@article{thompson_rice_waters_2010, title={Striped Bass Habitat Selection Rules in Reservoirs without Suitable Summer Habitat Offer Insight into Consequences for Growth}, volume={139}, ISSN={["0002-8487"]}, DOI={10.1577/t09-140.1}, abstractNote={AbstractThe traditional view of habitat requirements for inland striped bass Morone saxatilis suggests that these fish need dissolved oxygen (DO) levels above 2–3 mg/L and temperatures below 25°C to thrive. However, striped bass are found in reservoirs where hypolimnetic hypoxia forces them into warm temperatures (27–30°C) for much of the summer, and contrary to expectations, these populations do not consistently experience poor growth or mortality. We used telemetry of adult striped bass in Badin Lake, North Carolina, to characterize habitat selection by striped bass in systems with unsuitable summer habitat. As summer stratification developed, striped bass selected preferred temperatures of 20–23°C as long as the DO was at least 2 mg/L. Once hypoxia forced striped bass into warmer water, the fish concentrated at the top of the oxycline (defined as the depth just above the largest decline in DO occurring over a 1‐m change in depth), which was 1–2°C warmer but had greater DO levels (4–8 mg/L) than the coolest water, with DO of 2 mg/L. Striped bass remained at the top of the oxycline into the fall, even after deeper water with preferred temperatures and a DO level of 2 mg/L became available. We suggest that these patterns, supported by observations in the literature, represent summer habitat selection rules for striped bass in reservoirs where all oxygenated habitat exceeds temperatures traditionally considered suitable for striped bass. We also show that the depth distribution of Badin Lake striped bass in response to physical habitat constraints causes them to overlap spatially with warmwater prey inhabiting shallow, warmwater depths both in the summer and early fall. Badin Lake striped bass continue to feed and grow over the summer, providing evidence that the availability of adequate prey resources can offset the costs of poor summer habitat. Warm, productive reservoirs without permanent thermal refuges may therefore provide better habitat for maintaining quality growth and condition than those systems where occupation of cooler temperatures segregates striped bass from their prey.}, number={5}, journal={TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY}, author={Thompson, Jessica S. and Rice, James A. and Waters, D. Scott}, year={2010}, month={Sep}, pages={1450–1464} } @article{thompson_waters_rice_hightower_2007, title={Seasonal natural and fishing mortality of striped bass in a southeastern reservoir}, volume={27}, ISSN={["0275-5947"]}, DOI={10.1577/M06-088.1}, abstractNote={AbstractReliable estimates of natural and fishing mortality are important for management of exploited fish populations, but these components of the total mortality rate can be difficult to determine by traditional fisheries methods. We used telemetry data to determine seasonal instantaneous fishing (F) and natural mortality (M) rates of subadult and adult striped bassMorone saxatilisin Badin Lake, North Carolina. Our analyses were based on the fates of 64 fish implanted with sonic transmitters and released and tracked for 2 years. Natural mortality was low and constant during the course of the study (M± SE = 0.10 ± 0.01) and was similar to estimates for other reservoir populations of striped bass. A natural mortality rate of 0.09–0.16 may be a reasonable approximation for populations across the southeastern United States. Fishing mortality varied seasonally and was highest in the spring and summer of 2002 and the summer and fall of 2003; annual fishing mortality (F± SE) was 0.65 ± 0.08 in 2002 and 0.77 ± 0.08 in 2003. Due to these high harvest rates, estimated annual survival rates were low for the Badin Lake population (47% in 2002; 42% in 2003). Results of a yield‐per‐recruit model suggest that harvest of older, larger individuals can be increased in Badin Lake with a decrease in fishing mortality or a moderate increase in the minimum size limit, even when the effect of catch‐and‐release mortality of fish below the size limit is considered. Our results also indicate important considerations for researchers using this method in the future, including the need to estimate downstream emigration and delay the inclusion of newly tagged fish in analysis to avoid biasing estimates of fishing mortality.}, number={2}, journal={NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT}, author={Thompson, Jessica S. and Waters, D. Scott and Rice, James A. and Hightower, Joseph E.}, year={2007}, month={May}, pages={681–694} } @misc{kwak_pine_waters_2006, title={Age, growth, and mortality of introduced flathead catfish in Atlantic rivers and a review of other populations}, volume={26}, ISSN={["1548-8675"]}, DOI={10.1577/M04-144.1}, abstractNote={AbstractKnowledge of individual growth and mortality rates of an introduced fish population is required to determine the success and degree of establishment as well as to predict the fish's impact on native fauna. The age and growth of flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris have been studied extensively in the species' native and introduced ranges, and estimates have varied widely. We quantified individual growth rates and age structure of three introduced flathead catfish populations in North Carolina's Atlantic slope rivers using sagittal otoliths, determined trends in growth rates over time, compared these estimates among rivers in native and introduced ranges, and determined total mortality rates for each population. Growth was significantly faster in the Northeast Cape Fear River (NECFR) than in the Lumber and Neuse rivers. Fish in the NECFR grew to a total length of 700 mm by age 7, whereas fish in the Neuse and Lumber river populations reached this length by 8 and 10 years, respectively. The growth rates of fish in all three rivers were consistently higher than those of native riverine populations, similar to those of native reservoir populations, and slower than those of other introduced riverine populations. In general, recent cohorts (1998–2001 year‐classes) in these three rivers exhibited slower growth among all ages than did cohorts previous to the 1998 year‐class. The annual total mortality rate was similar among the three rivers, ranging from 0.16 to 0.20. These mortality estimates are considerably lower than those from the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, suggesting relatively low fishing mortality for these introduced populations. Overall, flathead catfish populations in reservoirs grow faster than those in rivers, the growth rates of introduced populations exceed those of native populations, and eastern United States populations grow faster than those in western states. Such trends constitute critical information for understanding and managing local populations.}, number={1}, journal={NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT}, author={Kwak, TJ and Pine, WE and Waters, DS}, year={2006}, month={Feb}, pages={73–87} } @article{pine_kwak_waters_rice_2005, title={Diet selectivity of introduced flathead catfish in coastal rivers}, volume={134}, ISSN={["1548-8659"]}, DOI={10.1577/T04-166.1}, abstractNote={AbstractIn two coastal North Carolina rivers (Contentnea Creek and the Northeast Cape Fear River), we found the food habits of introduced flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris to be primarily piscivorous, which could restructure or suppress native fish communities through direct predation. Fish or crayfish contributed more than 50% of the stomach contents by percent occurrence, percent by number, and percent by weight in both rivers during each of 2 years. Significant differences in diet composition (percent by number) were found between rivers and between years in the Northeast Cape Fear River but not between years within Contentnea Creek. Chesson's selectivity index values and trends in relative abundances of fish availability relative to those occurring in the diet suggest that flathead catfish feeding is generally random, indicating that these introduced flathead catfish do not selectively feed on prey species with which they did not coevolve. Our research represents the first assessment of prey selectivity by an introduced ictalurid population and provides evidence of the potential impact on native fish communities through their piscivorous food habits.}, number={4}, journal={TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY}, author={Pine, WE and Kwak, TJ and Waters, DS and Rice, JA}, year={2005}, month={Jul}, pages={901–909} } @article{waters_kwak_arnott_pine_2004, title={Evaluation of stomach tubes and gastric lavage for sampling diets from blue catfish and flathead catfish}, volume={24}, ISSN={["0275-5947"]}, DOI={10.1577/M02-156}, abstractNote={Abstract We compared the ability to extract all stomach contents by using stomach tubes or gastric lavage to sample diets from blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris. Pulsed gastric lavage (PGL) removed a significantly greater proportion of stomach content mass (95.6%) from blue catfish than did stomach tubes (14.6%). Percent mass of flathead catfish contents removed with PGL (96.0%) was not significantly different from that removed with stomach tubes (86.9%). Based on the greater effectiveness of PGL for blue catfish, combined with a shorter mean time required per sample (69 versus 118 s) and the better preservation of extracted diet material, we recommend using PGL as a nonlethal technique to collect diet samples from large catfishes.}, number={1}, journal={NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT}, author={Waters, DS and Kwak, TJ and Arnott, JB and Pine, WE}, year={2004}, month={Feb}, pages={258–261} } @article{waters_noble_2004, title={Spawning season and nest fidelity of largemouth bass in a tropical reservoir}, volume={24}, ISSN={["1548-8675"]}, DOI={10.1577/m03-048.1}, abstractNote={Abstract Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, an intensively studied sport fish of temperate North America, have been introduced into tropical regions, but with little evaluation. Studies in Puerto Rico suggest that reproduction occurs over many months and that life spans are short and annual mortality rates high. We tracked 44 adult largemouth bass with ultrasonic telemetry over an 18-month period (two spawning seasons) to determine the temporal and spatial utilization of spawning grounds. During the 1998 spawning season, both males and females demonstrated high site fidelity to specific areas characteristic of spawning grounds over the first half of the calendar year. Within this period, two distinct spawning events were evident from fish movements and were subsequently verified by hatch frequencies of young. The two spawning events, from mid-January through March and from late May through June, coincided with highly fluctuating water levels. When levels were high, shallow, vegetated areas were availa...}, number={4}, journal={NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT}, author={Waters, DS and Noble, RL}, year={2004}, month={Nov}, pages={1240–1251} } @article{waters_1999, title={Conducting student research in a foreign country}, volume={24}, number={8}, journal={Fisheries}, author={Waters, D. S.}, year={1999}, pages={2828} }