Development, implementation, and evaluation of an international muskellunge management strategy for the upper St Lawrence River

Farrell, John M.; Klindt, Rodger M.; Casselman, John M.; LaPan, Steven R.; Werner, Robert G.; Schiavone, Albert

doi:10.1007/s10641-006-9091-7

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, what is possible in theory has not proven to be the case in reality, and our findings support our main hypothesis of spawning site fidelity as a potential mechanism for the absence of age-0 Muskellunge in Severn Sound. Movement to specific areas during the spawning season has been well documented in many Muskellunge populations (Miller and Menzel 1986;Strand 1986;Crossman 1990;LaPan et al 1996;Younk et al 1996;Farrell et al 2007;Diana et al 2015). Muskellunge in each of our study regions exhibited an affinity for particular areas during spawning, consistent with previous observations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Muskellunge in each of our study regions exhibited an affinity for particular areas during spawning, consistent with previous observations. Similarly, spawning site fidelity has also been documented in Muskellunge populations within multiple waterbodies throughout the species' range (Crossman 1990;LaPan et al 1996;Younk et al 1996;Farrell et al 2007;Jennings et al 2011), but this is the first study to document such behavior in Georgian Bay Muskellunge. Of the individuals that were successfully tracked for two or more years, only one (ID 41) did not use the same activity center across multiple years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Common strategies for protecting Muskellunge populations have included restrictions on harvest size and possession limits (Wingate 1986;Casselman et al 1999) and encouraging a strict catch-and-release ethic among dedicated anglers (Kerr 2007). Despite efforts that are intended to protect reproductively valuable adults, many Muskellunge populations have declined due to the loss or degradation of suitable spawning and nursery habitats (Dombeck et al 1984;Dombeck 1986;Zorn et al 1998;Rust et al 2002;Farrell et al 2007). Survival rates of Muskellunge from the egg stage through the first year are naturally very low (Scott and Crossman 1998;Farrell 2001), so additional stressors during that vulnerable time period could affect recruitment success.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By comparison, age-0 Muskellunge require (1) some structural complexity, usually provided by aquatic vegetation (Craig and Black 1986;Farrell and Werner 1999;Murry and Farrell 2007;; and (2) the presence of suitable prey (Wahl and Stein 1988;Kapuscinski et al 2012). It has been hypothesized that there is a close spatial linkage between Muskellunge spawning sites and nursery sites Zorn et al 1998;Farrell et al 2007). The underlying assumption is that after hatching, the vulnerable age-0 Muskellunge will not stray far from the safety of their wetland habitat, which should provide both suitable forage and refuge from predators (Crowder and Cooper 1982;Eadie and Keast 1984;Diehl and Eklov 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spawning site fidelity in Muskellunge has been documented over a range of habitat types, including large lake chains (Crossman 1990), inland lakes (Jennings et al 2011), and large rivers Younk et al 1996;Farrell et al 2007), and such fidelity is consistent with the genetic evidence for distinct populations of Muskellunge throughout the Great Lakes (Kapuscinski et al 2013). Even though spawning site fidelity has not been documented in the Georgian Bay population, this could explain why age-0 Muskellunge can no longer be found in the relatively disturbed wetlands of southeastern Georgian Bay (Leblanc et al 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Spawning Season Distribution in Subpopulations of Muskellunge in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron

et al. 2016

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Loss of spawning and nursery habitats has been implicated as a major factor in the widespread decline of Muskellunge Esox masquinongy populations in North America. Although there is limited evidence of spawning site fidelity in Great Lakes populations of Muskellunge, such behavior could result in recruitment failure if individuals return each year to spawning sites that have become degraded. We compared the spawning behaviors of individual Muskellunge across three subpopulations in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, to address the hypothesis that the use of specific spawning sites and spawning site fidelity are independent of the habitat's suitability for successful recruitment. The study regions (southeastern, northeastern, and northern Georgian Bay) have experienced different impacts from human development and sustained low water levels. We radio‐tagged 49 adult Muskellunge and tracked them for up to 3 years (between 2012 and 2015). Sufficient multiyear data were only acquired for 18 individuals in the southeastern region; among those fish, 16 showed fidelity to at least one activity center over 2–3 years. Male Muskellunge occupied significantly smaller activity centers and shallower depths than females during the spawning season. The locations of adult Muskellunge were in close proximity to current and historic nursery sites that had been identified in each region by other studies, supporting the close spatial linkage between spawning habitat and nursery habitat. This study is the first to confirm spawning site fidelity in Georgian Bay Muskellunge, and our results support the spatial association between spawning and nursery habitats. The repeated use of degraded habitat by spawning adults, as appears to be the case in southeastern Georgian Bay, highlights the need to identify and protect spawning and nursery habitats.Received October 1, 2015; accepted February 3, 2016 Published online June 23, 2016

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spawning Season Distribution in Subpopulations of Muskellunge in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron

et al. 2016

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Spatial ecology and thermal preferences of muskellunge within a Midwest impoundment

Bieber,

Suski

2024

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

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Muskellunge are a valuable sportfish species which has been stocked throughout North America. Stocking is a strategy to generate angling opportunities by introducing species to waterbodies that otherwise would not have contained the fish, such as impoundments and reservoirs. Therefore, understanding the ways fish interact with different waterbodies is critical for managers to understand. To that end, we utilized a year‐long passive telemetry study with muskellunge in a reservoir known for its muskellunge angling. Additionally, we employed temperature loggers to track lake temperatures. We found that smaller female muskellunge were more resident at sites compared to similar‐sized males, although fish did not exhibit site‐specific preferences. We also found that fish moved high distances over the course of the year without time‐specific differences. Furthermore, we found evidence that muskellunge was selected for thermal refuges in the reservoir; however, in summer, when water temperatures were elevated, fish inhabited water, which has been shown to increase incidental mortality. The results of this study indicate a need for muskellunge managers, especially in reservoirs, to consider water temperature in angling regulations. Additionally, our results highlight a need for adding habitat structure in reservoirs and altering stocking densities of fish. Collectively, these results will help inform managers on muskellunge spatial interactions within a reservoir and achieve management goals.

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Examination of Muskellunge overwinter survival and growth in an earthen extensive culture pond

2023

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The demand to produce larger Muskellunge to meet stocking purposes and objectives has required hatchery facilities to hold these fish through multiple life stages. Rearing of advanced Muskellunge fingerlings at the North Platte Hatchery required insertion of a passive integrated transponder tag (PIT), which also created an opportunity to track the growth and survival of these fish that were held overwinter in an extensive culture pond. This study PIT tagged 806 fingerling Muskellunge in October 2021 that were placed in a 0.1‐ha earthen pond. In March 2022 the pond was drained, and individual survival and growth were recorded. The observed overwinter survival (91.9%) was satisfactory to meet most production goals, but observed growth was minimal (21.7 ± 0.2 mm). The fall mean length of surviving Muskellunge (267.8 ± 0.9 mm) was significantly greater (t = 5.12; p ≤ 0.001) than the fall mean length of overwinter mortalities (251.4 ± 3.1 mm). Differential growth was observed with smaller individuals exhibiting greater growth during the winter, which dampens length variability within the stocked cohort. Future use of extensive culture ponds for advanced age‐1 Muskellunge production should consider the lengths desired by managers along with the associated costs of alternative production methods. This study provides expectations of overwinter survival and growth for these hatchery products.

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Development, implementation, and evaluation of an international muskellunge management strategy for the upper St Lawrence River

Cited by 26 publications

References 9 publications

Spawning Season Distribution in Subpopulations of Muskellunge in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron

Spawning Season Distribution in Subpopulations of Muskellunge in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron

Spatial ecology and thermal preferences of muskellunge within a Midwest impoundment

Examination of Muskellunge overwinter survival and growth in an earthen extensive culture pond

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