Fish populations and communities are monitored using a variety of sampling gears, each with their own inherent biases. Gear biases can arise from a number of factors, such as fish species characteristics (e.g., body shape/size, physiology, and behaviour), species habitat requirements, as well as the abiotic characteristics of sites sampled. Such factors and their effects on gear selectivity are also heavily influenced by seasonality. Consequently, understanding the effects of seasonal changes on gear selectivity is of vital importance, especially during the winter—a season seldom studied in freshwater systems. Here, we compared the selectivity, efficiency, and degree of biodiversity in fish communities sampled using three gear types: minnow traps, Windermere traps, and electrofishing during summer and winter in Hamilton Harbour, ON, Canada. Catch per unit effort was similar among gear types in the summer, whereas in the winter, minnow traps captured the most fish. Electrofishing samples were the most species rich and species diverse, but only during the summer. Additionally, sampling efficiency and the number of different species encountered was highest when all gear types were used in combination, followed by electrofishing alone, Windermere traps alone, and minnow traps alone in both seasons. Each gear type differed in its selectivity for certain species, which was further influenced by seasonality. This resulted in the fish communities caught within each gear type being dissimilar from one another. Our study highlights the importance of understanding gear type selectivity, particularly under different climatic conditions, and outlines the importance of incorporating multiple gear types in ecological assessments of fish populations and communities.

鱼的种群和群落通过各种抽样手段进行监测，每种手段都有其自身的固有偏差。渔具偏差可能由许多因素引起，例如鱼类的种类特征（例如，体形/大小，生理和行为），物种的栖息地要求以及所采样地点的非生物特征。这些因素及其对齿轮选择性的影响也受季节性因素的严重影响。因此，了解季节性变化对渔具选择性的影响至关重要，尤其是在冬季（在淡水系统中很少研究该季节）。在这里，我们比较了加拿大安大略省汉密尔顿港使用三种渔具对鱼类群落的选择性，效率和生物多样性程度进行了抽样，其中三种渔具包括min鱼陷阱，温德米尔陷阱和夏季和冬季的电捕鱼。夏季，渔具的单位捕获量相似，而冬季，min鱼陷阱捕获的鱼最多。电钓样品是物种最多，种类最多的物种，但仅限于夏季。此外，组合使用所有渔具类型时，采样效率和遇到的不同物种数量最高，随后两个季节中仅电钓鱼，仅温德米尔捕捞器和now鱼捕捞器都使用。每种齿轮类型对某些物种的选择性都不同，这进一步受到季节的影响。这导致在每种渔具中捕获的鱼类群落互不相同。我们的研究强调了了解齿轮类型选择性的重要性，尤其是在不同气候条件下，