Natural resource professionals have frequently criticized universities for poorly preparing graduates to succeed in their jobs. We surveyed members of the American Fisheries Society to determine which job skills and knowledge of academic topics employers, students, and university faculty members deemed most important to early‐career success of fisheries professionals. Respondents also rated proficiency of recently hired, entry‐level professionals (employers) on how well their programs prepared them for career success (students and faculty) in those same job skills and academic topics. Critical thinking and written and oral communication skills topped the list of important skills and academic topics. Employers perceived recent entry‐level hires to be less well‐prepared to succeed in their careers than either university faculty or students. Entry‐level hires with post‐graduate degrees rated higher in proficiency for highly important skills and knowledge than those with bachelor's degrees. We conclude that although universities have the primary responsibility for developing critical thinking and basic communication skills of students, employers have equal or greater responsibility for enhancing skills of employees in teamwork, field techniques, and communicating with stakeholders. The American Fisheries Society can significantly contribute to the preparation of young fisheries professionals by providing opportunities for continuing education and networking with peers at professional conferences.

There is an expansive and expanding delta at the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers in the Lewis and Clark Reservoir. The delta provides diverse aquatic habitat that is somewhat similar to the historic Missouri River and to remnant river habitats. As such, the delta may have relatively high fish species diversity compared to lentic reservoir habitats. To compare patterns of fish diversity between the delta and reservoir habitats, we collected fish in several nursery habitats in both areas using four gear types (seine, gill net, electrofisher and fyke net) on three occasions (July, August and September) in 2005. Species richness was higher in the delta (n ¼ 34) than the reservoir (n ¼ 22). Thirteen species composed more than 1% of delta collections while only four species composed more than 1% of reservoir collections. Species diversity (Fisher's a) was also significantly higher in the delta. Higher species diversity in the delta may be explained by higher habitat diversity. These results suggest that newly forming deltas have the potential to protect and restore fish species diversity, because they retain natural river functions such as sediment transport and habitat formation.

Throughout their range, Yellow Perch Perca flavescens are an important ecological and economic component of many fisheries, but they often exhibit highly variable recruitment. Much research effort has been devoted to better understanding the mechanisms responsible for these erratic recruitment patterns, yet few studies have examined this process at the detail necessary to reveal complex interactions that may exist across multiple early life stages. Our current understanding of the early life recruitment patterns of Yellow Perch suggests a strong abiotic component. Using existing information, we developed three working hypotheses to examine Yellow Perch recruitment at two larval stages (5–14 and 15–24 d old) and to further identify the overarching mechanisms (abiotic versus biotic) related to Yellow Perch recruitment in 332‐ha Pelican Lake, Nebraska, during 2004–2012. Larval Yellow Perch growth and mortality were largely regulated by hatching date, temperature, and zooplankton availability. The growth of young larval Yellow Perch (5–14 d old) was positively related to temperature and hatch date; that of old larval perch (15–24 d old) was positively related to water temperature and postlarval age‐0 (≤25 mm TL) Yellow Perch density but negatively related to the available preferred zooplankton biomass. Mortality was inversely related to total zooplankton biomass and water temperature. Our results describe a model with two potential Yellow Perch recruitment bottlenecks, one immediately posthatch that is regulated by hatch date and temperature and another during the older larval stage that is regulated by temperature and zooplankton. Received October 25, 2013; accepted January 14, 2014

Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are commonly used to monitor growth, habitat use, activity rates, and survival of individual fish. However, for successful completion of research objectives, the tags must be retained and must not affect fish growth or survival. We compared the effects of PIT tagging location on tag retention, growth, and survival of juvenile bluegills Lepomis macrochirus and yellow perch Perca flavescens. In total, 80 bluegills and 80 yellow perch from two size‐classes (75–101 and 128–162 mm total length) were randomly assigned to a control or to one of three tagging location treatments: isthmus, body cavity, or dorsal musculature. Fish received daily ad libitum rations and were monitored for survival. On days 14, 28, and 42, the fish were measured, weighed, and checked for tag retention. Use of the isthmus as a tagging location resulted in lower tag retention for both species and both size‐classes relative to the body cavity and dorsal musculature locations. Tagging location had no detectable effect on growth or survival responses for either species or either size‐class. Thus, PIT tags that are implanted in the dorsal musculature of large juvenile bluegills and yellow perch and in the body cavity of small juvenile bluegills and yellow perch can have high retention with minimal adverse effects. Received May 4, 2011; accepted June 2, 2011