Abstract.-Although a great deal of effort has been expended to try to understand the consequences of fishing-induced selection by commercial fisheries, relatively little effort has been put into trying to understand the selective effects of recreational angling. We conducted a long-term selection experiment to assess the heritability of vulnerability to angling in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. Three successive generations of artificially selected largemouth bass were produced from a single experimental study population. Within each generation, individual adult largemouth bass were identified as having either high or low vulnerability to angling through a series of controlled catch-and-release angling trials. Individuals of each vulnerability group (high and low) were then selected from that population for breeding to produce the next generation. The response to selection for vulnerability to angling increased with each generation; that is, the magnitude of the difference between the high-and low-vulnerability groups of fish increased with each successive generation. Realized heritability was calculated as 0.146 (r 2 ¼ 0.995), indicating that the vulnerability of largemouth bass to angling is indeed a heritable trait. Our results indicate that recreational angling has the potential to alter the gene pool of wild fish populations, which may indirectly affect population characteristics such as survival, growth rate, and reproductive output as well as directly affecting angling success rates.
Data from a catch‐and‐release largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishery at Ridge Lake, Illinois, in which the minimum size limit was 457 mm total length, were used to test the null hypothesis that the recapture of largemouth bass is a normally distributed random event. Comparison of recapture data with a Poisson distribution for randomly selected fish from the 1976 year class demonstrated that recapture was not a random phenomenon and implied that individual fish varied in their vulnerabilities. Low and high vulnerabilities to capture existed among individuals in the largemouth bass population in Ridge Lake. Hook‐and‐line vulnerability of individuals varied among fishing seasons. Approximately 15% of the largemouth bass longer than 200 mm that were recovered when the lake was drained had never been caught during the four seasons of catch‐and‐release fishing. However, tagged largemouth bass were caught, on the average, approximately twice in any catch‐and‐release season.
Aquatic invasive plants and animals are increasingly becoming a problem, causing severe economic and ecological damage to critical freshwater systems. The best strategy for controlling an invasive pest employs an integrated pest management (IPM) approach using a combination of biological, physical, chemical, and social/cultural control methods. Here, we examine the history and development of IPM and provide a discussion of the components of an IPM program involving development, evaluation, and management. Control approaches will be reviewed and the application of this technique to aquatic systems will be discussed. A discussion of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's (GLFC) Integrated Management of Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus Control Program will be provided to illustrate the application of IPM to an aquatic system.
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