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"game fish"
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Don’t judge a nongame fish by its cover-age: an assessment of social media posts featuring Minnesota native fishes
In the last decade, there has been a slow but palpable shift towards conserving a wider diversity of native freshwater fishes, particularly species often considered “rough” or “nongame” fish. While researchers lead the way filling knowledge gaps for more effective conservation, science communicators and public relations teams provide a bridge from research to the public through a variety of educational outreach mediums, including social media platforms. In this study, we examined how fish species of different regulatory status compared on social media with respect to coverage (frequency of appearances) and user engagement (number of engagement interactions by viewers). Using 10 years of data gathered from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Twitter/X account between January 2014 and December 2023, we compared coverage and engagement of species considered actively managed game fish to mostly unmanaged nongame fish. Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric tests indicated that game fish appeared in social media posts significantly more often on a yearly basis than their nongame counterparts. However, yearly engagement rate was not significantly different between game and nongame fish, suggesting a willingness of viewers to engage with a wider variety of species-related content than is most often featured. While coverage and engagement remained relatively consistent over the last 10 years, seasonal spikes in engagement for both game and nongame fish revealed key outreach opportunities for social media managers. These findings provide further support for the recent shift towards more species-inclusive outreach and conservation policy efforts and highlight opportunities for future strategic science communication centering native freshwater fishes.
Journal Article
Pathways of unauthorized fish introductions and types of management responses
Unauthorized introductions are an ongoing problem for fisheries managers. To understand reasons for the continued spread of nonnative fish species, the pathways of nonnative fish introductions were analyzed from 1961 to 2017 in Wyoming, USA. Unauthorized introductions are those that occurred without oversight of a management agency. The largest source of unauthorized introductions was the deliberate, illegal release of fish by the public at 46% of the 215 introduction events. The next largest source was colonization of new water bodies after initial establishment at 29%. Inadvertent (accidental) stockings (8%) and unknown sources (17%) were the other pathways documented. Management responses consisted of attempts at complete eradication (9%), population reduction (10%), or containment (3%) although in the majority of introductions (79%) no action was taken. The introductions involved 49 taxa but three sport fish constituted 26.5% of all events: brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, walleye Sander vitreus, and yellow perch Perca flavescens. The prevalence of illegal introductions and the difficulty of eradicating introduced species indicate the continuing need for public education and enforcement efforts. The high frequency whereby species colonize new waterbodies indicates that fish introductions, even those authorized by management agencies, must consider the high probability that species will expand into unintended waterways.
Journal Article
Acute toxicity testing of 6PPD‐quinone on the estuarine-dependent sport fish, Sciaenops ocellatus
Recently, large-scale fish kills in the Pacific Northwest were linked to tire wear particles (TWPs) left on roadways, with the lethality attributed to 6PPD-quinone. which has a median lethal concentration of <1 µg/L for selected salmonids. However, there remains a paucity of 6PPD-quinone toxicity values developed for estuarine fish species, which is particularly significant because estuaries receiving inflows from highly urbanized watersheds are especially vulnerable to TWP contamination. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the toxicity of 6PPD-quinone to an economically and ecologically important estuarine-dependent fish–red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Here, we examined the relative sensitivities of three early life stages within red drum: embryonic, larval, and post-settlement for 24–72 hours, depending on the life stage. Exposure concentrations ranged from 10 μg/L to 500 μg/L. We also assessed the sub-lethal impacts of 6PPD-quinone exposure on development during embryonic and larval stages, including body and organ sizes. Our results indicate that red drum are not acutely sensitive to 6PPD-quinone at each early life stage tested. We also found that yolk-sac larvae did not exhibit sub-lethal morphological impacts in a dose-dependent manner, regardless of exposure during embryonic and larval stages. These data are the first to assess the impacts of 6PPD-quinone on estuarine-dependent non-model fishes.
Journal Article
Effects of deforestation from cattle ranching over time on protected rainforest streams in the Rama-Kriol Territory, Nicaragua
Recent waves of illegal deforestation for cattle pasture are damaging the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve and Rama-Kriol Territory of Nicaragua, with negative consequences to aquatic ecosystems and the people they support. This study creates a framework for how deforestation from cattle ranching causes shifts in stream community structure, mediated by changes in stream habitat over time. It integrates temporally explicit land use information with stream habitat, macroinvertebrate, freshwater shrimp, and fish community data to assess impacts of cattle ranching on 15 headwater streams. The deforestation history measure (DHM), a product of deforestation amount and time since deforestation for each catchment, strongly predicted stream habitat and biotic responses. Delayed effects of land-use change such as decreased allochthonous inputs (large wood, debris) and increased bank destabilization, sedimentation, flashiness, and the scouring effect were apparent in longer deforested catchments, causing lower richness and density and higher evenness of macroinvertebrates; lower shrimp abundance; and distinct changes in fish and invertebrate community composition. Both recently and longer deforested catchments had degraded riparia and smaller sized game fish. Otherwise, recently deforested catchments were more similar to forested catchments. Nicaragua’s understudied primary rainforest ecosystems should be high priority for research and conservation before they are lost.
Journal Article
Assessing the potential for red tide (Karenia brevis) algal bloom impacts on Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) along the southwestern coast of Florida
This study investigated the potential effects of red tide events (blooms of the toxin-producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis) on Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), a long-lived migratory game fish, along the southwestern coast of Florida. In this region, red tides have long been associated with mass mortality events of marine organisms and other deleterious effects on coastal ecosystems. To estimate the impacts of red tide on tarpon and the recreational fishery they support, we used a mixed-methods approach that combined multiple data sources including fish kill data, local ecological knowledge (LEK) interviews, angler catch logs, and acoustic telemetry. Our results suggested tarpon are somewhat tolerant to red tide blooms; but, when blooms did overlap with tarpon peak abundance and became dense and large, tarpon were reported to leave the affected area, suffered mortality, or both. Furthermore, in recent years, LEK data suggested an increase in the persistence and overlap of red tide blooms with peak tarpon abundance that coincided with their spawning season. In contrast, using acoustic telemetry data, we did not detect any pattern in tarpon presence during red tide events, further suggesting that tarpon may be adaptive to the effects of red tide. Finally, to evaluate monitoring methods, data quality, and collection, we used a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis and found all could be improved through increased engagement with LEK and collaboration among researchers. Ultimately, combining multiple data sources helped elucidate how red tide exposure influences tarpon and the recreational fishery that targets them.
Journal Article
Stable isotopes and diet metabarcoding reveal trophic overlap between native and invasive Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) subspecies
Researchers, managers, and policymakers have historically neglected non-game fishes relative to game fishes, and this oversight has extended to invasive non-game fishes in the United States. One such fish—the Eastern Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus diaphanus Lesueur 1817)—has established and rapidly spread in Lake Michigan and connected waters since 2000. Here, we assess potential drivers of the successful invasion of Eastern Banded Killifish, as well as their potential to disrupt native communities and food webs. Specifically, we compare the trophic niche breadth and diet composition between Eastern Banded Killifish and a native subspecies, Western Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus menona Jordan and Copeland 1877), using stable isotope and gut content metabarcoding analyses. Stable isotope analysis showed that Eastern Banded Killifish had a higher variance in littoral dependence and trophic position than Western Banded Killifish, but both stable isotope and gut content metabarcoding analyses revealed an overlap in the diet composition and trophic position between the subspecies. Eastern Banded Killifish may successfully establish outside its native range due to higher feeding variability than Western Banded Killifish, including in habitats historically unused by the native subspecies, but the trophic niche between these two subspecies was similar overall. This study provides insights into the successful invasion of a potentially overlooked non-game fish—Eastern Banded Killifish—while also comparing stable isotope and gut content metabarcoding analyses for an invasive freshwater fish for the first time.
Journal Article
Species distribution models predict suitable habitat for the overlooked and understudied freshwater lampreys of Illinois
Fisheries monitoring, management, funding, and public interest have traditionally focused on game fishes, leading to insufficient data for many non-game freshwater fishes—including lampreys. Conserving lampreys is particularly challenging given their unique life history and propensity for avoiding conventional sampling methods. However, species distribution modeling is an innovative tool that can use historical presence data and spatial data to refine biodiversity monitoring. Here, we created four species distribution models using landscape-scale variables and species occurrence records to predict suitable and unsuitable habitats for extant, native Illinois lampreys. We developed three single-species models and one combined species model that utilized occurrence records from all five extant lamprey species in Illinois. Patterns of suitable and unsuitable habitats for native lampreys indicated similar preferences in habitat. Specifically, maximum temperature values were less than 25 °C and mean soil erodibility was between 0 and 0.5. Urban land cover was in all four models, but the patterns in habitat suitability were not the same across the lamprey species. These models can help natural resource managers prioritize survey sites and determine the contemporary distribution of this imperiled group of fishes.
Journal Article
Emigration of Juvenile Tarpon Megalops atlanticus from Ephemerally Connected Coastal Ponds
Worldwide, coastal wetlands are threatened by disrupted hydrology, urbanization, and sea-level rise. In southwest Florida, coastal wetlands include tidal creeks and coastal ponds, which are the primary habitats used by juvenile Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, an important sport fish. Coastal ponds can occur near uplands and are ephemerally connected to the open estuary, creating conditions of variable dissolved oxygen and salinity. Juveniles can tolerate wide-ranging abiotic conditions, but little is known about how they egress from their remote nursery habitats, which often requires them to cross > 1 km of mangrove forest to reach the open estuary. The objective of this study was to (1) compare Tarpon body condition among ponds close to the open estuary versus those ponds farther away on the Cape Haze peninsula of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, and (2) using acoustic telemetry determine what factors contribute to Tarpon emigration from the ponds to open estuarine waters. We tested the hypothesis that distinct groups of Tarpon occur in isolated ponds, leading to variation in fish length and body condition, and that opportunities for emigration from these ponds hinge on high water events. No pond stood out as having Tarpon of low body condition. Factors contributing to increased probabilities of Tarpon emigration were low barometric pressure, high-water level, and Tarpon body length. Tarpon emigrated from ponds near tidal creeks during summer king tides, while tropical cyclone conditions were needed to allow for movement from ponds farther in the landscape. The juvenile Tarpon were later detected at the mouths of large rivers 30 km up-estuary. The characterizations of water levels and event criteria needed for successful Tarpon nurseries should aid in habitat conservation and the creation of Tarpon nursery habitat in restoration designs.
Journal Article
Bacterial communities on the gills of bonefish (Albula vulpes) in the Florida Keys and The Bahamas show spatial structure and differential abundance of disease-associated bacteria
The Caribbean bonefish species Albula vulpes is an economically important nearshore marine sport fish that has notably declined in the Florida Keys over the past 20–30 years. The reasons for this decline are unclear, although habitat loss, water quality reductions, climate change, and other environmental drivers likely play a role. Infectious disease can also cause precipitous species-specific declines in wildlife populations, but virtually nothing is known about infection in bonefish. We analyzed communities of bacteria on the gills of bonefish from the Florida Keys, where declines are pronounced, and the islands of Eleuthera and Inagua in The Bahamas, where no such declines have been recorded. Bacterial community composition varied significantly among island location (Keys, Eleuthera, Inagua) and among sites within island locations (e.g., tidal creeks, coves, inlets). Seventeen times more bacterial taxa were over-represented in the Florida Keys than in The Bahamas, and several bacterial genera over-represented in the Florida Keys have been linked to environmental contamination and disease (e.g., Corynebacterium; Acholeplasma; Staphylococcus; and Streptococcus). These results show that gill bacterial community signatures may prove useful for investigating bonefish spatial ecology and that communities of microbes on bonefish gills contain differentially abundant and potentially pathogenic bacteria that covary with the overall “health” of the population.
Journal Article