Carl R. Ruetz | Search USGS

USGS2006

Efficacy of a vacuum benthos sampler for collecting demersal fish eggs from gravel substratum

We used two densities of eggs (low=900 eggs/m 2 ; high=5100 eggs/m 2 ) in laboratory experiments to estimate the recovery efficiency of the Brown benthos sampler for collecting fish eggs from gravel substrate and to determine if differences (e. g., 5-fold) in egg density in the substratum could be detected with the sampler. The mean egg recovery efficiency of the sampler in the low and high density treatments was 30% (SE=8.7) and 35% (SE=3.8), respectively. The difference between the treatment means was not significant. Therefore, data from the two treatments were pooled and used to estimate the recovery efficiency of the sampler (32.7%, SE=4.4). However, we were able to detect a 5× difference in the number of eggs collected with the sampler between the two treatments. Our estimate of the recovery efficiency of the sampler for collecting fish eggs was less than those reported for the sampler's efficiency for collecting benthic macroinvertebrates. The low recovery efficiency of the sampler for collecting fish eggs does not lessen the utility of the device. Rather, ecologists planning to use the sampler must estimate the recovery efficiency of target fauna, especially if density estimates are to be calculated, because recovery efficiency probably is less than 100%.

Ecology of Freshwater Fish↗

USGS2003

Interspecific interactions between brown trout and slimy sculpin in stream enclosures

We conducted a 30-d manipulative experiment in Valley Creek, Minnesota, to examine interspecific interactions between juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta and adult slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus. We measured the instantaneous growth of each species in the presence and absence of the other in 1-m2 enclosures. We tested single-species (three slimy sculpins/m2 or three brown trout/m2) and combined-species (three sculpins/m2 and three trout/m2) combinations in each of six riffles. We placed a clay tile in each enclosure to evaluate the effects of fish combinations on benthic macroinvertebrates. Growth of brown trout was unaffected by the presence of slimy sculpins (P = 0.647, power [to detect 50% increase in growth] = 0.92), whereas slimy sculpin growth was less in the presence of brown trout (P = 0.038). Densities of total benthic macroinvertebrates, Chironomidae, Trichoptera, and Physa did not differ among fish combinations (P > 0.3). However, densities of Gammarus pseudolimnaeus were significantly less in the presence of brown trout irrespective of the presence of slimy sculpins (P = 0.024), which could be a causal factor underlying the interaction between brown trout and slimy sculpins. We found asymmetrical competition between brown trout and slimy sculpins in stream enclosures, with brown trout being the superior competitor. Nevertheless, the size of enclosures may have biased our results, making it more likely to detect an effect of brown trout on slimy sculpins than vice versa.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗