Seasonal Movement Patterns and Summertime Use of Thermal Refuge Areas by Muskellunge in the Nontidal Potomac River, Maryland

Henesy, Josh; Goetz, Daniel B.; Mullican, John E.

doi:10.1002/nafm.10808

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…This study focused on a single life stage of a single species; however, it is possible that these results apply across juvenile salmonids that exhibit territorial behaviour and reside within thermally taxing environments (see: Latta, 1968; Dill et al, 1981; Glova & Field‐Dodgson, 1995). Salmonids are not the only taxa to exploit thermoheterogeneity during periods of temperature stress, thus, is possible the results may be applicable to other species that reside within thermally fluctuant rivers (see: Henesy et al, 2022; Leuven et al, 2011; Moss, 1985). Similarly, managers establishing population estimates of riverine fishes in habitats susceptible to the effects of warming may want to consider the potential influence of thermal refuges on study sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High temperature events shape the broadscale distribution of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

2023

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Summer water temperatures within many temperate rivers regularly surpass the incipient lethal temperature for juvenile Atlantic salmon (c. 27°C), causing widescale abandonment of territory in favour of areas of cooler water (thermal refuges). This study aims to highlight the influence of thermal refuges on river‐scale abundance patterns. That is, do salmon parr adjust their distribution over time according to proximity to thermal refuges? Twelve reaches (seven reference: five refuge) were chosen along a 17‐km section of the Little Southwest Miramichi River in Canada. Reaches were sampled throughout the 2011 and 2012 summer periods; high temperature events were recorded during summer 2012 but not summer 2011. Multivariate principal component analyses indicated no discernible difference in habitat characteristics between the reach‐types under normal thermal conditions. However, reaches containing a thermal refuge had a significant increase in relative abundance of parr immediately after a series of high temperature events (water temperature >26°C) in 2012 (p = 0.034). This increase in relative abundance in refuge reaches was not present during the summer of 2011 when no temperature events occurred (p = 0.088), prior to the event of 2012 (p = 0.999), or at the late autumn survey following the 2012 event (p = 0.999). Difference in temperature between refuge and mainstem reaches significantly influenced the suitability of a tributary as a thermal refuge habitat (R2 = 0.84), with preference shown for cooler refuges. River‐wide thermal heterogeneity therefore plays a critical role in survival of juvenile salmon throughout summer months and is likely to become necessary under future climate change scenarios.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High temperature events shape the broadscale distribution of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

2023

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“…To define the temperature usage of the muskellunge from April 2021 to April 2022, the fish outfitted with temperature‐sensing telemetry tags ( n = 17) were analysed with generalized linear mixed effects models with a normally distributed error term (with individual fish set as a random factor), and top models were selected via AIC as described above. For this, a fish's internal temperature (°C) was first averaged over 1 day (Brownscombe et al., 2023; Henesy et al., 2022) and set as the response variable. Independent variables in the model included length, sex, month and two‐way interactions between length and sex and sex and month to test for sex‐specific differences.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This mortality is thought to be associated with greater physiological stress, which leads to reduced ability to recover and survive an angling experience (Booth et al, 2023). Muskellunge in Shabbona Lake appear to be seeking 'thermal refuges' in the summer, defined as temperatures >2 • C below surface temperature (Henesy et al, 2022;Torgersen et al, 2012), but, despite this use of thermal refuges, the temperature inhabited by fish exceeds 26 • C in the summer. The elevated temperatures may be due to the shallow depths, extensive littoral areas and lack of hypolimnetic refuges of Shabbona Lake that reduce available cooler water in summer.…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial ecology and thermal preferences of muskellunge within a Midwest impoundment

Bieber,

Suski

2024

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

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Muskellunge are a valuable sportfish species which has been stocked throughout North America. Stocking is a strategy to generate angling opportunities by introducing species to waterbodies that otherwise would not have contained the fish, such as impoundments and reservoirs. Therefore, understanding the ways fish interact with different waterbodies is critical for managers to understand. To that end, we utilized a year‐long passive telemetry study with muskellunge in a reservoir known for its muskellunge angling. Additionally, we employed temperature loggers to track lake temperatures. We found that smaller female muskellunge were more resident at sites compared to similar‐sized males, although fish did not exhibit site‐specific preferences. We also found that fish moved high distances over the course of the year without time‐specific differences. Furthermore, we found evidence that muskellunge was selected for thermal refuges in the reservoir; however, in summer, when water temperatures were elevated, fish inhabited water, which has been shown to increase incidental mortality. The results of this study indicate a need for muskellunge managers, especially in reservoirs, to consider water temperature in angling regulations. Additionally, our results highlight a need for adding habitat structure in reservoirs and altering stocking densities of fish. Collectively, these results will help inform managers on muskellunge spatial interactions within a reservoir and achieve management goals.

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“…The southern extent of the Muskellunge's distribution includes North Carolina and Tennessee, where water temperatures routinely exceed 25°C in the summer months (Crossman 1978; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2021; U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] 2021). Henesy et al (2022) found that when daily average temperatures reached 24°C, over 50% of radio‐tagged Muskellunge occupied thermal refugia, and occupation of refugia increased to 90% when temperatures reached 26°C. The occupation of thermal refugia at 24°C and 26°C further compounds the need to explore the effects of C&R mortality at elevated temperatures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

et al. 2023

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Angling for Muskellunge Esox masquinongy has become widespread and increasingly popular. Management strategies for Muskellunge include high minimum harvest lengths (>1016mm), closed seasons, and catch‐and‐release regulations. Due to these strategies and angler behaviors, up to 97% of Muskellunge caught are released, and anglers assume these fish survive to be caught again in the future. Previous research on catch‐and‐release mortality for Muskellunge has suggested relatively low mortality rates (0%‐5%). However, these studies were all conducted within the range of water temperatures that are thermally optimal for Muskellunge and generally at water temperatures <25°C. Muskellunge populations in some latitudes routinely experience temperatures >25°C during the summer months. Fisheries managers and anglers have expressed concerns regarding warm water angling mortality, representing a need to evaluate mortality rates at various water temperatures and multiple latitudes. Our objective was to quantify warm‐water (>25°C) catch‐and‐release mortality rates in Muskellunge (>760mm) and identify factors influencing mortality using experimental ponds. Adult Muskellunge (n=102) were stocked into eight earthen or plastic lined flow‐through ponds (0.06‐0.71 ha) at densities of <16 fish/ha. Muskellunge (n=50) were angled utilizing specialized Muskellunge fishing gear at water temperatures of 19.6–32.6°C, with 32 fish being caught at temperatures >25°C. Fish were closely monitored for 2 weeks after being angled to assess mortality, and fish that remained uncaught during the experiment were used as controls (n=53). Mortality was greater for angled (30.0%) compared to control fish (11.3%). Differences in catch‐and‐release mortality were compared across a range of temperature regimes using firth's logistic regression. Five‐day cumulative temperature and net time were positively related to the probability of mortality, but size and sex were unrelated to mortality. Elevated catch‐and‐release mortality rates at warm water temperatures warrant investigations into the population level effects at varying levels of exploitation.

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Seasonal Movement Patterns and Summertime Use of Thermal Refuge Areas by Muskellunge in the Nontidal Potomac River, Maryland

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

High temperature events shape the broadscale distribution of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

High temperature events shape the broadscale distribution of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Spatial ecology and thermal preferences of muskellunge within a Midwest impoundment

Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

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