Bigheaded Carp Spatial Reproductive Dynamics in Illinois and Wabash River Tributaries

Abstract.—The Patoka River drainage is a lowland-gradient watershed of the Wabash River lowlands in southwestern Indiana. During the late 18th century, the river was part of an extensive riparian floodplain wetland that connected the White River with the lower Wabash River. Through anthropogenic changes as a result of ditching, channelization, levee creation, coal extraction, and oil and gas exploration, the Patoka River drainage has been highly altered. These changes have resulted in a loss of sitespecific biological diversity and integrity, causing drainage-wide biological diversity decline. Extirpations in the watershed have resulted in the local loss of 12.7% of the fish fauna during the last century. The local extirpations of six species included central mudminnow Umbra limi, black redhorse Moxostoma duquesnei, brindled madtom Noturus miurus, bluebreast darter Etheostoma camurum, slenderhead darter Percina phoxocephala, and saddleback darter P. vigil. Black redhorse, bluebreast darter, slenderhead darter, and saddleback darter were only known from pre-1900, while brindled madtom and central mudminnow were known until the early 1940s. These species may have been rare to begin with in the Patoka River drainage, but since they are widespread elsewhere, it seems more probable that they disappeared as a result of the land-use changes. Sensitive species of darters and minnows have declined in abundance, but recent sampling has shown that they remain in the watershed at low abundance. Based on a probability sample, less than 12% of the channels represented reference least-disturbed conditions, while 61% exhibited degraded conditions.

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Wabash River Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens Diet: Effects of Body Size, Sex, and River Gradient

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management ◽

10.3996/032013-jfwm-027r ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 133-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Stephen J. Jacquemin ◽

Mark Pyron ◽

Michael Allen ◽

Lucas Etchison

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Generalized Linear Model ◽

Longitudinal Gradient ◽

Diet Diversity ◽

Diet Specialization ◽

Wabash River ◽

Aplodinotus Grunniens ◽

Caddisfly Larvae ◽

Freshwater Drum ◽

Prey Items

Abstract The objectives of this study were to describe the diets of freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens in the Wabash River in the Midwestern United States. We used a multivariate ordination approach (nonmetric multidimensional scaling) to describe drum diets combined with a generalized linear model to test for covariation of diet with body size, sex, and longitudinal river gradient. Hydropsychidae (trichoptera, caddisfly larvae), pleuroceridae (gastropoda), and heptageniidae (ephemeroptera, mayfly larvae) were the most consumed prey items (∼75% of overall diets). Among all freshwater drum, hydropsychidae, pleuroceridae, and heptageniidae were present in 69%, 23%, and 38% of stomachs, respectively. Freshwater drum diets were similar along an upstream–downstream river gradient spanning 350 river km, but varied with body size and sex. Small- and medium-sized fish tended to consume more diptera and annelids compared with the largest individuals, which fed on mollusks and crayfish. With control for body size, the diets of male individuals were composed of more diptera (chironomidae) and annelid prey items compared with female individuals, whose diets included more molluscs and crayfish. Overall, we interpret the lack of diet diversity in freshwater drum with Wabash River longitudinal gradient as evidence of diet specialization. Alternatively, we propose that a potential dietary–river-gradient signal may be diluted as a function of increased freshwater drum longitudinal movements.

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