Moe Pond Limnology and Fisii Population Biology: an Ecosystem Approach

MOE POND LIMNOLOGY AND FISII POPULATION BIOLOGY: AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH C. Mead McCoy, C. P.Madenjian, J. V. Adall1s, W. N. I-Iannan, D. M. Warner, M. F. Albright, and L. P. Sohacki BIOLOGICAL FIELD STArrION COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK Occasional Paper No. 33 January 2000 STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AT ONEONTA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to the members of my graduate committee: Willard Harman, Leonard Sohacki and Bruce Dayton for their comments in the preparation of this manuscript; and for the patience and understanding they exhibited w~lile I was their student. ·1 want to also thank Matthew Albright for his skills in quantitative analyses of total phosphorous and nitrite/nitrate-N conducted on water samples collected from Moe Pond during this study. I thank David Ramsey for his friendship and assistance in discussing chlorophyll a methodology. To all the SUNY Oneonta BFS interns who lent-a-hand during the Moe Pond field work of 1994 and 1995, I thank you for your efforts and trust that the spine wounds suffered were not in vain. To all those at USGS Great Lakes Science Center who supported my efforts through encouragement and facilities - Jerrine Nichols, Douglas Wilcox, Bruce Manny, James Hickey and Nancy Milton, I thank all of you. Also to Donald Schloesser, with whom I share an office, I would like to thank you for your many helpful suggestions concerning the estimation of primary production in aquatic systems. In particular, I wish to express my appreciation to Charles Madenjian and Jean Adams for their combined quantitative prowess, insight and direction in data analyses and their friendship. To Jeff Allen whom through our conversation concerning the fate of golden shiner in Moe Pond brought to mind the beginnings of a trophic dynamics hypothesis, thanks Jeff. Most of all I want to thank Mead, Beulah and Leonard for their love. ABSTRACT Moe Pond is located in upstate New York. It's watershed discharges into Otsego Lake which flows into the Susquehanna River. Moe Pond's watershed lies within a no public-access experimental area. The primary vegetation type present in the watershed is mixed northern hardwood and coniferous forest. The pond was treated with 56 tons of limestone in the late 1960's which has continued to influence the limnology. The pond is a dimictic, unregulated, earthen-dike impoundment with surface area equal to 15.6 hectares and a mean depth of 1.8 meters. Three maxima in phytoplankton biomass were observed: two summer blooms, 27 June and 24 August, 1994 and one autumnal peak 16 November, 1994. Annual mean chlorophyll a in 1994-1995 was 22.4 1-19/1. Annual mean total phosphorous was 30.4 1-19/1. Mean nitrite/nitrate-N concentrations were between <40-90 1-19/1 during the year. Annual mean alkalinity ranged in concentration from 13-20 mg/l. Dissolved oxygen concentrations exhibited hypoxic conditions in water 2.0-3.0 m in depth on only two occasions: 28 March, 1994 just prior to spring overturn and 13 July, 1994 - sixteen days after the annual maximum in phytoplankton biomass. The annual mean pH ranged from 6.70-9.12. A regression equation was developed to estimate chlorophyll a from Secchi depth measurements. Carlson's trophic state index (TSI) empirical model found the pond to be eutrophic, utilizing total phosphorous, chlorophyll a and Secchi depth values. Gross daily photosynthetic production, 3.47 g O)rn', was determined by a diel community metabolism study, which was conducted 18 June through 19 June, 1995. Many incongruities were observed in the data collected during the limnological investigation that suggests that the pond is atypically eutrophic. The pond fish community consists of two species: brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus, and golden shiner, Notemigonus chrysoleucas. The fishery is unexploited. The bullhead population was estimated to be 4,057 using a Schnabel capture recapture method of population estimation with mean total length = 134 mm. Bullhead mean weight was estimated to be 50 g for a 175 mm modified Fyke net captured individual. Density was estimated at 260 bullhead/ha using the Schnabel population estimate and 13 kg/ha using mean weight at length estimates. Annual survival rate of age II through age V bullhead was 48% as estimated from a Peterson length frequency analysis (n=1370). Condition factor K (TL) for age II through age >V was found to be K = 1.29 (n=26). Golden shiner population structure analysis demonstrated an unimodal size distribution (i.e. stunting) with a maximum total length of 115 mm (n=137). Shiner mean weight was estimated to be 7.5 g. The shiner population estimate was 7,154 assuming a Poisson distribution of seven beach seine haul replicate samples. Shiner density was estimated to be 5 kg/ha and 686 shiner/ha. Top-down biomanipulation is recommended to effect a trophic cascade in Moe Pond. The hypothetical consequences of stocking largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, adults are that an improvement in water quality and fish community growth and survival will result. Prior to biomanipulation a variety of additional research projects should be executed to provide greater understanding of phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos community dynamics. II CONTENTS Acknowledgments i Abstract. ii Contents iii List ofTables iii List of Figures iv List of Appendices v Introduction 1 Methods 9 Results (Limnology) 15 Results (Fish Population Biology) 34 Discussion 44 Literature Cited 53 Appendices A-1 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Limnological mean values for Moe Pond from 28 march, 1994 to 10 April, 1995 and sampled at the same location between 0900 h - 1200 h 16 Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficients for all possible parings of limnological parameters measured in Moe Pond 1994-95 28 Table 3. Estimate of brown bullhead population (Schnabel, 1938), in Moe Pond, 1995, using a multiple census method of capture-recapture with inverse modification (Ricker, 1975) (table format adapted from Van Den Avyle, 1993) 42 Table 4. Limnological values for Moe Pond from 11 July, 1968 through November, 1989 (Sohacki, 1972 and unpublished data) 45 Table 5. Comparison of brown bullhead length at age and condition factor at various locations 49 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Moe Pond Sub-Drainage Basin (i.e. watershed) (modified from Harman, 1977) 2 Figure 2. Basin morphometry of Moe Pond (Sohacki, 1972). All fish capture gear and water sampling station are indicated 10 Figure 3. Chlorophyll a mean values Moe Pond 1994-1995 17 Figure 4. Total phosphorous values Moe Pond 1994-1995 18 Figure 5. Nitrite/nitrate-N values Moe Pond 1994-1995 19 Figure 6. Calcium values Moe Pond 1994-1995 21 Figure 7. Alkalinity values Moe Pond 1994-1995 22 Figure 8. Temperature mean values Moe Pond 1994-1995 23 Figure 9. Dissolved oxygen mean values Moe Pond 1994-1995 24 Figure 10. pH mean values Moe Pond 1994-1995 25 Figure 11 a. Specific conductance mean values Moe Pond 1994-1995 26 Figure 12. Secchi depth values Moe Pond 1994-1995 27 Figure 13. Comparison of Secchi depth with chlorophyll a 1994-95 30 Figure 14. Log transformation of data values from Moe Pond 1994-95 31 Figure 15. Carlson 1'SI model estimate of Moe Pond 1994-95 32 Figure16. Diel Community metabolism of Moe Pond from 18-19June,1995 33 Figure 17. Minnow trap brown bullhead total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 35 Figure 18. Beach seine brown bullhead total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 36 Figure 19. Modified Fyke net brown bullhead total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 37 Figure 20. All gear brown bullhead total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 38 Figure 21. Minnow trap golden shiner total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 39. Figure 22. Beach Seine golden shiner total catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 40 Figure 23. Beach seine & minnow trap golden shiner combined catch from Moe Pond, summer 1995 41 Figure 24. Estimate of brown bullhead annual survival rate from Moe Pond, summer 1995 43 Figure 25. Moe Pond ecosystem conceptual model 51 Figure 26. Moe Pond ecosystem post-biomanipulation hypothesized mode!. 52 IV LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A. Moe Pond Hydrolab and Seccl1i depth data collected from 28 March, 1994 through 10 April, 1995 A-1 Appendix B. Moe Pond alkalinity and calcium concentration data collected 6 May, 1994 through 10 April, 1995 B-1 Appendix C. Moe Pond total phosphorous (TP) and .nitrite/nitrate-N (N02/N03-N) concentrations taken at various depths from 28 March, 1994 through 10 April, 1995 C-1 Appendix O. Chlorophyll a extracted from phytoplankton collected from Moe Pond 28 March, 1994 through 10 April, 1995 0-1 Appendix E. Moe Pond diel community metabolism study E-1 Appendix F. Moe Pond hydrological (Le. discharge) data collected 16 June, 1994 through 15 August, 1995 F-1 Appendix G. Moe Pond fish survey data collected 15 June through 15 August, 1995 G-1 v INTRODUCTION I. Cultural History Moe Pond (N 42° 43', W 74° 56') is located near the Village of Cooperstown, in Otsego County, New York. The pond was named for Henry Allen Moe, a past member of the New York State Historical Association (Harman, 1995). It is an artificial impoundment with an earthen dam and concrete emergency spillway (Clikeman, 1978). The west concrete spillway abutment face is dated 1939, indicating that the impoundment construction was completed nearly sixty years ago. A drainage devise having an adjustable flow valve passes through the base of the dike allowing for impoundment level draw down and discharge of water into Willow Brook, and ultimately to Otsego Lake. The pond was drained in 1964 and a fire line was installed serving the Farmer's Museum, Inc.

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