Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Neal, Wesley Jason

Committee Member

Dibble, Eric

Committee Member

Kroger, Robert

Date of Degree

5-17-2014

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

Information regarding spatiotemporal trends in young-of-year (YOY) fish distributions gives managers insight into recruitment and ultimately adult population variability. In Puerto Rico, limited research has been conducted on YOY distributions with no studies addressing reservoir systems. A comparison of the efficacy of two sampling gears and an assessment of spatiotemporal distributions of YOY fish communities in a tropical reservoir were conducted. Diversity of catch between push nets and offshore light traps were similar, though species composition of catch was different between gears. Inshore light traps collected greater total numbers and diversities of the YOY fish community than offshore traps in spring and summer seasons. Catch per unit effort was greater in the spring for inshore traps whereas CPUE was greater in offshore traps in the fall. These results will allow managers to coordinate YOY fish sampling efforts for specific species with periods of peak abundance and preferred habitat.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18097

Comments

Young-of-year fish||spatial and temporal distributions

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