Efficiency of sampling sunfishes using snorkeling in clear, warmwater streams of the south-central United States
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Abstract
The continued evaluation of fish-sampling gears and methods is essential to identify their applicability across environmental conditions and among species. Although limited by visibility, snorkeling has potential advantages relative to other fish-sampling gears in wadeable streams (e.g., minimally intrusive, cost effective, and appropriate in deeper areas). Clear water is common to warm-water streams; however, the use of snorkeling for monitoring stream-fish populations has largely focused on cold-water systems. To assess relative snorkeling efficiency in warm-water streams, we compared standardized single-pass snorkel counts to tow-barge electrofishing abundance estimates for six sunfishes (Centrarchidae) in the Ozark Highlands ecoregion of northwest Oklahoma and southwest Missouri under relatively similar environmental conditions (i.e., clear water, cobble substrates, low-flow conditions). Snorkeling efficiency was variable among sunfishes and consistently low for species with cryptic traits and habitat use. We also did not detect cryptic sunfishes (i.e., a single individual was not encountered) using snorkeling at multiple stream reaches where estimated abundance was > 50 within a 0.5- to 1.0-km stream reach. Our findings indicate that snorkeling has applications for monitoring sunfish populations and assemblages when using an abundance estimator or accounting for imperfect detection; however, it is inappropriate for estimating population size of cryptic sunfishes. We encourage continued research into the applicability of snorkeling to estimate warm-water stream fish abundance.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Efficiency of sampling sunfishes using snorkeling in clear, warmwater streams of the south-central United States |
Series title | Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management |
DOI | 10.3996/032018-JFWM-027 |
Volume | 9 |
Issue | 2 |
Year Published | 2018 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Allen Press |
Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Atlanta |
Description | 8 p. |
First page | 602 |
Last page | 609 |
Country | United States |
State | Missouri, Oklahoma |
Other Geospatial | Ozark Highlands |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |