TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE Nevada Department of Wildlife ANGLER EDUCATION.
Angler-based monitoring of gill lice in Brook Trout...
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Angler-based monitoring of gill lice in Brook Trout populations Matthew Mitro Wisconsin DNR Fisheries Research Summary Anecdotal observations of gill lice on trout by anglers and WDNR fisheries biologists suggest gill lice may be infecting more Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and spreading to more streams in some parts of Wisconsin. However, little data exist on current and past distributions of gill lice in Wisconsin. We developed an angler-based monitoring program to document gill lice in Brook Trout populations in Wisconsin. We set up and publicized a web-based reporting system for anglers to use to document their observations of gill lice presence or absence on Brook Trout they catch while fishing in Wisconsin. What are gill lice? Gill lice are a parasitic copepod that attach to the gills or other exterior areas of a fish. The gill lice species infecting Wisconsin Brook Trout is Salmincola edwardsii, which likely coevolved with Brook Trout given its host specificity. Salmincola edwardsii do not infect Brown Trout Salmo trutta, which are a non-native trout found in many Wisconsin streams. Gill lice can cause significant physical trauma to the gill filaments, affecting respiration and efficient uptake of oxygen. Matt Krueger and Laura MacFarland River Alliance of Wisconsin Sue Marcquenski Wisconsin DNR Fish Health Kim McCarthy Wisconsin Trout Unlimited Salmincola edwardsii We are also used the website to educate anglers on how to prevent the spread of harmful or invasive aquatic species. Methods We developed an online reporting form hosted by Trout Unlimited at www.wisconsintu.org/gilllice along with information about gill lice and how to look for them. The reporting form required only 5 pieces of information including the name of the stream fished, the county where the stream was located, and answers to 3 questions: 1. Did you catch any Brook Trout? 2. Did you catch any Brown Trout? 3. Did you observe gill lice on any Brook Trout you caught? Anglers also had the option to report numbers of Brook Trout caught/inspected and number infected with gill lice. Results and conclusions During the 2013 trout angling season we received 62 reports from anglers fishing in 18 counties in Wisconsin. Gill lice were observed in 25 streams in 18 counties and were not observed in 6 streams in 4 counties. In 52 reports of gill lice presence, both Brook Trout and Brown Trout were caught in 19 reports and only Brook Trout were caught in 33 reports. Anglers inspected 540 Brook Trout of which 256 were infected. Gill lice appear to be widely distributed across Wisconsin. = Brook Trout observed infected with gill lice = Brook Trout observed not infected
Transcript of Angler-based monitoring of gill lice in Brook Trout...
Angler-based monitoring of gill lice in Brook Trout populations
Matthew Mitro
Wisconsin DNR
Fisheries Research
Summary Anecdotal observations of gill lice on trout by anglers and WDNR fisheries biologists suggest gill lice may be infecting more Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and spreading to more streams in some parts of Wisconsin. However, little data exist on current and past distributions of gill lice in Wisconsin. We developed an angler-based monitoring program to document gill lice in Brook Trout populations in Wisconsin. We set up and publicized a web-based reporting system for anglers to use to document their observations of gill lice presence or absence on Brook Trout they catch while fishing in Wisconsin.
What are gill lice? Gill lice are a parasitic copepod that attach to the gills or other exterior areas of a fish. The gill lice species infecting Wisconsin Brook Trout is Salmincola edwardsii, which likely coevolved with Brook Trout given its host specificity. Salmincola edwardsii do not infect Brown Trout Salmo trutta, which are a non-native trout found in many Wisconsin streams. Gill lice can cause significant physical trauma to the gill filaments, affecting respiration and efficient uptake of oxygen.
Matt Krueger and Laura MacFarland
River Alliance of Wisconsin
Sue Marcquenski
Wisconsin DNR
Fish Health
Kim McCarthy
Wisconsin Trout Unlimited
Salmincola edwardsii
We are also used the website to educate anglers on how to prevent the spread of harmful or invasive aquatic species.
Methods We developed an online reporting form hosted by Trout Unlimited at www.wisconsintu.org/gilllice along with information about gill lice and how to look for them. The reporting form required only 5 pieces of information including the name of the stream fished, the county where the stream was located, and answers to 3 questions: 1. Did you catch any Brook Trout? 2. Did you catch any Brown Trout? 3. Did you observe gill lice on any Brook Trout you caught? Anglers also had the option to report numbers of Brook Trout caught/inspected and number infected with gill lice.
Results and conclusions During the 2013 trout angling season we received 62 reports from anglers fishing in 18 counties in Wisconsin. Gill lice were observed in 25 streams in 18 counties and were not observed in 6 streams in 4 counties. In 52 reports of gill lice presence, both Brook Trout and Brown Trout were caught in 19 reports and only Brook Trout were caught in 33 reports. Anglers inspected 540 Brook Trout of which 256 were infected. Gill lice appear to be widely distributed across Wisconsin. = Brook Trout observed infected with gill lice = Brook Trout observed not infected
