Size and Age of Stonecats in Lake Champlain; Estimating Growth at the Margin of their Range to Aid in Population Management

Abstract

Little is known about populations of Stonecat Noturus flavus, especially in the northeastern United States, where they are at the edge of their range. In Lake Champlain tributaries, Stonecats are listed as endangered in Vermont but not in New York. Here we describe the growth of Stonecats in two tributaries to Lake Champlain, one in Vermont (LaPlatte River), which was our primary interest, and one in New York (Great Chazy River), with von Bertalanffy growth models fit to lengths at the times of marking and recapture and to observed length and age data. We also compared growth of Stonecats in these waters to results from other locations near the middle of their distribution. Stonecats in the Great Chazy River were larger at ages 1-3, but similar in size for ages 4 and 5, than Stonecats from the LaPlatte River. Stonecats in Lake Champlain tributaries were generally larger at age than those from the middle of their range, except for those from Lake Erie. From our mean length-at-age results and previous literature estimates of length at maturity for Stonecats, it appears that Stonecats in Lake Champlain reach maturity by age 3, though future research that directly estimates age at maturity would be more informative. These results will help managers assess the effect of various environmental and human stressors that Stonecats have experienced in the Lake Champlain basin in recent years. Furthermore, our results expand the literature, which lacks information about growth of this species. Finally, our mark-recapture approach to estimating growth of Stonecats can be applied to other species, especially where data are limited because of their status, and in other systems.

Catfish 2020, A Clear Vision of the Future

“…2021, this special issue) of madtoms; the growth of Brown Bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus (Hartman 2017) and Stonecats Noturus flavus (Puchala et al. 2018); and distributions of rare species like the Yaqui Catfish Ictalurus pricei within their native ranges (Hafen et al. 2021, this special issue).…”

“…The two primary drivers appear to be the breadth and diversity of the species themselves and the expanding or changing habitats with which they interact. There have been some advances in native catfish research, including work on habitat use of artificial structures (Cope et al 2019;Johnson et al 2021, this special issue), utilization of dead mussel shells for spawning (Brumley and Lienesch 2020), and genetic diversity (McCall and Fluker 2020;Cope et al 2021, this special issue) of madtoms; the growth of Brown Bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus (Hartman 2017) and Stonecats Noturus flavus (Puchala et al 2018); and distributions of rare species like the Yaqui Catfish Ictalurus pricei within their native ranges (Hafen et al 2021, this special issue).…”