Influence of Hydrology on Life-History Parameters of Common Freshwater Fishes from Southern Florida

Project Investigators: William Loftus, Leo Nico, Joel Trexler Project Personnel: Timothy Konnert, Shawna Baker, Stephen Estes Project Start Date: 1999 End Date: 2003 Proposals Work Plans Project Summaries Metadata Publications

Summary

The objectives of this project are to establish age-size relationships for 11 species of fishes, construct life-tables, study reproductive phenology and fecundity, and apply the data to simulation models and to field data time-series.

For more information, please see the Quantitative Sampling of Freshwater Fish Species within the Big Cypress National Preserve: A Long-Term Research Program to Evaluate the Ecological Effects of CERP Project Webpage.

The objectives of this project are to establish age-size relationships for 11 species of fishes, construct life-tables, study reproductive phenology and fecundity, and apply the data to simulation models and to field data time-series. Work on this project began in late 1999 and is divided into large-fish and small-fish segments. We have made three collections of the large-bodied fishes from canal sites, taken otoliths from over 700 specimens, and set up a dozen large tanks in the mesocosm facility in ENP. There we have used pit-tags to individually mark several dozen fishes of five target species that have been injected with oxytetracycline to place a mark on their hard tissues. These fishes will be maintained in the mesocosm for over one year to validate the deposition of annual or semiannual rings. We are determining the best method of classifying the ova of the fishes as to stage of readiness. We have dissected the gonads from more than 800 fishes for this analysis. For the small fish segment, we have sorted collections of fishes from the two hydroperiod sites and are dissecting them to collect the tiny otoliths, and to perform preliminary examinations of the gonads. We are also beginning to raise captive fishes for aging validation. Field collections will continue for two years and lab/statistical analyses for another year.

Proposals

• 1999
• 2001

Work Plans

• 2003

Project Summaries

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003
• 2003 (Trimester Report: June)

Metadata

• Quantitative Sampling of Freshwater Fish Species within the Big Cypress Nartional Preserve (project metadata)

Publications

Abstracts

• Dispersal and successional patterns of the fish community of the Rocky Glades of southern Florida (from the July 2001 Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)
• Influence of Hydrology on Life-History Parameters of Common Freshwater Fishes from Southern Florida (from the GEER Conference, December 2000)
• Life History Parameters and Population Dynamics of Freshwater Fishes of South Florida Canal Systems (from the July 2001 Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)
• Life History, Ecology, and Interactions of Everglades Crayfishes in Response to Hydrological Restoration (from the South Florida Restoration Science Forum, May 1999)
• Life History, Ecology, and Interactions of Everglades Crayfishes in Response to Hydrological Restoration (from the GEER Conference, December 2000)
• Long-Term Fish Monitoring in the Everglades: Looking Beyond the Park Boundary
• The Effects of Hydroperiod on Life-History Parameters of two Species of Livebearing Fish (Poeciliidae) in the Florida Everglades (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)

Bibliographies

• Influence of Hydrology on Life-History Parameters of Common Freshwater Fishes from Southern Florida - Bibliography

Fact Sheets

• Influence of Hydrology on Life-history Parameters of Common Freshwater Fishes from Southern Florida

Posters

• Life History Parameters and Population Dynamics of Freshwater Fishes of South Florida Canal Systems (presented at the July 2001 Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)
• The Effects of Hydroperiod on Life-History Parameters of Two Species of Livebearing Fish (Poeciliidae) in the Florida Everglades (presented at the 2003 Greater Everglades Restoration Conference)
• Trophic Patterns in the Everglades Freshwater Fish Community Across Habitats and Seasons (poster presented at the 2000 Greater Everglades Restoration Conference)

Reports

• Variable Growth and Longevity of Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis) in South Florida