Effect of Transient Acid Spikes on Developmental Stages of <i>Lepomis</i>Fishes

The effects of transient acid spikes on development of Lepomis sunfish were studied by combining field work with laboratory studies. Lepomis sunfish eggs were collected from rocks on nests in two freshwater ponds and tested for their resistance to laboratory induced transient acid spikes. Fertilized eggs on rocks within the same nest were used for each pH transient experiment. Egg masses on one rock from the nest were used as a control while egg masses on another rock were exposed to transient acid spikes. Various stages of development showed different responses to the acidic effects. The major stages studied were fertilized egg, hatched with attached yolk sac, and free swimming with gills. The acid sensitivity followed development stages with the most acid sensitive stage being free swimming with gills. This fieldwork-laboratory data chain supports earlier field studies, providing the final link in an evidentiary chain showing the effects of transient acid spikes on Lepomis hatching profiles in freshwater ponds.

Angling of hybrid sunfish from a hatchery pond with potential implications for community fisheries

Hatcheries are frequently called upon to produce catchable-sized fish for stocking community fishing ponds.Desirable attributes of fish selected for stocking into community ponds are that they are easy to produce in a hatchery system to sizes anglers are interested in catching and they provide anglers with high catch rates once stocked.Hybrid sunfish[male Bluegill(Lepomis macrochirus)×female Green Sunfish(L.cyanellus)]have attributes that potentially make them attractive for use in community fishing ponds.We assessed initial angler catch rates of 100 stocked hybrid sunfish in a 0.12-ha hatchery pond and after being subjected to angling(four,1-hr catch-and-release fishing events with five anglers).We also investigated whether catch rates would change following a supplemental stocking of an additional 100 hybrid sunfish(four,1-hr catch-and-release fishing events with five anglers).The anal fin of each fish in the second stocking was hole punched to differentiate them from those of the first stocking and fish caught by anglers were hole punched in the caudal fin each time they were caught before being released back into the pond.Angler catch rates were highest during initial fishing events that followed stocking(9.2 fish/angler hr and 18.0 fish/angler hr)and substantially declined in subsequent events(≤3.4 fish/angler hr).Catches of the newly stocked fish and previously stocked fish contributed to the high catch following the supplemental stocking.Most(80%)of the fish were caught in the first 30 min of each event and 45%were caught during the first 10 min.Anglers were able to catch 88%of the fish from the first stocking and 67%from the second stocking at least once.No mortality occurred during the study as all fish were recovered when the pond was drained.Our results suggest that hybrid sunfish will potentially provide high initial catch rates following stocking into community ponds,but managers should expect reduced catch rates following initial fishing even without harvest.Additional stocking will be needed to provide periodic increases in angler catch rates even without harvest.