Micropterus cataractae (Shoal Bass), an enigmatic fluvial specialist, has experienced range-wide declines because of habitat fragmentation and other negative effects of impounded rivers. In addition to these concerns, anglers often translocate Shoal Bass from riverine habitats to impoundments following tournament weigh-ins. To investigate the potential effects of this practice, we translocated adult Shoal Bass from riverine habitats to a downstream impoundment and assessed their movements, homing abilities, and eventual fates. All fish rapidly evacuated the impoundment in favor of lotic habitats, and the majority of translocated fish returned upstream within about 3 weeks. Half of our translocated fish also displayed homing to within 1 river km of their original capture site. Our results demonstrate that fluvial-specialist Shoal Bass can survive translocation into impoundments, but the differential effects of translocation associated with fishing tournaments should also be considered in the management of Shoal Bass fisheries.
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1 September 2015
Movement, Homing, and Fates of Fluvial-Specialist Shoal Bass Following Translocation into an Impoundment
Andrew T. Taylor,
Douglas L. Peterson
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Southeastern Naturalist
Vol. 14 • No. 3
September 2015
Vol. 14 • No. 3
September 2015