The following schedule is from the 72nd Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies which was held October 21-24, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama.
AUTHORS: John S. Hargrove, Tennessee Technological University; Mark W Rogers*, U.S. Geological Survey
ABSTRACT: For over 50 years state management agencies throughout the United States have introduced Florida Bass (Micropterus floridanus) into populations of Largemouth Bass (M. salmoides) for the explicit purpose of altering population characteristics such as growth rates and maximum size. Associated with these efforts, significant research has been directed towards understanding how the characteristics of the recipient environment (e.g., predator density) and stocking practices (e.g., density, fish size, or timing) are likely to influence the efficacy of stocking efforts. Efforts to understand the mechanisms that produce changes in the size characteristics of stocked populations (e.g., average size, maximum size) have received less attention however. Knowledge of how the stocking of hatchery-reared Florida bass changes recipient populations is of importance in order to ensure that management efforts are successful at meeting predetermined goals while minimizing potential deleterious consequences (e.g., outbreeding depression or the loss of genetic adaptations). Our review summarizes the primary literature that has quantified changes in phenotype and genotype resulting from Florida Bass stocking efforts, identifies knowledge gaps that hinder management decisions, and provides recommendations for future research.
