Zooplankton Community Mr. Don Ingles’ Pond Final Lab Report Fish 415 Limnology Jordan Nielson KC Deife Eric Johnson

Outline Introduction /Objectives Methods Results/Analysis Discussion Recommendations

Introduction Location Age of the Pond Stocking History Problems with the pond – Mr. Ingles Located south of Kendrick off of the Freeman Creek Road Built in 1995 and filled in 1996 Stocking History – Initial 1500 Trout in 3 size classes 50 breeding bluegill 50 Largemouth bass Later 250 catfish 50 smallmouth 250 bullfrog tadpoles 500 trout Problems include poor fishing, stunted growth of bluegills, parasites, and past cattail invasions. The pond has not been examined for water quality/fish food availability/sediment filling.

Objectives Determine the zooplankton types and abundance Littoral and Pelagic Areas

Methods – Schindler trap   Schindler Trap At surface and every meter in three spots on the north side of the pond  

Methods – Kick net Kick net at shoreline from the three sites 3 meters from shoreline 3 – 1 meter sweeps at each site % visual analysis of large macros

Methods – Beach seining Seine at each shore location for presence/absence of species

Methods – Analysis of Pelagic Zooplankton Counts MANOVA Data examined for site, depth, and zooplankton type effects on count Kruskal-Wallis and Jonckheere-Terpstra on depth in deep and mid sites 2-Way ANOVA – Data from entire pond Site and Zooplankton weighted by count Tukey classification on zooplankton

Results – Schindler trap MANOVA No site or depth effect Zooplankton type effect* KW and JT showed difference in depth at mid site* 2-way ANOVA Copepods more abundant than all other types counted* Only Asplanchna were counted in the rotifer category Too many small rotifers to count – the most abundant zooplankton *All significant differences have P<0.05

Average Zooplankton by Depth and Type at Mid-Site 100 90 80 Surface 70 60 1-Meter # per liter 50 40 30 20 10 Cladocera Copepoda Chaoborus Rotifera

Results – Schindler trap MANOVA No site or depth effect Zooplankton type effect* KW and JT showed difference in depth at mid site* 2-way ANOVA Copepods more abundant than all other types counted* Only Asplanchna were counted in the rotifer category Too many small rotifers to count – the most abundant zooplankton *All significant differences have P<0.05

Average Zooplankton per Liter for Pelagic Area 90 80 70 B Different letters indicate levels of significance P<0.05 60 50 # per liter 40 A 30 A 20 A 10 Cladocera Copepoda Chaoborus Rotifera

Results – Kick Net Several large macroinvertebrates found at each site Odonata/Hemiptera Diptera Mollusca Deep Mid Shallow 10% 10% 15% 40% 60% 75% 90%

Results – Beach Seining Approximately 15 larval bluegill were caught at each site

Discussion Lack of habitat/cover – only a few rocks Fish structure – only small bluegill found No lack of food for larval fish High number of rotifers – Non – Asplanchna Too many to count in all of the samples There was only a few rocks stacked together around the shoreline in a few places and they are now dried up and above the waterline. Only found ~15 crappie in each beach seine sample, probably should have found hundreds.

Discussion Possible large fish eating all of the smaller fish – stocking frequency of fish IDFG Spring Valley Stocking Records Trout fishing might be bad because there is no cover and they are getting eaten by large fish Heating/ O2 in the pond – Summer months Spring valley stocking 2006 – trout 6+ inches = 32,303 trout fingerlings = 33,060 trout fry 0-3 inches = 29,988. Each of the different sizes of trout were from different stocks of fish. All trout are stocked at different times through out the year. 1989 240 3-6 inch bluegill stocked No bushes or trees to provide shade during summer months. Very shallow so water will heat up to upper limits of salmonid tolerance range.

Recommendations Add vegetation on a large portion of banks and in littoral area to provide cover for smaller fish that are stocked. Just talk about how vegetation provides shade and cover near the shoreline for spawning and fish

Recommendations Man made structure throughout pond Horizontal at shore, Vertical in pond Add horizontal structure at shore around the pond for spawning habitat. Place vertical habitat out from shore habitat for juvenile fish to hide from predators and to forage in and around.

Recommendations Don’t overstock fish Trophic Cascading Cause disease/parasitism die offs Plot stock recruitment curves Trophic Cascading I am not really sure what you had in mind for this one. He did say there was an over abundance of stunted bluegill so maybe he would want to do all of the above recommendations and then add largemouth bass again to control the bluegill population.

Recommendations Ray Scott’s video "Complete Guide to Creating GREAT SMALL WATERS" (1) "Build World Class Fishing Ponds & Lakes," (2) "How-To Stock & Manage Small Waters for Trophy Bass," and (3) "Rehabilitate Old or Unproductive Waters." The video explains step by step how to accomplish each goal. Cost of video is $90 + $7 shipping

Questions?