Diel habitat selection of largemouth bass following woody structure installation in Table Rock Lake, Missouri

Fisheries Management and Ecology
By: , and 

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Abstract

Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède) use of installed habitat structure was evaluated in a large Midwestern USA reservoir to determine whether or not these structures were used in similar proportion to natural habitats. Seventy largemouth bass (>380 mm total length) were surgically implanted with radio transmitters and a subset was relocated monthly during day and night for one year. The top habitat selection models (based on Akaike's information criterion) suggest largemouth bass select 2–4 m depths during night and 4–7 m during day, whereas littoral structure selection was similar across diel periods. Largemouth bass selected boat docks at twice the rate of other structures. Installed woody structure was selected at similar rates to naturally occurring complex woody structure, whereas both were selected at a higher rate than simple woody structure. The results suggest the addition of woody structure may concentrate largemouth bass and mitigate the loss of woody habitat in a large reservoir.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Diel habitat selection of largemouth bass following woody structure installation in Table Rock Lake, Missouri
Series title Fisheries Management and Ecology
DOI 10.1111/fme.12266
Volume 25
Issue 2
Year Published 2018
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 9 p.
First page 107
Last page 115
Country United States
State Missouri
Other Geospatial Table Rock Lake
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