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Submerged aquatic vegetation habitat use of age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus

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Abstract

Hatchery-raised, age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus are commonly used for fish enhancement efforts to support popular recreational fisheries and are ecologically important as both a food source and consumer. Despite their importance and frequent use of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, critical information is lacking on the specific characteristics of SAV that influence habitat occupancy. Using the SAV species Vallisneria americana and Potamogeton illinoensis, which are native to the southeast USA, and the invasive SAV Hydrilla verticillata, we conducted seven different habitat choice experiments to examine hatchery-raised, age-0 M. floridanus habitat use of different SAV populations (i.e., hydrologically isolated collection sources of varied physical characteristics), population diversity (i.e., increased richness of genotypically and phenotypically variable SAV), species, and species diversity (i.e., increased species richness). Fish spent more time in taller, larger V. americana but did not seem to favor any particular P. illinoensis population, SAV species, or species diversity tested. Additionally, fish spent more time in increased V. americana population diversity when the populations used were randomized, but fish spent more time in decreased population diversity when their favored V. americana population was used in all choices. This research adds additional nuance to our understanding of optimal vegetation for fish habitat use and is informative for future SAV plantings and invasive SAV management aimed at maximizing fish habitat and restoring recreational fisheries.

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All data are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The US Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center provided use of its facilities. We thank Shongaloo Fisheries, Inc. for providing fish and Duke Energy Crystal River Mariculture Center for providing some of the SAV. We are indebted to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Statistics Consulting, particularly James Colee, for assistance in determining appropriate statistical analyses. We thank Micheal Allen and Jodi Slater for their inputs to planning and writing this research, Natalia Medina and Christine Rohal for assistance in SAV collection, and Mary E. Brown and reviewers for their constructive feedback on the manuscript.

Funding

Funding was awarded by the St. Johns River Water Management District under Contract 31945.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Audrey Looby

  2. UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station, University of Florida, Cedar Key, FL, USA

    Audrey Looby & Charles W. Martin

  3. Soil and Water Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Laura K. Reynolds

  4. Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Carrie Reinhardt Adams

  5. US Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Stephen J. Walsh

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  1. Audrey Looby
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  2. Laura K. Reynolds
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  4. Stephen J. Walsh
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  5. Charles W. Martin
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Correspondence to Audrey Looby.

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All procedures performed in the study involving animals were conducted under animal use and care procedure number USGS/WARC/GNV 2019–08 and were in accordance with the ethical standards of the US Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

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Looby, A., Reynolds, L.K., Adams, C.R. et al. Submerged aquatic vegetation habitat use of age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus. Environ Biol Fish 104, 947–958 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01126-3

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