Spatial and temporal distributions of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) nests in Lake Opeongo, Ontario

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) nests were patchily distributed within the littoral zone of Lake Opeongo at two spatial scales (1 km and 100 m shoreline segments). Nest locations were recorded by snorkelling along 155 and 6.3 km of littoral zone over 4 and 11 years, respectively. The degree of patchiness was greater and occurred more consistently at the 1-km than at the 100-m spatial scale. However, the degree of patchiness was not significantly affected by 200% differences in spawning population size, implying that competitive interactions did not strongly influence nest locations over the study period. High-density nesting areas remained stationary between years at the 1-km and 100-m scales. This suggests that habitat variables having stationary spatial characteristics, influence nest site choice. Since the locations of nest patches are less stationary and less consistent among 100-m than among 1-km scale sites, influential habitat variables at the 100-m scale are either less important to the locations of nests or less stationary from year-to-year in their effects on nest distributions. If stationary nest patches are typical of spawning smallmouth bass in lakes, permanent protection of known patch locations could enhance their reproductive success.