tags), and released in Río Mameyes to monitor dispersal patterns of this native sport fish. Photo by Will Smith. Lower right: A bigmouth sleeper or guavina, Gobiomorous dormitor, lurks among the rocky substrate of Río Sabana. This species may be among the most desireable native sport fish, due to its large size, low body lipid content, and minimal contaminant accumulation. Photo by Trey Sherard.
Preface This document serves as the Final Report for research on Puerto Rico stream fishes and their habitat funded by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, in the form of a grant to the North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This research was also conducted to meet the thesis requirement for a Master of Science degree granted to Elissa Buttermore (Chapters 3–4) and the dissertation requirement for a Doctor of Philospophy degree granted to William Smith (Chapters 5–8). Formatting differs among chapters, as each was developed to target a specific scientific journal and to conform to journal style.