Predicting the Occurrence of Stunted Bluegill Populations
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PREDICTING THE OCCURRENCE OF STUNTED BLUEGILL POPULATIONS FROM WISCONSIN LAKE FEATURES By Jennifer Marie Hurt A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements of the degree MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN NATURAL RESOURCES (FISHERIES) College of Natural Resources UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Stevens Point, Wisconsin December 2007 Al'l'ROVED BY'l'HECRADU:\TE COM\fiTTF.F. OF: D:. :\.fic,1ac. J. J-fo.u~n, Cormma::e Ch~1n:,~n l)rofcssor ofFish~i~ Collr,gr. ofN°a!'l.uat Resomcei !'j,') !ti,t, IL/ "I>" . -1,_~- Ji?.:v,,:>.- D,. R.ob"1t .'.:Holsm,:o A~,;i~la;1l Pn,feoesor ofCOilServatio."l Lat\• .:.nd '\','jltl!if~ n::lci(C of)1J~t1m1l ltr.SCl'l!J'Qa~ ---~v.1. .O..:."' ...r~/""/,;e.=_- --- ~nc:y A. N~t('\ Fishec jes D;llahH.:;c Coor,!:ruitc1J: ·~V!3co!lSjn De1>arlmc:11l orN;:.(urai Rc:;ou·.-r,r:5 ABSTRACT Bluegill stunting (poor growth and small size) is a fishery management problem in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has over 15,000 lakes and surveying each lake is not feasible due to lack of resources (personnel, money and time). Classifying lakes based on ecological and limnological similarities may provide a way to account for differences among lakes without having to survey all lakes. My objective was to classify stunted and non-stunted bluegill populations using features of Wisconsin lakes. Before I addressed my main objective, two subordinate objectives were addressed to establish data needs and define a stunted bluegill population for Wisconsin lakes. First, I determined if size selectivity of bluegills differed between electrofishing and Fyke netting in Wisconsin lakes. Second, I determined if size structure was related to body condition and growth of bluegill populations in Wisconsin lakes. Proportional stock density (PSD) estimated from the two primary gear types did not significantly differ, allowing me to combine data for future analyses. Mean length at age-4 was positively related to PSD, however the relationship was noisy. Bluegill relative weight (Wr) was not significantly related to PSD, suggesting, one index by itself may not provide adequate understanding of the dynamics of a bluegill population. Stunted bluegill populations were defined as having a PSD < 20 and a mean length at age-4 < 5 inches. I used linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to classify stunted and non-stunted bluegill populations based on lake features. Overall, the linear discriminant function (LDF) was 82% accurate in model creation and 85% accurate with validation. Stunted bluegill populations were predicted with 77% accuracy in model creation and 79% accuracy with validation. Non-stunted bluegill populations were predicted with 85% accuracy in model creation and 90% accuracy with i model validation. My model using easy to measure lake features can be used to classify stunted and non-stunted bluegill populations in Wisconsin lakes and allow managers to set broad-scale regulations to optimize angling opportunities for bluegills. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the AFS Computer Users Section, and the Multistate Aquatic Resources Information System (MARIS) for providing funding for this project. I would like to thank all of the past and present employees of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for their hard work collecting the data in the field and for entering and managing the data in the databases. Thanks to Dr. Tim Ginnett and Dr. Robert Holsman for providing guidance and constructive insight and discussion throughout my graduate work. I would like to thank Dr. Nancy Nate for making this project possible, for providing guidance and insight throughout my graduate work, for acquiring data from the databases, for teaching me everything I know about databases, and for giving me her continual support and encouragement. I would especially like to thank Dr. Michael Hansen for being a great mentor and for giving me his unending support and guidance. I think very highly of him and I am grateful for having the opportunity to have worked with him. I would like to thank Amy and Ray Schueller, Julie Nieland, Jon Deroba, Breanna Riedel, Stephanie Zolkowski, Ben Rook, Mike Hosack, Wang Yu, Erin Henegar, Dan McFarlane, Janet King, and fellow graduate students for your friendship and help along the way. I wish you the best in the future. Thank you to my family for your unending love and support. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband, Paul Bergman, for his continuous love and support. Thank you for enduring my times of worry and stress and for always believing in me. I love you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................viii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: SELECTIVITY OF SAMPLING GEARS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIZE STRUCTURE, GROWTH, AND BODY CONDITION FOR BLUEGILLS IN WISCONSIN LAKES ............................................................................ 8 Abstract........................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction................................................................................................................... 10 Methods......................................................................................................................... 12 Results........................................................................................................................... 18 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 20 Management Implications............................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER 2: PREDICTING THE OCCURRENCE OF STUNTED BLUEGILL POPULATIONS FROM WISCONSIN LAKE FEATURES........................................... 37 Abstract......................................................................................................................... 37 Introduction................................................................................................................... 38 Methods......................................................................................................................... 42 Results........................................................................................................................... 49 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 50 Management Implications............................................................................................. 54 CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX A:.................................................................................................................. 63 Year, Season, Lake, County, Water Body Identification Code, Number of bluegill that are at least stock length (≥ 3 inches) and quality length (≥ 6 inches) sampled during electrofishing (boom shocker) and fyke netting surveys in Wisconsin lakes from 1967- 2006. APPENDIX B:.................................................................................................................. 66 Year, Season, Lake, County, Water Body Identification Code, Number of bluegill that are at least stock length (≥ 3 inches) and quality length (≥ 6 inches) sampled during Fyke netting surveys, bluegill mean length at age-4 and sample size for populations surveyed in Wisconsin from 1946-2005. APPENDIX C:.................................................................................................................. 79 Year, Season, Lake, County, Water Body Identification Code, Number of bluegill that are at least stock length (≥ 3 inches) and quality length (≥ 6 inches) sampled during electrofishing (boom shocker) surveys, bluegill mean length at age-4 and sample size for populations surveyed in Wisconsin from 1958-2005. APPENDIX D:.................................................................................................................. 90 Year, Season, Lake, County, Water Body Identification Code, mean length at age-4 (inches), sample size (n), standard deviation (STDEV) and coefficient of variation (CV) iv estimates of mean length at age-4 for electrofishing (boom shocker) and fyke netting surveys for Wisconsin lakes from 1948-2005. APPENDIX E: ................................................................................................................ 102 Year, Season, Lake, County, Water Body Identification Code, Gear type (BS = Boom shocker; FN = fyke net), number of bluegill that are at least stock length (≥ 3 inches) and quality length (≥ 6 inches) sampled, mean relative weight (Wr-bar), sample size for Wr-bar (n), and standard deviation estimates Wr-bar for surveys in Wisconsin lakes from 1944- 2005. APPENDIX F: ...............................................................................................................