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Florida

LAKEWATCH

Dedicated to Sharing Information About Water Management and the Florida LAKEWATCH Program Volume 69 (2015)

Current!Lake!Management!Issues!of!Concern!

! A"LAKEWATCH"sampling"kit"(pictured"above)"costs"about"$300"per"kit.!

! Mary!Lettiler Volunteers!at!the!Regional!Meeting!in!Orange!County.!

As!most!of!you!know,!each!year!Flo r; ards! of! Florida’s! valuable! natural! the!lake!that!each!volunteer!is!sam; ida! LAKEWATCH! staff! organize! al; resource.! pling!or!any!general!questions!about! mo st!20!regional!meetings!at!various! ! aquatic!resource!quest.!If!staff!does! locations! throughout! Florida.! The! 2)! Staff! present! to! the! volunteers! not!know!the!answer!we!attempt!to!

objectives! of! these! meetings! are! the! data! that! they! have! collected! find!someone!that!does.! three!fold: ! and! answer! any! questions! that! ! ! might!arise.! LAKEWATCH!staff!record!all!of!these! 1)! LAKEWATCH! thanks! the! volun; ! questions! to! keep! abreast! of! any! teer s! for! their! participation! in! the! 3)! LAKEWATCH! attempts! to! answer! emerging!issues!that!may!need!to!be! program! and! for! being! good! stew; any! questions/concerns! regarding! researched!in!the!future.!Table!1!is!a!

In"this"issue:" Current"Lake"Management"Issues"of"Concern"...... "1" LAKEWATCH"Volunteers"Help"Evaluate"New"Technology""...... "3" Search"for"Rare"Native"Florida"""...... "5" Participate"in"the"Great"Secchi"DipSin"...... "6" FWC"Conservation"Measures"in"Place"for"Unique"American""...... "8" Volunteer"Bulletin"Board"...... "9" Florida’s"Ornamental"Aquaculture""...... "10"

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summary! of! all! the! questions! that! have! been! asked! at! Regional! Meet; ings!over!the!last!five!years!(2009!–! 2014).! Of! the! 532! questions! asked! over!this!five;year! period,!it!is!clear! that!aquatic!plant!issues!are!some!of! the!largest!concerns!totaling!35%!of! all! the! questions.! Most! of! these! aquatic! plant! questions! are! con; cerned! with! controlling! plants! that! are!impacting!some!form!of!lake!use! (for! example,! access! issues,! naviga; tion,!and!ability!to!view!a!lake).! ! It!is!clear!that!aquatic!plant!issues!are!some!of!the!largest!concerns!totaling!35%!of!all!the!questions.! The! second! most! asked! group! of! ! questions! concern! ! and! wildlife! below! average! rainfall! so! it! is! not! individual! issues.! The! circulars! are! issues.!Anglers!are!always!concerned! surprising! that! water! level! in! lakes! provided!on!the!Florida!LAKEWATCH! about! the! health! of! the! sportfish! was!also!an!important!issue!of!con; web!site:! populations! as! are! aquatic! bird! en; cern!with!21%!of!the!questions.!Mul; ! thusiasts! are! about! the! health! of! tiple!questions!regarding!water!qual; (http://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/LWcir aquatic!bird!populations.!A!continu; ity! issues! and! lakes! uses! round! out! c.html)!! ally! increasing! concern! is! the! ever; the! major! issues! of! concern! with! ! increasing! observations! of! exotic! 18%! and! 3%! of! the! questions,! re; and! are! free! for! you! to! download.! species!like!the!sailfin!catfish!(Ptery' spectively.! Hopefully!these!will!aid!in!answering! goplichthys!multiradiatus)!and!exotic! ! lake! management! questions! you! apple!snails!(Pomacea!sp.).! During! the! life! of! Florida! LAKEATCH! have! but! if! not! feel! free! to! call! ! (started!in!1986)!we!have!addressed! LAKEWATCH!and!we!will!try!to!find! Throughout! most! of! central! Florida! many! of! these! issues! by! providing! an!answer.! there!has!been! almost!a!decade!of! information! circulars! on! many! of! !

Table&1.&Summary&of&topics&from&questions&asked&at&Florida&LAKEWATCH&Regional&Meetings&held&from2009H2014.&The& numbers&of&questions&asked&about&each&specific&topic&are&listed&in&parentheses&after&the&topic.&

Aquatic&Plants& Fish&and&Wildlife& Water&Level/Access& Water&Quality& Lake&Uses& Plants&(121)& Exotic&Species&(55)& Lake&Water&Level&(95)& Water&Clarity&(31)& Swimming&Areas&(6)& Grass&&(41)& Sportfish&Fish&(40)& Sediments&(13)& Algae&(16)& Jet&Skis/Boats&(5)& Herbicides&(19)& Aquatic&Birds&(28)& Hurricanes&(3)& Color&(12)& Trash&(4)& Tussocks&(4)& & & Storm&Water&(9)& Irrigation&(2)& & TOTAL%123%(23%)% TOTAL%111%(21%)% Waste&Water&(9)& & TOTAL%185%(35%)% & & Bacteria&(6)& TOTAL%17%(3%)% & & & Fertilizers&(5)& & & & & Heavy&Metals&(3)& & & & & Oxygen&(3)& & & & & Trends&(1)& & & & & Pesticides&(1)& & & & & & & & & & TOTAL%96%(18%)% & & 2&" & 123

LAKEWATCH!Volunteers!Help!Evaluate !New!Technology! By!Dawn!Davis!

Over! a! one;year! period,! six! citizen! ment! of! chlorophyll! concentrations! With!intent!to!fill!the!gaps!in!phyto; scientists! from! Florida! LAKEWATCH! is!what!is!largely!used!in!water!quali; plankton! research,! Fluid;imaging! collected! water! samples! like! tradi; ty! studies! due! to! the! ease! of! meas; technology! was! developed! at! the! tional! LAKEWATCH! sampling! and! urements! (LAKEWATCH! procedures)! Bigelow! Laboratory! in! 1999.! The! additio nally! algal! samples! twice! a! and!this!increases!the!ability!to!ana; FlowCAM®! was! originally! developed! month,!open!water!(0.5!m),!at!three! lyze! a! large! number! of! water! sam; to! allow! oceanographers! to! count! locations! in! their! lakes.! Three! lakes! ples.! However,! Visual! identification! large!number!of!algal!sample!in!real;

from!each!trophic!category!(i.e.,!oli; is! often! necessary! to! identify! indi; time!and! reduce!the!need!for!tedi;

gotrophic,! mesotrophic,! eutrophic,! vidual! problem! algae! species! (e.g.! ous! and! expensive! microscopic!

and! hypereutrophic)! were! sampled.! those! that! cause! toxicity! in! the! wa; counts.! The! usability! of! the! Flow; ® Bimonthly!sampling!was!selected!to! ter).!Counting!algae!using!an!invert; CAM ! was! quickly! established! for! ensure! captur e! of! an! algal! bloom.! ed! microscope! allows! identification! marine!water!but!use!in!phytoplank; With! the! help! of! Gerry! Jaillet! and! of!individual!algae!to!the!genus!and! ton;rich! freshwaters,! like! those! in! Sharlee!Hollingsworth!(Lake!Ola,!O r; species! taxonomic! level,! and! then! Florida,!has!not!been!widely!tested.! ange! County! and! Lake! Jem,! Lake! the! bio;volume! of! the! cell.! Conse; ! County),! Nancy! Dunn! (Lake! Bear,! quently,!this!methodology!is!tedious! What!is!the!FlowCAM?! Seminole!County),!Patricia!and!Bus t; and! time! consuming,! allowing! too! ! er! Mann! (Lake! Bay,! Lake! County).! few!water!samples!analyzed!for!the! FlowCAM®! is! a! flow! cytometer! and! Jim! Peacock! (Lake! Florence,! Lake! time! and! money,! especially! when! digital! imaging! microscope! with! the! C ounty),!Dr.!Rick!Copeland!and!Ron! looking!for!statewide!patterns.! capability! to! detect,! enumerate,! Rice!(Lake!Talquin,!Gadsden!County)! and!Bob!Davis!(Lake!Boca!Cove,!Polk! County)! sample! collection! of! water!

and!algal!would!not!have!been!pos; sible!in!the!lakes!of!different!trophic! status! throughout! Florida! in! the! timeframe!needed.!! ! Why!are!algae!important?! ! Algae! are! a! vital! part! of! the! food! web,! providing! food! and! oxygen! to! support! most! aquatic! animal! life.! Certain! types! of! algae! can! change! with! increased! nutrient! concentra; tions!and!influences!water!clarity!in!

the! water! body.! Therefore,! deter; mining!the!algal!type!and!biomass!of!

algae! is! useful! in! assessing! the! bio;

logical! productivity.! Algal! biomass!

can! be! calculated! with! chlorophyll! concentrations! or! counting! and! measuring!individual!algae!by!use!of! Microscopic!imagery!of!algal!cells!taken!with!the!FlowCAM®.!Photo!by!Dawn!Davis.! an! inverted! microscope.! Measure; !

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measure! and! identify! microscopic! particles!like!phytoplankton!and!de; tritus!in!a!fluid!sample.!A!high;speed! digital! imaging! system! uses! pattern! recognition! algorithms! to! rapidly! characterize!particles.!Individual!im;

ages! and! over! 40! measurements! characterize! size,! shape! and! color! are! archived.! Accompanying! soft; ware! allow! data! to! be! sorted! and! filtered! by! both! measurements! and! statistical! weighting,! allowing! for! semi;automated! identification! and! classification.!This!function!gives!the! ability!to!create!and!store!libraries!of! images.!!!

FlowCAM!Study!

My! first! objective! was! to! compare! data!(taxonomic!ID,!cell!counts,!and! bio;volumes)! measured! with! the! FlowCAM®! to! those! measured! with! traditional! inverted! microscope.! A! total! of! 32! algal! samples! preserved! with! Lugol’s! solution! were! analyzed! Dawn!Davis!heading!out!on!lake!Lochloosa!to!collect!phytoplankton!samples.!Photo!by!Christy!Horsburg.!!! with! the! inverted! microscope! and! ! FlowCAM®! to! assess! phytoplankton! the! bimonthly! water! and! phyto; ratio! will! advance! nutri; community! composition! and! bio; plankton! samples! collected! by! the! ent/phytoplankton! management! of! mass.! The! FlowCAM®! increases! re; citizen! scientists! from! the! Florida! lakes.! search! productivity! by! dramatically! LAKEWATCH! program! with! the! reducing! the! time! required! to! ana; ® FlowCAM .!A!total!of!189!lake!sam; The! inverted! microscope! and! Flow; lyze! samples.! For! example,! an! hour! ples! were! processed! with!the!Flow; CAM®! are! two! different! tools! with! and! a! half! spent! identifying! and! ® CAM !in!a!two;week!time!frame!and! advantages! and! disadvantages.! The! counting! phytoplankton! with! a! mi; various! algal! community! metrics! ability! of! the! FlowCAM®! to! process! croscope! can! be! replaced! with! were!compared!to!water!quality!es; large! numbers! of! Lugol’s! preserved! minutes!on!a!FlowCAM®.!!The!Flow; timates.! The! data! correctly! demon; algal! samples! offers! the! scientific! CAM®!used!in!this! study!limited!the! strated! that! the! blue;green! algae! community! an! opportunity! to! pro; size! range! (10;100! µm)! of! algae! dominated! in! eutrophic! Florida! cess! samples! from! large! number! of! looked!at!and!prevented!the!identi; lakes.! Besides! looking! at! algal! com; aquatic! systems! when! working!with! fication!to!species!and!genera!taxo; ® munity! metrics,! the! FlowCAM ! also! citizen! scientists! and! can! detect! nomic! level,! which! is! preferred! for! provided!an!opportunity!to!examine! changes!in!phytoplankton!communi; use!of!microscope.!!However,!at!the! detritus! bio;volumes! in! individual! ty! composition.! Furthermore! anal; higher! taxonomic! algal! levels,! the! ® lakes! over!time.! These! type! of! data! yses!of!the!FlowCAM !provides!more! phytoplankton! bio;volume! and! cell! provide!the!ability!to!examine!addi; resolution! than! chlorophyll! concen; count! estimates! obtained! from! tional!relationships!including!chloro; trations!and!this!is!an!issue!of!great! FlowCAM®! analyses!were!not!differ; phyll;phosphorus! ratios! in! Florida! importance!in!lake!management!and! ent!from!those!obtained! by!the! mi; lakes!of!different!trophic!states.!Un; detection! of! algae! blooms! and! po; croscope.!! derstanding! the! environmental! fac; tential!toxic!algae!problems.!! tors! resulting! in! different! expres; The! next! objective! was! to! analyze! sions! of! the! chlorophyll;phosphorus! ! 4" 123

Search"for"Rare"Native"Florida"Fishes" By!Travis!Tuten,!Florida!Fish!and!Wildlife!Conservation!Commission!

The!Blackbanded!Sunfish!(Enneacan' thus!chaetodon)!is!one!of!the!small; est! members! of! the! family! Centrar; chidae,! a! family! that! also! includes! the!black!basses,!crappies,!and!other! sunfish.!!It!attains!a!maximum!length! of!3!to!3!½”,!has!a!deep!and!com; pressed! body,! and! has! a! rounded! caudal!fin.!!The!Blackbanded!Sunfish! is! easily! identified! by! the! six! bold! black! bars! on! its! side,! the! first! of! which!goes!through!the!eye!and!the! last! being! located! near! the! caudal! fin.!!Another!identifying!trait!is!that! Figure!1.!Photo!of!a!Blackbanded!Sunfish!captured!in!an!Ocala!National!Forest!lake!on!March!4,!2015. the! first! two! or! three! dorsal! spines! This!was!the!first!known!collection!of!a!Blackbanded!Sunfish!in!this!part!of!Florida!for!over!30!years.!! appear!black!or!gray,!while!the!pel; ! Sunfish!are!known!to!inhabit.! typically!feeds!on! aquatic!insect! lar; vic!fins!are!red!and!black!(Figure!1).! ! vae! and! other! small! invertebrates! Blackbanded!Sunfish!are!found!from! The!Florida!Fish!and!Wildlife!Conser; and! is! not! a! species! that! you! will! Central! Florida! to! New! Jersey,! but! vation! Commission! (FWC)! is! the! catch! on! hook! and! line.! ! However,! are! fragmented! throughout! their! state! agency! in! charge! of! managing! there!is!a!chance!that!they!could!be! distribution!and!are!considered!rare! Florida’s! fish! and! wildlife! resources! seen! from! the! shoreline! or! dock,! and! at! risk! throughout!much! of! the! for! their! long;term! well;being! and! while! swimming! or! snorkeling,! or! range.!!They!are!often!found!in!slow! the!benefit!of!people.!!FWC!is! cur; might!be!caught!in!a!cast!net.!!If!you! moving! streams! or! lakes,! and! are! rently! working! on!a!number! of!pro; think!you!have!observed!or!collected! associated!with!low!pH!systems!that! jects! that! involve! some! of! Florida’s! an! individual,! please! try! to! take! a! have!high!vegetation!coverage,!par; rare! species,! including! some! of! the! picture!of!it!and!contact!FWC!biolo; ticularly!submerged!plants.!!The!first! state’s! rare! freshwater! fish! species.!! gist! Travis! Tuten! at!! collection!of!Blackbanded!Sunfish!in! For! one! of! these! projects,! FWC! is! [email protected].!Thank!you! Florida! was! made! in! 1936! at! Mill! trying!to!identify!additional!systems! for!your!help!! Dam! Lake!in! Marion! County.! ! They! that! Blackbanded! Sunfish! currently! ! have! since! been! found! at! 10! addi; inhabit.!!Many!of!the!locations!that! tional! systems! in! Marion! and! Lake! Blackbanded! Sunfish! might! occupy! Counties! in! Central! Florida,! at! two! may!not!be!sites!that!FWC!biologists! more! southern! locations! in! Pasco! typically! sample! for! freshwater! fish! and! Polk! Counties,! and! at! four! sys; collections,!which!could!be!a!big!rea; tems! in! Jefferson,! Madison,! and! son! this! species! is! currently! only! Baker! Counties! in! Northern! Florida.!! known! to! occur! at! two! locations! in! However,!most!of!the!Florida!collec; Florida.! ! The! most! recent! collection! tions!were!made!between!40!and!70! was! made! at! a! new! location! in! the! years!ago!and!more!recent!sampling! Ocala! National! Forest! in! Marion! trips! to! these! sites! where! biologists! County.!!While!FWC!plans!to!branch! specifically! targeted! Blackbanded! out! and! sample! additional! systems! Sunfish! produced! zero! individuals.!! in!search!of!Blackbanded!Sunfish,!we! Currently,! there! are! only! two! loca; also!ask!that!you!keep!an!eye!out!for! Travis!Tuten!is!a!!Biologist!with!the!Flori; tions! in! Florida! where! Blackbanded! this! fish.! ! The! Blackbanded! Sunfish! da!Fish!and!Wildlife!Conservation!Commissions! office!in!Gainesville.!Photo:!FWC!media.!!! ! 5" 123

Participate"in"the"2015"SecchiDipSIn!! (It’s"the"whole"month"of"July!)! !

2015!marks!the!22nd!anniversary!of! nerships! among! citizens,! scientists,! DipSIn"Basics" the!Dip;In!and!the!150th!anniversary! and!professionals!to!foster!the!man; ! agement!and!protection!of!lakes!and! of!the!very!first!Secchi!dip!by!Father! The! Secchi! Dip;In! monitors! water! reservoirs!for!today!and!tomorrow.”! Pietro! Angelo! Secchi.! Each! summer! transparency,! which! provides! so! ! Dip;In! participants! add! their! water! much! information.! Transparency! is! Now! you! may! be! wondering! what! sensitive!to!changes!in!nutrient!lev; transparency! measurements! to! a! will! change! with! the! Dip;In! itself.! els! and! to! changes! in! the! tempera; unique!effort!and!thus!demonstrate! Actually,! you! won’t! notice! much! as! ture!structure!of!the!lake.!Transpar; that! they! are! an! invaluable! part! of! the!Dip;In!will!still!focus!on!working! ency!and!turbidity!can!be!measured! the! effort! to! monitor! lakes! around! with!volunteer!monitoring!programs! by! a! variety! of! instruments! in! most! the! world.! We! invite! you! to! partici; to!collect!lake!data.!Here!are!the!few! every! aquatic! habitat.! (The! Dip;In! changes!you!may!notice:!! pate!in!this!year’s!effort.!! also! welcomes! measurements! of! ! water!temperature.)! Changes"at"DipSIn"HQ" • You’ll! find! some! major! updates! ! " to! the! Dip;In! website! at! • Participants!take!a!Secchi!meas; Dr.! Robert! Carlson,! eminent! limnol; www.secchidipin.org;!! urement! on! one! day! during! the! ogist!and!founder!of!the!Secchi!Dip; month!of!July.! In!program,!has!transferred!its!man; ! agement! to! the! North! American! • You! may! interact! with! the! new! ! Lake!Management!Society!(NALMS).! intern!we!will!hire!soon!to!man; • Participants! monitor! lakes,! res; Over!the!years,! NALMS! has! been! a! age!the!Dip;In!day;to;day;! ervoirs,! estuaries,! rivers,! or! stalwart!supporter!of!the!Dip;In.! streams,! however! they! must! al; ! ! ready! have! the! equipment! and! • And!in!2016!you!can!expect!im; It!was!important!to!Dr.!Carlson!that! training!to!do!so!(see!secchidip; provements!to!the!Secchi!Dip;In! the! Dip;In! endure! after! he! retired! in.org,! monitoring! and! methods! database! and! how! you! enter! from!Kent!State!University,!the!long; section).! Most! Dip;In! partici; your! data.! Along! with! these! time!home!of!the!Dip;In.!NALMS!was! pants!are!members!of!an!estab; changes,!we!also!plan!to!launch! a!natural!choice!to!carry!on!that!leg; lished! volunteer! or! professional! a!Dip;In!mobile!app.! acy! given! our! long! history! together! monitoring! program.! The! Dip;In! and!how!well!the!Dip;In!fits!with!the! ! encourages! monitoring! pro; mission! of! NALMS,! “to! forge! part; " grams!to!use!this!event!to!high;

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light!their!local!efforts.!

• When! 5! or! more! years! of! data! have!been!gathered!on!a!site,!it! is! used! to! determine! trends! in! transparency.! The! Dip;In! cur; rently! tracks! over! 2,000! water; bodies!for!trends!in!transparen; cy.!

Why"Volunteer"Monitoring?" ! Budget! cuts! at! all! levels! of! govern; ment! have! hampered! the! ability! of! resource! agencies! to! effectively! monitor!the!conditions!of!lakes!and! reservoirs.! Through! the! efforts! of! volunteers! like! you,! and! volunteer! monitoring! programs,! the! Secchi! Dip;In!is!able!to!contribute!to!an!un;

derstanding!of!the!status!and!trends! ! of! water! quality! in! North! America.! These! contributions! have! become!

even!more!important!as!we!witness! Joe!Richard more!and!more!changes!in!our!envi;

ronment!due!to!climate!change.!You" A!LAKEWATCH!volunteer!taking!a!Secchi!reading!on!Clear!lake!in!Gainesville.! can"make"a"difference,"both"for"loS cal"efforts"and"for"the"world." Why"not"get"transparency"data"" the! Dip;In! also! asks! for! information! " directly"from"volunteer"monitoring" that!most!programs!do!not,!such!as! Common"Questions" programs?" participants’! opinion! about! what! " " they! perceive! to! be! current! prob; The! Dip;In! requests! transparency! lems!in!their!lake!and!perceptions!of! What"are"the"dates"of"the"DipSIn?" data! from! volunteers! rather! than! water!quality!change.!Transparency! " from!monitoring!programs!for!many! is!not!the!only!object!of!interest.! The! Dip;In!is! now!the! whole!month! reasons,! including! the! lack! of! staff! ! of!July.!We’ll!also!continue!to!accept! capacity! to!request! data!every! year! Do"you"have"more"questions?" data! from! outside! of! the! “official”! from! hundreds! of! programs,! check! " Dip;In! dates! as! we! always! have.! the! data! and! enter! it! in! the! Dip;In! We’ve! added! a! Help! /! FAQ! page! to! Since! the! Dip;In! was! originally! con; database! format.! There! are! unique! the!Dip;In!website! ceived!as!taking!place!during!the!US! ID! codes! for! volunteer,! lake,! and! ! Fourth!of!July!and!Canada!Day,!over! program! that! must! be! added! for! the! years! the! “official”! dates! of! the! each! record! and! each! record! is! (www.secchidipin.org)! Dip;In!have!moved!around!a!bit!over! checked! so! that! the! proper! lake! is! ! the! years! depending! on! which! days! correctly! associated! (e.g.,! there! are! which! covers! many! common! ques; of!the!week!Canada!Day!(July!1)!and! 5!Trout!lakes!in!Itasca!County,!Min; tions.! Independence! Day! fell.! As! a! result,! nesota!alone).!It!is!a!time;consuming! ! the! length! of! the! Dip;In! changed! effort! to! enter! a! single! program’s! Contact"Us" from!year;to;year.! data!into!our!database.! Drop!us!a!line!by!email!at!secchidip; ! ! [email protected]!with!any!question!not! " Perhaps!even!more!important!is!that! answered!on!the!website.! " 7" 123

floats! with! the! currents! until! they! harvest! pressure! from! commercial! FWC!conserva; come!near!shore,!when!they!morph! and! recreational! anglers! who! use! into! nearly! transparent! glass! eels.! eels!as!bait,!necessitated!creation!of! Then! as! they! swim! farther! upriver,! the!“Interstate!!Management! tion!measures!in! they! develop! a! brownish! coloration! Plan! for! American! ”! in! the! mid; place!for!unique! and! grow! into! what! biologists! refer! 1990s.! The! Atlantic! States! Marine! to!as!pencil!eels,!due!to!their!size.!As! Fisheries!Commission!has!repeatedly! maturation! continues,! they! enter! amended!the!plan!to!keep!pace!with! American!eels! the!more!typically!encountered!yel; population! and! harvest! trends,! as! ! low;eel! phase,! which! is! when! they! well!as!new!research.! The!Florida!Fish!and!Wildlife!Conser; are! most! commonly! harvested! for! Florida’s!new!eel!rules!will!help!en; vation! Commission! (FWC),! in! sup; food! or! use! as! bait.! After! 8! to! 24! sure! compliance! and! the! future! of! port! of! the! Atlantic! States! Marine! years,!the!mature!eels!return!to!the! this!valuable!and!novel! Fisheries!Commission,!has!new!con; Sargasso!Sea!to!,!changing!yet! fishery.! servation! measures! for! American! again! into! blind! silver! eels.! After! ! eels.! spawning,! silver! eels! die,! never! re; For!more!information!on!the!Ameri;

! turning!to!fresh!water.! can!eel,!go!to! Staff! from! the! FWC! proposed! the! ! ! changes! at! the! September! 2014! Harvest!of!eels!peaked!around!1980,! !MyFWC.com/WildlifeHabitats!!! Commission! meeting,! which! the! with!commercial!fishermen!harvest; ! commissioners! subsequently! ap; ing! well! over! 3.5! million! pounds! and! select! “Species! Profiles”! and! proved!for!implementation.! along! the! Atlantic! seaboard.! In! re; then! “Freshwater! Fish.”! For!the!up; ! cent! years,! harvest! declined! to! less! dated! commercial! permit! and! re; “This!amendment!brings!Florida!into! than! 1! million! pounds! but! was! val; porting! forms! go! to! compliance!with!the!interstate!Fish; ued!at!nearly!$2!million.! MyFWC.com/License/! and! choose! eries!Management!Plan!and!ensures! ! “Freshwater”! then! “Commercial! the! future! of! Florida’s! eel! fishery,”! This! complex! life! history! and! the! Fish,!Eels!&!Frogs.”" said!Jim!Estes,!deputy!director!of!the! FWC’s! Division! of! Marine! Fisheries!! management! and! the! FWC! repre; sentative!to!the!Atlantic! States! Ma; rine!Fisheries!Commission.! ! A! 9;inch! minimum! size! limit! for!! American! eels! harvested! in! Florida! (commercially!or!recreationally)!and! a! recreational! bag! limit! of! 25! eels! per!angler!per!day!is!now!in!effect.!A! wholesale/retail! purchase! exemp; tion!is!provided!for!recreational!an; glers! purchasing! American! eels! for! bait.! Anglers! must! retain! proof! of! purchase! to! claim! the! exemption.! American!eel!permit!application!and! reporting!forms!have!been!updated.! These! measures! will! help! conserve! this! unique! species! of! fish.! Eels! spend! most! of! their! lives! in! fresh!

water,! but! must! return! to! the! Sar; Eels!spend!most!of!their!lives!in!fresh!water,!but!must!return!to!the!Sargasso!Sea!to!spawn.!Photo! gasso!Sea!to!spawn.!The!eggs!hatch! credit:!Kim!Bonvechio,!FWC! into! a! leaf;shaped! larval! form! that! 8" 213

Volunteer"Bulletin"Board! In"Rememberence"of"Bob"Forbes" who! knew! him,! especially! those! of! head!bowed!low.!Remember!the!love! ! us!who!got!knot!tying!and!other!les; that! we! once! shared,! miss! me,! but! Recently! we! got! a! notice! from! sons!from!him.! let!me!go.!For!this!is!a!journey!we!all! LAKEWATCH! volunteers! Dave! and! ! must!take,!and!each!must!go!alone.! Ruth! Taisch! that! long;time! This! afternoon! I! went! for! a! sail! in! It's! all! part! of! the! Master's! plan,! a! LAKEWATCH! volunteer! Bob! Forbes! remembrance! of!Bob! and!other!sail! step!on!the!road!to!home.!When!you! past!away.!Bob!was!the!sampler!on! club! members! who! left! us! before! are!lonely!and!sick!of!heart,!go!to!the! Lake!Carlton!for!many!years!and!an! him.!They!must!have!appreciated!it,! friends!we!know,! Bury!your! sorrows! avid! boating! enthusiast.! We! salute! because! they! arranged! a! pretty! af; in!doing!good!deeds,!miss!me,!but!let! Bob! for! his! many! years! of! service! ternoon! with! blue! sky,! puffy! white! me!go.”! and! would! like! for! all! of! the! clouds,!and!a!good!breeze!requiring! ! LAKEWATCH!friends! and! supporters! a! reef.! Bob! or! one! or! more! of! the! “Enjoy!this!day,!chat!with!a!stranger,! to! know! that! Bob! will! be! truly! others! still! have! a! sense! of! humor! and!pet!a!tailwagger!for!Bob.”! missed!! because! I! had! several! unexpected,! ! ! surprise! splashes! of! cool! water! to! From!Dave!and!Ruth!Taisch! the!face!from!water!coming!over!the! THANK!YOU!!! ! bow.”! ! “Dear!Sailing!Enthusiast!and!Friends! ! of! Bob! Forbes,! It! is! with! a! heavy! The! following! is! a!message!sent!by! Once again I would like to heart!that!I!have!to!inform!you!that! Bob's! son! Jeff,! apparently! on! Bob's! share with you how much we Bob! died! last! night.! His! daughter,! instructions:! Message! from! Bob....! sincerely appreciate everyone’s “When!I!come!to!the!end!of!the!road,! Robin,! said! that! he! went! peacefully! support of the Florida with! no! pain,! and! his! cat! "Kitty"! and!the!sun!has!set!for!me,!I!want!no! LAKEWATCH program! It is curled!up!with!him.!Bob!was!97,!and! rites!in!a!gloom'filled!room.!Why!cry! a! long! time! boating! and!sailing!en; for!a!soul!set!free?!Miss!me!a!little,! only with the dedication of thusiast.!He!will!be!missed!by!those! but!not!too!long,!and!not!with!your! our volunteers, friends, fac- ulty and staff that Florida LAKEWATCH continues to serve Florida. This program started as a dream 28 years ago, and thanks to you this dream is a real part of Flori- da’s efforts to protect our water resources. We hope you will continue making a positive impact on Florida’s future. ! Mark Hoyer ! Bob!Forbes!with!his!granddaughters!Molly!and!Allison.!Photo!provided!by!the!Forbes! Florida!LAKEWATCH!Director! family.! ! 9" 312

Florida’s!Ornamental!Aquaculture ! By!Matt!DiMaggio,!PhD,!Assistant!Professor,!Fisheries!and!Aquatic!Sciences!Program! ! Hello! Lakewatch!! My! name! is! Mat; can!vary!dramatically,!however,!this! parameters! must! be! carefully!moni; thew! DiMaggio! and! I! have! been! variation! may! provide! producers! tored! to! ensure! proper! reproduc; hired!as!an!Assistant!Professor!in!the! with!an!opportunity!to!raise!species! tion,! growth,! and! survival.! Indeed,! School!of!Forest!Resources!and!Con; that!may!only!thrive!in!specific!con; Florida’s!water!resources!are!a!great! servation’s!Program!in!Fisheries!and! ditions.! For! example,! water! quality! asset!that!has!allowed!Florida!to!be; Aquatic!Sciences!at!the!University!of! parameters! such! as! pH,! hardness,! come!the!top!producer!of!ornamen; Florida.! My! research! programs! fall! and! alkalinity! are! critical! to! rearing! tal!fishes!in!the!country.! under! the! umbrella! of! ornamental! ornamental!species!and!these!water! At! the! TAL! our! research! mainly! fo; aquaculture,!with!specific!foci!in!the! areas!of!fish!reproduction,!larval!nu; trition,!production!optimization,!and! physiology.!I!am!currently!located!at! the! Tropical!Aquaculture!Laboratory! (TAL)! in! Ruskin,! situated! among! the! greatest!concentration!of!fish!farms! in!Florida.! !! Florida’s! ornamental! fish! industry! represents! the! most! valuable! seg; ment! of! aquaculture! within! the! state,! with! over! 140! producers! cul; turing!hundreds!of!species!of!fresh; water!and!marine!ornamental!fishes.! The!success!of!this!industry!is!direct; ly! influenced! by! two! factors! which! provide!growers!in!this!state!with!an! advantage!over!other!domestic!pro; ducers;! climate! and! water.! Florida’s! subtropical/tropical! climate! allows! for!an!extended!growing!season!not!

afforded! to! other! producers! within! the!United!States.!Furthermore,!the; se! prolonged! periods! of! warm! weather!make! it!possible!to!grow!a! multitude! of! ornamental! species! in! outdoor! ponds.! These! ponds! are! generally! shallow! (4! –! 6! ft)! “water! table”! ponds! that! can! result! from! natural! seepage! or! be! further! sup; plemented! by! freshwater! wells.! As! the! Lakewatch! community! is! well! aware,! the! quality! and! composition! Figure!1.![Top]!Adult!!(Polypterus!senegalus)![Bottom]!Juvenile!bichir.!Photos!provided!by!Mat; thew!DiMaggio! of! water! resources! within! the! state! !

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Figur e!2.!A)!Pacific!Blue!Tang!Paracanthurus!hepatus!B)Milletseed!Butterflyfish!Chaetodon!miliaris,!C)Yellow!Tang!!Zebrasoma!flavescens,!D)Melanurus!! Halichoeres!melanurus .!Larval!stages!are!pictured!below!photographs!of!mature!adults.!!Photos!provided!by!Matthew!DiMaggio.! ! cuses! on! development! of! culture! protocols! conducive! to! commercial! zooplankton! such! as! rotifers! and! protocols! for! new! species! and! opti; production! of! this! species.! Interest; Artemia.! Culture! of! species! which! mization! of! current! protocols! em; ingly,!bichir!larvae!have!external!gills! spawn! small! pelagic! eggs! and! have! ployed! by! the! industry! to! increase! during! their! early! development! and! underdeveloped!prolarval!stages!has! efficiency.! Two! freshwater! species! these!sensitive!structures!may!influ; been! largely! unsuccessful! due! to! we! are! currently! working! with! are! ence! husbandry! procedures.! Trials! bottlenecks! mainly! associated! with! the! rainbow! shiner! (Notropis! chro' that!will!evaluate!larval!nutrition!and! captive! spawning! and! larval! nutri; somus )! and! bichir! (Polypterus! sene' culture!procedures!are!forthcoming.! tion.!Research!at!the!TAL!in!conjunc; galus )!(Figure1).!The!rainbow!shiner! tion! with! the! SeaWorld! and! Busch! is! a! species! native! to! the! United! Growing! interest! in! marine! orna; Gardens! Rising! Tide! Conservation!

States! with! commercial! production! mental! species! coupled! with! in; Initiative! is! currently! focused! on!

occurring!overseas.!Research!efforts! creased! knowledge! regarding! their! finding! solutions! to! these! bottle;

captive!husbandry!requirements!has! at! the! TAL! have! been! successful! at! necks.! Some! of! the! marine! orna; resulted! in! 700,000! US! households! defining! cues! to! trigger! spawning! mental! species! we! are! presently! behavior!in!recirculating!aquaculture! which! currently! maintain! marine! working!with!include!the!Pacific!Blue! systems.! Additionally,! we! have! also! aquaria! and! over! 2,000,000! home! Tang! (Paracanthurus! hepatus),! Yel; developed!methods!for!efficient!co l; and! public! marine! aquaria! globally.! low! Tang! (Zebrasoma! flavescens),! lection!of!fertilized!eggs!and!are!cu r; Accordingly,!research!into!expansion! Milletseed! Butterflyfish! (Chaetodon! rently! investigating! disinfectants! for! of!production!species!for!the!marine! miliaris),!and!Melanurus!wrasse!(Ha' these!embryos!that!will!result!in!be t; ornamental! industry! is! of! great! in; lichoeres! melanurus)! (Figure! 2).! Re; ter! larval! survival! and! health.! The! terest! to! domestic! aquaculture! pro; search! projects! are! currently! evalu; bichir! is! another! species! that! has! ducers.! It! is! estimated! that! over! 11! ating! novel! live!feeds!such!as! cope; been!identified!by!the!Florida!Trop i; million! marine! fish,! representing! pods!and!ciliates,!the!use!of!“probi; cal! Fish! Farms! Association! as! a! po; 1,800!unique!species,!are!sold!annu; otics”!or!beneficial!bacteria,!and!en; tential! candidate! for! production! in! ally;! with! the! preponderance! of! vironmental! variables! such! as! tem; the! state.! Native! to! Africa,! this! specimens! resulting! from! wild! cap; perature,! photoperiod,! and! water!

“primitive”! species!has! increased!in! ture.!Historically,!efforts! to! develop! quality.!!

popularity! among! the! ! commercial! protocols! for! marine!

trade.!Unlike!most!fishes,!the!bichir! ornamental! aquaculture! production! The!diversity!of!research!within!the!

have! primarily! focused! on! species! ornamental! aquaculture! field! is! is! considered! to! be! an! obligate! air! breather! and! can! survive! in! water! which! spawn! large! demersal! eggs,! quite! impressive.! Our! results! will! bodies! with! low! dissolved! oxygen! exhibit! some! degree! of! parental! have!implications!not!only!for!stake; levels.! Investigations! are! currently! care,! and! have! large! developed! lar; holders!in!Florida!but!potentially!for! underway! to! elucidate! spawning! vae! capable! of! consuming! cultured! conservation! of! reefs! on! the! oppo; 11" 78

School of Forest Resources and Conservation Florida LAKEWATCH 7922 NW 71st Street Gainesville, FL 32653

site!side!of!the!globe.!I!am!excited!to! SFRC.!I!would!welcome!any!potential! work!with!Florida’s!ornamental!pro; for! collaboration! with! LAKEWATCH! ducers! and! the! faculty,! staff,! and! and!I!am!grateful!for!this!chance!to! students! here! in! the! fisheries! and! introduce! my! research! programs! to! This! newsletter! is! generated! by! the! Florida! aquatic! sciences! program! at! the! the!Florida!LAKEWATCH!community.!! LAKEWATCH!program,!within!UF/IFAS.!Support!for!the! LAKEWATCH!program!is!provided!by!the!Florida!Legis; ! lature,! grants! and! donations.! For! more! information! about!LAKEWATCH,!to!inquire!about!volunteer!training! Matthew!DiMaggio!is!an!Assistant! sessions,! or! to! submit! materials! for! inclusion! in! this! Professor!in!the!School!of!Forest! publication,!write!to:" Resources!and!Conservation’s! !Florida!!LAKEWATCH!!! Fisheries!and!Aquatic!Sciences! Program!in!Fisheries!and!Aquatic! School!of!Forest!Resources!and!Conservation! Sciences!at!the!University!of!Flor; PO!Box!110600! Gainesville!FL!32611;0600!! ida.!He!can!be!reached!at!the! or!call! contact!information!below.! 1;800;LAKEWATCH!(800;525;3928),! ! (352)!392;4817,!! ! E;mail:""[email protected],"" Tropical!Aquaculture!Laboratory! Website:"http://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/" 1408!24th!Street!SE! All!unsolicited!articles,!photographs,!artwork!or!other! written! material! must! include! contributor’s! name,! Ruskin,!FL!33570! address! and! phone! number.! Opinions! expressed! are! [email protected]! solely! those! of! the! individual! contributor! and! do! not! (813)!671.5230!Ext.115! necessarily!reflect!the!opinion!or!policy!of!the!Florida! ! LAKEWATCH!program.! !

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