Seasonal daily depth use patterns of acoustically tagged freshwater fishes informs nearshore fish community sampling protocols / Sarah M. Larocque, Christine M. Boston, and Jonathan D. Midwood. : Fs97-6/3409E-PDF

"Standardized fish sampling and monitoring programs provide valuable information pertaining to changes in fish habitat, community composition and structure, and population abundance. However, fish may utilize different depth distributions based on the season or time of day, and sampling may not occur when fish are at catchable depths, particularly if sampling occurs infrequently or, for example, only once per year. With acoustic telemetry, we can compare the depth use of multiple acoustically tagged fish species (Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens), Goldfish (Carassius auratus), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), and Walleye (Sander vitreus)) with the depths surveyed by nearshore fish sampling methodologies. In Hamilton and Toronto harbours, we determined seasonal, daily detection probabilities of multiple fish species by examining occurrence at depths over a 24-hour period. Similar diel and seasonal patterns were seen in both harbours, however, fish from Toronto Harbour showed greater variability in depth use than fish from Hamilton Harbour. Results showed that active fish sampling surveys such as electrofishing would capture more species at night due to the diel depth distribution patterns of some species. Nearshore (< 2 m) fish community surveys will effectively target more species if done in the spring or summer compared to the fall and winter. Depth use trends determined from acoustic telemetry revealed patterns that can be used to maximize catches with nearshore community sampling protocols"--Abstract, page vii.

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