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Walleye Fishery Ecology in Lake Oahe of the Dakotas Eli Felts South Dakota State University

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Walleye Fishery Ecology in Lake Oahe of the Dakotas Eli Felts South Dakota State University South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018 Walleye Fishery Ecology in Lake Oahe of the Dakotas Eli Felts South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons Recommended Citation Felts, Eli, "Walleye Fishery Ecology in Lake Oahe of the Dakotas" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2465. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/2465 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WALLEYE FISHERY ECOLOGY IN LAKE OAHE OF THE DAKOTAS BY ELI FELTS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Major in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences South Dakota State University 2018 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was funded by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Study number 1529 administered by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks. Additional financial support was provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Staff of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks and North Dakota Game and Fish Department completed the majority of the field work associated with this project. I want to especially thank Paul Bailey, Jason Barstad, Dave Fryda, Mike Greiner, Bob Hanten, Dan Jost, Jason Jungwirth, Russ Kinzer, Hilary Meyer, Kyle Potter, and Mike Smith for their efforts. I also wish to acknowledge the data used in chapters 2 and 5 of this dissertation were collected over a span of greater than 25 years by a small army of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks employees. Ryan Johnston, Carlee Fletcher, and Dylan Gravenhof worked as technicians for this project. Many South Dakota State University students contributed to the tagging efforts involved in this study; I want to specifically acknowledge assistance provided by Nick Kludt and Matt Wagner. My dad, Craig Felts, also assisted with tagging efforts during 2014-2016. Literally thousands of anglers voluntarily reported tagged walleyes as part of this study, and I am grateful for their cooperation. Friendly reviews of select chapters in this dissertation were provided by Dan Dembkowski and Josh McCormick and greatly improved the writing and content presented therein. A great deal of support was also provided by staff within the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University. Kate Tvedt, Terri Symens, and Dawn Van Ballegooyen provided administrative support and were a joy to iv work with. Many graduate students have passed through SDSU during my time here, and the relationships and conversations with them helped to challenge and shape my thinking about this project and science in general. Jason Breeggemann, Dan Dembkowski, David Deslauriers, Adam Janke, and David Schumann were particularly influential during my time as a doctoral student. One of my dominant feelings as I near the completion of this degree is a profound sense of gratitude to the people who played a significant role in my development without realizing the depth of their impact. While it is impossible to recognize all those folks here, there are a few who I feel compelled to acknowledge. I had two exceptional ecology and evolution professors at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh who sparked my interest in population biology: Dr. Gregory Adler and Dr. Bob Stelzer. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I learned everything I needed to know about fisheries biology in Dr. Adler’s Population and Community Ecology class. I’m also happy to report that to this day I instinctively recoil at the use of “data” as a singular noun; data were, are, and shall always be, plural. Dr. Katie Graeb baptized me into academia, taught me how to be a scientist, and has continued to be a valued friend and mentor. Anyone who studies fisheries science at South Dakota State University owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the late Dr. David Willis, and I am personally humbled to be counted as part of the Willis Nation. While writing this dissertation I have often envisioned Dave as the editor, and I hope the content reflects this strategy. I’d like to thank my graduate committee which consisted of Dr. Steve Chipps, and my co-advisors: Dr. Mark Fincel and Dr. Brian Graeb. Steve’s research is everywhere in this dissertation, and so are lessons I learned in his outstanding Aquatic Trophic Ecology v course. Mark has been a great bridge between academia and the state agency environment and is an invaluable resource for all things Missouri River. He’s pretty funny, too. Brian has influenced my development as a fisheries scientist more than any single person. He is a phenomenal teacher and I’m extremely thankful to have spent 8 years learning from him. I thank my family who has supported and believed in me throughout this very long and sometimes frustrating process. My wife, Brandi, has not only supported me, but did so while she herself was a doctoral student. I’m not sure that I could have made it through without her by my side, but I’m forever grateful that I didn’t have to find out. vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 Dissertation Content and Format .............................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2: INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL COMPLEXITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON WALLEYE RECRUITMENT IN A LARGE MISSOURI RIVER RESERVOIR .............................................................. 15 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 16 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 23 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 25 References ................................................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 3: USE OF HIGH-REWARD TAGS AND DOUBLE-TAGGING TO ESTIMATE ANGLER REPORTING AND JAW-TAG LOSS RATE FOR LAKE OAHE WALLEYE ............................................... 45 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 45 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 46 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 47 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 50 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 51 References ................................................................................................................................. 55 CHAPTER 4: WALLEYE MOVEMENT PATTERNS INFERRED FROM TAGGING IN LAKE OAHE .......... 64 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 64 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 65 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 68 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 78 References ................................................................................................................................. 85 CHAPTER 5: ANGLER RESPONSE TO WALLEYE POPULATION VARIABILITY IN LAKE OAHE, SOUTH DAKOTA ........................................................................................................................................ 103 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 103 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 103 Methods ..................................................................................................................................
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