Evaluation of three aging techniques and back-calculated growth for introduced Blue Catfish from Lake Oconee, Georgia
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Abstract
Back-calculation of length-at-age from otoliths and spines is a common technique employed in fisheries biology, but few studies have compared the precision of data collected with this method for catfish populations. We compared precision of back-calculated lengths-at-age for an introducedIctalurus furcatus (Blue Catfish) population among 3 commonly used cross-sectioning techniques. We used gillnets to collect Blue Catfish (n = 153) from Lake Oconee, GA. We estimated ages from a basal recess, articulating process, and otolith cross-section from each fish. We employed the Frasier-Lee method to back-calculate length-at-age for each fish, and compared the precision of back-calculated lengths among techniques using hierarchical linear models. Precision in age assignments was highest for otoliths (83.5%) and lowest for basal recesses (71.4%). Back-calculated lengths were variable among fish ages 1–3 for the techniques compared; otoliths and basal recesses yielded variable lengths at age 8. We concluded that otoliths and articulating processes are adequate for age estimation of Blue Catfish.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Evaluation of three aging techniques and back-calculated growth for introduced Blue Catfish from Lake Oconee, Georgia |
| Series title | Southeastern Naturalist |
| DOI | 10.1656/058.014.0417 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 2015 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Eagle Hill Institute |
| Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Atlanta |
| Description | 17 p. |
| First page | 740 |
| Last page | 756 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| Other Geospatial | Lake Oconee |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |