Abstract
The popularity of tournament angling for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides remains high, leading to concerns about the effects on populations. Catch-and-release angling and its effects on nest abandonment have been well documented, but few studies have examined the effects of competitive angling on nest abandonment. Nest-guarding male largemouth bass were subjected to one of three treatments: no angling (controls), catch-and-release angling, and simulated tournament angling. Abandonment rates were assessed at 24 h following angling. Both angling treatments experienced higher abandonment rates than the control group (3%) with tournament-angled males abandoning their nests at a higher rate (90%) than catch-and-release males (33%). Additional research will be required to determine the population-level consequences of these angling practices. Until then, a conservative recommendation would be for organizers to consider alternative tournament formats during the reproductive season for largemouth bass.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 832-837 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | North American Journal of Fisheries Management |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 24 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- INHS
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law