2019 American Fisheries Society Arkansas Chapter Meeting February 20-22 The Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa Hot Springs, Arkansas *ON THE COVER: Graphic artwork by Jeanne Zaffarano, AGFC Graphic Artist Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Executive Committee – 2018-2019 Mike Eggleton, President Matt Schroeder, President-elect Eric Brinkman, Past President Casey Cox, Treasurer Dustin Lynch, Secretary THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSORS! January 10, 2019 Dear Chapter: Welcome to the 33nd Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. We hope you are able to make full use of this opportunity to reconnect with our fisheries colleagues from around the state, network with new ones, and learn about the excellent aquatic research that is occurring throughout Arkansas. It continues to amaze me at the caliber and diversity of research occurring throughout Arkansas. It seems to get better every year! For some of you, this will also be an opportunity to visit a part of the state you have never seen. The meeting planners hope you enjoy having the conference at the historic Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, which has been a Hot Springs tradition for over a century. We encourage you to also check out historic Central Avenue and Bathhouse Row. You might also want to grab a few jugs of water at one of the many hot springs along the strip. The conference committee has planned an excellent meeting for us. Thank you for coming to Hot Springs and supporting our Chapter. We hope you have a great experience. Respectfully, Michael A. Eggleton 2018-19 President Arkansas Chapter AFS January 10, 2019 Dear Colleagues and Friends: Welcome on behalf of the organizing committee of the 33rd annual meeting of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The organizers working in concert with the Chapter’s Executive Committee have worked diligently at planning the conference, which we hope you find meaningful, informative, and entertaining. We are very happy to be hosting the conference in Hot Springs at the historic Arlington Hotel. For convince, all activities, besides pas president lunch, will be on site at the Arlington. However, feel free to explore nearby historic bathhouse row. This year’s Arkansas Chapter AFS meeting promises to be among the best, with 32 oral presentations, 12 posters, and a cyprinid identification short course being taught by Dustin Lynch, Aquatic Ecologist with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. We hope the conference will be beneficial and well worth your trip to Hot Springs. Please enjoy the conference, and feel free to ask for anything you might need. Thank you, Matthew D. Schroeder Conference Program Chair Arkansas Chapter AFS PROGRAM OVERVIEW American Fisheries Society 33rd Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society The Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa, Hot Springs, AR Wednesday, 20 February 2019 Activity Time Location Cyprinid ID Workshop 8:30 am – 11:30 am Cypress Room Lunch – On Your Own 11:30 am – 12:50 pm Hot Springs Meeting Registration 12:00 pm – 5:30 pm Conference Center A Foyer Presentation Loading 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm Conference Center President’s Welcome 1:00 pm – 1:10 pm Conference Center Keynote Address 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm Conference Center Session I 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Conference Center Break / Poster Session 3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Conference Center A Foyer Session II 3:20 pm – 5:00 pm Conference Center Presentation Loading 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Conference Center Welcome Social 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Crystal Ballroom Thursday, 21 February 2019 Activity Time Location Meeting Registration 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Conference Center A Foyer Presentation Loading 7:30 am – 1:00 pm Conference Center Session III 8:10 am – 10:10 am Conference Center Break / Poster Session 10:10 am – 10:30 am Conference Center A Foyer Session IV 10:30 am – 11:50 am Conference Center Lunch – On Your Own 11:50 am – 1:00 pm Hot Springs Session V 1:20 pm – 3:00 pm Conference Center Break / Poster Session 3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Conference Center A Foyer Session VI 3:20 pm – 5:00 pm Conference Center Banquet/Silent Auction 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Crystal Ballroom Friday, 22 February 2019 Activity Time Location Session VII 8:00 am – 9:20 am Conference Center Chapter Business Meeting 9:30 am – 11:00 am Conference Center Past-President’s Luncheon 11:30 am – 1:30 pm Superior Bathhouse Brewery Wednesday, 20 February 2019 12:00 – 5:30 PM Meeting Registration 12:00 – 12:50 PM Presentation Loading 1:00 – 1:10 PM President’s Welcome, Mike Eggleton *denotes presenter (S) = signifies student presenter 1:10 – 2:00 PM Keynote Address: Restoring America’s Greatest River Jim Wise* Session I Water Quality & Fish Diversity Moderator: Tate Wentz, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality 2:00 – 3:00 PM 2:00 (1) A Collaborative Approach to Monitoring and Predicting HABs in Arkansas Brie Olsen* 2:20 (2) Status of Ongoing USGS Studies on the Buffalo River (Arkansas) Billy Justus* and Lucas Driver 2:40 (3) Stream Habitat Relations of the Yellowcheek Darter (Etheostoma moorei) Among Four Forks of the Little Red River in Arkansas Lucas Driver*, Billy Justus, and Chris Davidson 3:00 – 3:20 PM BREAK Session II Fish Diversity Moderator: Brian Wagner, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 3:20 – 5:00 PM 3:20 (4) Center of Diversity: the story of Neosho and Ouachita Smallmouth Bass Jeffrey Quinn* 3:40 (5) Migration Dynamics of Silver American Eel in the Ouachita River Basin Jeffrey Quinn, Maxwell Hartman*, Kelly Winningham, and Jenn Ballard 4:00 (6) Evaluation of Current and Historic Fish Assemblages in the Ouachita Mountain Ecoregion Chris Naus*, Nathan Wentz, and Chelsey Sherwood 4:20 (7) Have Fish Assemblages Changed in the Strawberry River Over the Last 30-40 Years? Jennifer Main* (S), Ginny Adams, and Reid Adams 4:40 (8) Commercial Aquatic Turtle Harvest in Arkansas Kelly Irwin* 5:00 – 5:30 PM Presentation Loading 6:00 – 9:00 PM Welcome Social in Crystal Ballroom Thursday, 21 February 2019 Session III Fish Diversity & Program/Project Overview Moderator: Jeff Quinn, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 8:10 – 10:10 AM 8:10 (9) Habitat Associations of Riffle Fishes in an Ozark River Having a Dynamic Gravel Bed Load Chance Garrett* (S), Ginny Adams, and Reid Adams 8:30 (10) Seasonal Changes in Habitat Suitability for Adult Shovelnose Sturgeon in the Lower Mississippi River Dylan Hann* and Hal Schramm 8:50 (11) Surveys Crucial for Protection of Arkansas Natural Areas Katie Morris* and Dustin Lynch 9:10 (12) US-China Trade in Seafood: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges Uttam Deb* 9:30 (13) Family and Community Fishing Program: A Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R-3) Approach to the Outdoors in Arkansas Maurice Jackson* 9:50 (14) Lake June Renovation Project Andrew Yung* and Aaron Kern 10:10 – 10:30 AM BREAK Session IV Fish Management Moderator: Allison Asher, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 10:30 – 11:50 AM 10:30 (15) Evaluating the Utility of an Age-Length-Key in Estimating Growth Parameters: A Largemouth Bass Example Sean Lusk and Christopher Middaugh* 10:50 (16) Current Management Efforts for Alligator Gar Across Their Historic U.S. Range Eric Brinkman*, Daniel J. Daugherty, Nathan G. Smith, and, Matt Wegener 11:10 (17) Population Evaluation and Stock Contribution of Channel Catfish Stocked into Beaver Lake, Arkansas Jon Stein*, Kevin Hopkins, and Jordan Lindaman 11:30 (18) Low-frequency Electrofishing Riverine Habitats for Blue Catfish in the Arkansas River Charles Jordan* (S), Zach Moran, and Joseph Stoeckel 11:50 AM – 1:00 PM LUNCH Session V Fish Management Moderator: Colton Dennis, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 1:00 – 3:00 PM 1:20 (19) Habitat Overlap Between Hybrid Striped Bass and Largemouth Bass in DeGray Lake, Arkansas Jeremiah Salinger* (S) and Steve Lochmann 1:00 (20) Estimation of Hybrid Striped Bass Mortality Using Telemetry and Transmitter Returns in DeGray Lake, Arkansas Steve Lochmann* and Jeremiah Salinger (S) 1:40 (21) Observations of Largemouth Bass genetics along the lower Arkansas River, Arkansas Nick Feltz* and Chelsea Tucker 2:00 (22) Sauger Seasonal Habitat Use and Movement in the Arkansas River Peter Leonard* (S) and John Jackson 2:20 (23) Assessing and Quantifying Available Spawning Habitat for Brown Trout on the Greers Ferry Tailwater Derek Owens* (S) and Steve Lochmann 2:40 (24) Commercial Fishing in Arkansas: Acknowledging the Past and Understanding the Present Jessica Feltz* and Kendall Moles 3:00 – 3:20 PM BREAK Session VI Invasive Species & Aquatic Diversity Moderator: Jimmy Barnett, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 3:20 – 5:00 PM 3:20 (25) Movement of Northern Snakehead within the White River, Arkansas System Micah Tindall* (S), Steve Lochmann, Justin Homan, and Shannon Smith 3:40 (26) Effects of Silver Carp Establishment on Native Fishes in White River Oxbow Lakes Cody Salzmann, Joseph Kaiser, Shannon Smith, and Michael Eggleton* 4:00 (27) Effects of Silver Carp on Age-0 Bluegill and Gizzard Shad Characteristics in Oxbow Lakes of the Lower White River, Arkansas Joseph Kaiser* (S), Cody Salzmann, Shannon Smith, and Michael Eggleton 4:20 (28) Status and Distribution of the Spectaclecase Mussel in the Ouachita River in Arkansas Kendall Moles*, Kelly Irwin, Maxwell Hartman, and William Posey 4:40 (29) Life History of Two Undescribed Lampsilis Species in Arkansas Kendall Moles* and Andrea Russenberger 6:00 – 9:00 PM Awards Banquet in Crystal Ballroom Friday, 22 February 19 Session VI Contributed Papers Moderator: Matt Schroeder, Arkansas Game and Fish