AQUAT I C INSECTS OF SCLECTI..:D f1Sl ll'O N1.JS AT MINOR CLARK FISH HATCHERY , ROWAN COUNTY , KE NTU CKY A Tt1esis Present ed t o t h e Faculty of the School o f Sciences and Mathematics Morehead State University In Partial Ful f illment of the Requirements for t he Degree Master of Science by Lynda Jane Andrews 3 M dV I <J82 APP·~/THESES -f I A ½l;lo..., Accepted by the faculty of the School of Sciences and Ma thematics , Morehead State University , in partiaJ fulfillme nt of the requirements for the Master of Sc ience degree . • Director of Thesis Master' s Committee.;:~)Yl...,,, , Chairman ABSTRA CT Of 'l'H"CSTS AQUATIC INSECTS OF SELECTED fI SHPONDS AT MI NOR CLARK FISH HATCHERY , ROWAN COUflTY , KENTUCKY Aquatic insects are the dominant fo1·ms of animal life in aquatic ecosyst e ms , but their life histories and trophic relati o n s hips are poorly unde r stood or are unknown . Lentic habitats , such a s the fishponds a t Minor Clark Fis h Hatchery , have not been studied as thoroughly a s lotic habitats , primarily d ue t o current water quality res earc h trends. Fish culturists are beginning to r ealize the economi c value of lentic habitats in terms of food production . This increased interest i n s tanding water systems requires in-depth understanding o f lentic biotic habitats , particularly aquatic insect niches. During the summer and f all of 1981, aquatic insect coll ections were made in 17 o ne-ac re fishponds at the Minor Clark Fish Hatchery , Rowan County , Kentucky . Representatives of five aquatic orders we re found and collections included 65 species of nymphs , larvae, pupae and adults. Spec ies collected did not inc l ude some primary aquatic predators commonly found in fishponds, but various odonates , belost omatids and gyrini ds collected are suspected piscivores . Data coll ected suggest that hatchery management practices are helping control the d iversity and density of most aquatic insect communities and popu lations . ~ynd ..adneAndrews ~~ m°1 3, 19s~ Date ACKNOW I ,L.:DC[MCNTS I wis h to express speciaJ apprecjation to Dr. Gerald L . DeMoss for his gui dance , encou1•agemellt and assistance in writing the manuscript and f or the time spen t in being the c hairman of my graduate committee . I also wish t o thank Dr . Jerry F. Howe 1 1 , Jr. and Dr. Madison E . Pryor for their helpful sugges­ tions and for serving on my grctduate committee . I am also grateful to Morehead State University f or providing the assistantship and facilities which made my studies and this research possible. Special thanks goes to Dan Brewer and Mike Hearn for providing me with informatio n and manageme nt data regarding the Minor Clark Fis h Hatchery . Appreciatio n also to David Bruce Conn for his assistance in identi­ fying some of the aquatic ma croinvertebrates . j j T ABLE 1)F ('tlNTUJTS Page LIST OF TABLES . lV LIST OF ILLU STRATIONS V INTRODUCTION . 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .)" MATER IAL AND METHODS 22 RESULTS AND DI SC USSI ON 2 8 CONC LUSI ON . 46 LITERATURE CITED 49 APPENDIX A . • S 4 APPEND I X B . 56 APPENDIX C . 6 0 j i i LIST OJ' T/\BLI..:S Table Page 1. Trophic Re lationships Among Aqudtic Insects Bas ed o n Feeding Mechanisms ( after Cummins 1978) . 11 2 . Orders of Aquatic I nsects Found 1n Lentic Habitats 14 3. Management Data for Fishpo nds Stocked with Esox masquinongy . ... 23 4. Management Data for Fishponds Stocked with Morone saxatili s . 2 5 5. Management Data for Fishponds Stocked with Carassius auratus and Pimephales promelas . 26 6. Comparison of the Aquatic Insects Collected from Selected Fis hpond s 32 7. The Relative Abundance, Stage of Life Cycle and Trophic Relationships of Aquatic Insects Collected from Selected Fishponds a t Mino r Clark Fish Hatchery. 38 l \' LI ST OF ILLUSTRATI01J S Figure Page 1 . Role of Insect s in Aquatic Conununi t i es . 29 V I NTRi) DLJCT I OJJ Aquatic insects are the dominarit macpoinverteu1·ate forms in aquatic ecosystems . These fauna are chcu,acter­ i sti cally con s i der ed vital intermediate stages in t he f l ow of e nergy between the aut otrophic e leme nts and the h i gh e r he t e rotrophi c forms in a quatic ecosystems , but their life histor i e s are poorly understood a nd available distributional and e col ogic al data are sketch y and incomplete. Aquatic biota identification i s a necess a ry and logical first step leading to a basi c un d erst a nding of aquatic ecosys tems a n d the procedures allowing for the development o f proper management s trate gie s for these systems. Data generated through this r esear ch will provide initial ba ckground i n format ion on t he aquatic insec ts of fish culture ponds a t the Mino r Clark Fish Hatchery and will s erve as ba seli n e 'data for f u t ure studies of the~e unique ecosyst ems . Aquatic insect collecti o n s from sel e cted fi s hponds were conducted from late J une t o earl y No ve mber , 1 981. A total of 17 one-acre fishpo nds were samp l ed during pond drawdown s tages at the time of fish ha rvest. Sampling was limited t o the time ot fish h a r v e s t t o assist in c onc entrating t he i n sects f or collectio n, whic h permitted a more accurate overview of exi sting l 2 populations and increased the chances of collecting those forms having minimal population densities. This procedure also minimized any interference with fish management practices at the hatchery. L [ 1T RA'l'Ul:L RE V I! W Autho rizatio n f o r t'ave :, u11 l.ak.e was a pprove d und e r the Federal F lood Contr o l Act o f ,J une 1 9 3 6 , with pro 1 e ct design and c o n s t r ucti on s u p,· r' visu J by t r1e Lo uisvill~ District , U. S . Army r.0 1' µs of I'ngineer•s . Control t o wer and conduit con s t1•uc tion b <=g d n in ,l ime , 1965 and the project became operational in l'ebr·udl"Y, 1974 ( Un ited States Department of Army 19 8 1) . 1:dve Run La ke se1' ves as a multi- pur pos e flood <.: • i11 t r-ol a nci recr e a t ional facility, i n the cornprehen ~ive vla n for the Ohio Rive r Basin , designed t o ass i s t i n f lood water manipulatio n in the l ower Li cking River Basin . Contras tingly , the lake also s erves as a wa·ter s o ur·c e ins uring natural l o w f low conditions on the lower Licking Ri ver in the interest o f water qua lity control. An a dditional func tion f o r the impounded waters o f Cave Run Lake was conc e i v 8d by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wi l dlife a s a wate r sourc e for a state funded f i sh hatchery . Mino r· Clark F i s h Hatc hery was concurrently constr ucte d wit h Cave Run Dam , at a c ost of two million doll ars ; funds derived t h rough the sale o f hunting a n d fishin g licenses ( Kentuc k y Department Fi s h and Wildlife 1976) . The ha"t"c h e r y was built in the t -:t il­ water area o f the l ake a nd was comp l eted in the s umme r 4 of 1 973 . Some fish production began in 1 913 , but full production and operat ion did not begin untjl 1974 (Brewer 1982) . Minor Clark Fish Hatchery is the largest state operated hatchery i n Kentucky and is one of the largest state owned warmwater hatcheries in the United States . The hatchery covers 30 0 acres of the Licking River alluv ial flood plain and has 111 rearing and brood po nds ( Kentucky Departmen t Fish and Wildlife 1976) . There a re approximately 122.5 acres of water at the hatc hery : 82 one-ac re ponds , 25 tenth-acre ponds and four large brood ponds, one a natural oxbow lake. Water supply for the hatchery is obtained from Cave Run Lake by gravity f l ow through a n 18-inch watermain . Approximately 8,000 gallons o f water per minute can be taken from the l ake and water can be drawn from three separate levels at the dam ' s c on trol tower . Inflow regulation allows par t ial temperature and dissolved oxygen control in water delivered to the hatchery . Minor Clark Fish Hatc hery produces several game fishes and two forage fish species . Major game fish produced at the hatchery are Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede ) [Largemo uth Bass], Sti zostedion vitreum (Mitchill) [Walleye], Esox rnasquinongy (Mitchill) [ Muskellunge ] and Merone saxati lis ( Walbaum ) [ Striped Bass or Rockfish]. Oth~r game tish species are reared e xper imentally. Game fishes produced are carnivorous, thus requiring the production of Pimepha l es promelas ( Rafinesque ) [Fathead Minnow] and Carassius auratus (Linnaeus ) [ Goldfish ] a s forage ( Ken tucky Department Fish and Wildlife 1976 ).