Striped bass Morone saxatilis from the Upper Chesapeake Bay were studied to determine if discrete populations exist. Spawning fish and juveniles in five rivers, the Patuxent, Potomac, Choptank, Elk, and Nanticoke were sampled. Discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated the serum proteins for population analysis. Five proteins, which were not related to the age, sex, or time of collection of striped bass, were used to discern populations. The Elk River striped bass are very distinct. Both the Choptank and Nanticoke are also distinct but show some connection with the Patuxent and Potomac striped bass. The Patuxent and the Potomac striped bass could not be distinguished from each other on the basis of the five proteins studied. The geologic evidence supports the theory of population formation for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. Management implications of the striped bass populations are also discussed.
INTRODUCTIONPopulations of the striped bass Morone saxatilis along the Atlantic Coast have been defined by many investigators by a variety of methods. To date, all studies of striped bass populations have been based on meristic characters, morphology, or tagging (Vladykov and Wallace
To observe striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum), migration through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, we placed ultrasonic transmitters in the stomachs of five adult bass and traced their movements for as long as 4 days and nights in the spring of 1971. Three bass were prespawning and 2 postspawning. The tags were Smith-Root SR-69B; the receiving equipment consisted of an SR-70H hydrophone and a TA-60 sonic receiver. Tagged bass ranged from 470 to 908 mm in fork length. We experienced no shedding of tags, nor difficulty with sound transmission and reception. No bass tracked was travelling at all times; on the contrary, there were long rest periods between moves during both day and night. Fish were more active during the night than during the day. Prespawning adults tended to be moving more constantly than postspawning fish which tended to linger more within the canal. Lost signal could be picked up again fairly easily. One tagged fish was refonnd after a 24-hour interval.
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