North American fisheries management agencies commit considerable resources to managing reservoir fisheries for Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, which often includes stocking. However, Channel Catfish population characteristics often vary greatly among reservoirs, resulting in variable and unpredictable fishery quality. We sampled Channel Catfish populations in 44 Ohio reservoirs with tandem, baited hoop nets to understand relationships among population characteristics (density, as CPUE from hoop nets; growth, as mean length at age 7; mortality, as total annual mortality from catch‐curve analysis; and size structure, as proportional size distribution), stocking, and the relationships between these characteristics and reservoir size (as surface area), predator density (as Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides electrofishing CPUE), and productivity (as chlorophyll‐a concentration). We used multiple linear regression and an information theoretic approach to select the most parsimonious models for explaining observed variation in Channel Catfish density, growth, mortality, and size structure. We found that population density varied greatly among our study reservoirs, and none of our models sufficiently explained variation in density. Reservoir size and the interaction between reservoir size and population density explained the most variation in Channel Catfish growth, but productivity was also important. Small reservoirs (≤101 ha) had low to moderate densities and growth was uniformly slow; however, in larger reservoirs, lower densities resulted in faster growth. Growth increased as productivity increased. Total annual mortality was uniformly low (<0.26) but increased with density. Faster growth led to populations with larger size structures. These outcomes show that the largest Ohio reservoirs (≥406 ha) are the most suitable for supporting populations with fast growth and large size structures. Dense populations (CPUE > 50 Channel Catfish/net set) resulted in slower growth, greater mortality, and poor size structure. Future research to understand natural recruitment in reservoir Channel Catfish populations could be important for explaining variation in density.

中文翻译：

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解释俄亥俄州水库的Channel鱼种群特征

北美渔业管理机构投入大量资源来管理Channel鱼（Ictalurus punctatus）的水库渔业，通常包括放养。然而，Channel鱼的种群特征通常在水库之间差异很大，导致渔业质量变化多端且难以预测。我们对美国俄亥俄州44个水库的Channel鱼种群进行了抽样研究，了解它们之间的联系，以了解种群特征之间的关系（密度，以箍网中的CPUE表示；密度，以7岁时的平均长度；死亡率，以捕获曲线分析得出的年总死亡率） ；以及大小结构（按比例大小分布），放养，以及这些特征与储层大小（以表面积为单位），捕食者密度（以大嘴鲈鱼为单位）之间的关系沙门氏菌电捕CPUE）和生产力（以叶绿素a计）专注）。我们使用多元线性回归和信息理论方法来选择最简约的模型，以解释观察到的Channel鱼密度，生长，死亡率和大小结构的变化。我们发现人口密度在我们的研究储层之间变化很大，而且我们的模型都不能充分解释密度的变化。水库大小以及水库大小与种群密度之间的相互作用解释了Channel鱼生长的最大变化，但生产力也很重要。小型水库（≤101公顷）的密度低至中度，生长均匀缓慢。但是，在较大的油藏中，较低的密度导致较快的增长。随着生产力的提高，增长也有所提高。年总死亡率始终较低（<0.26），但随着密度的增加而增加。更快的增长导致人口具有更大的结构。这些结果表明，最大的俄亥俄水库（≥406公顷）最适合用于支持具有快速增长和大型结构的种群。密集的种群（CPUE> 50头Cat鱼/网箱）导致生长速度减慢，死亡率更高和大小结构不良。未来研究以了解水库Channel鱼种群的自然募集对于解释密度变化可能是重要的。