The Effect of Largemouth Bass Virus on Bass Populations in Kansas Impoundments

Abstract

Largemouth Bass virus (LMBV) first became a concern in Kansas when it was identified as a potential cause of decreased catch rates at Crawford State Fishing Lake in 2007. The discovery of LMBV in eight additional impoundments from 2008 to 2017 increased concern about the prevalence and effects of LMBV in Kansas. In response, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism tested 25 Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides impoundments for the presence of LMBV. The objectives of this study were to quantify the incidence of LMBV and examine differences in population metrics (i.e., body condition, relative abundance, and growth). A total of 1,260 Largemouth Bass were collected by using standard spring electrofishing surveys, and sagittal otoliths were collected from all of the sampled fish to estimate growth rates. Of the 25 study impoundments, 14 tested positive for LMBV. There was no evidence of LMBV effects on body condition, relative abundance of quality‐length fish, or growth rates. The initial dates of LMBV infection of Largemouth Bass in these impoundments are unknown. The LMBV‐positive populations in Kansas may have been exposed to the virus many years ago, and the fish may be in the process of rebounding from any potential negative effects.

Isolation, identification, and monoclonal antibody development of largemouth bass virus

“…The first case of LMBV was reported in 1995 in largemouth bass at Santee-Cooper Reservoir, South Carolina, USA. Since then, LMBV has been detected in various countries and regions, such as Florida, Kansas, Texas, India, and China (Grizzle et al, 2002;Southard et al, 2009;George et al, 2015;Salazar et al, 2022). In addition, studies showed that LMBV can infect not only largemouth bass but also other fish species such as koi (Cyprinus carpio) and mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) (George et al, 2015;Dong et al, 2017;Sivasankar et al, 2017).…”

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against mandarinfish ranavirus and first identification of pyloric caecum as the major target tissue

“…The species name of SCRV is primarily based on the geographic location of Santee-Cooper reservoir where the virus was first isolated (Santee-Cooper Ranavirus) and identified (Chinchar et al, 2017). SCRV is also referred to largemouth bass virus (LMBV) because the wild largemouth bass was the first and only host fish of SCRV in the United States for a long period of time (Grizzle et al, 2002(Grizzle et al, , 2003Iwanowicz et al, 2013;Salazar et al, 2022;Whittington et al, 2010). In addition to largemouth bass, natural outbreak of SCRV/LMBV-associated diseases were also recorded in koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) (George et al, 2015), barcoo grunter (Scortum barcoo) (Kayansamruaj et al, 2017) and two species of tropical ornamental fish, namely Doctor fish (Labroides dimidatus) and Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) (Hedrick & McDowell, 1995).…”