Evaluating the potential for stock size to limit recruitment in largemouth bass
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
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Abstract
Compensatory changes in juvenile survival allow fish stocks to maintain relatively constant recruitment across a wide range of stock sizes (and levels of fishing), but few studies have experimentally explored recruitment compensation in fish populations. We evaluated the potential for recruitment compensation in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides by stocking six 0.4-ha hatchery ponds with adult densities ranging from 6 to 40 fish over 2 years. Ponds were drained in October each year, and the age-0 fish densities were used as a measure of recruitment. We found no relationship between stock abundance and recruitment; ponds with low adult densities produced nearly as many recruits as the higher-density ponds in some cases. Both prey abundance and the growth of age-0 largemouth bass declined with age-0 fish density. Recruit abundance was highly variable both within and among the adult density groups, and thus we were unable to identify a clear stock–recruit relationship for largemouth bass. Our results indicate that reducing the number of effective spawners via angling practices would not reduce recruitment over a relatively large range in stock size.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Evaluating the potential for stock size to limit recruitment in largemouth bass |
| Series title | Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |
| DOI | 10.1080/00028487.2011.599259 |
| Volume | 140 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 2011 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Publisher location | Philadelphia, PA |
| Contributing office(s) | Southeast Ecological Science Center |
| Description | 8 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |
| First page | 1093 |
| Last page | 1100 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |