Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change

Matthew L. Maldonado; Taufique H. Mahmood; David P. Coulter; Alison A. Coulter; Steven R. Chipps; Maddy K. Siller; Michaela L. Neal; Ayon Saha; Mark A. Kaemingk

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107156

Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change

Fisheries Research

By: Matthew L. Maldonado, Taufique H. Mahmood, David P. Coulter, Alison A. Coulter, Steven R. Chipps, Maddy K. Siller, Michaela L. Neal, Ayon Saha, and Mark A. Kaemingk

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107156

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Abstract

Climate change is expected to influence aquatic habitats and associated fish populations, yet we know little about the impact on recreational anglers. Our goal was to explore whether interannual fluctuations in waterbody surface area and other explanatory variables could be used as indicators of changes in angler fishing effort. Our approach leveraged a combination of remotely sensed waterbody surface area, environmental and fish population data, and onsite angler survey monitoring data for Devils Lake, North Dakota, USA during the open-water fishing period (May 1st to August 31st) for 9 years (1992–2021). The information was used to develop a dynamic waterbody size-angler effort model. Changes in waterbody surface area reliably predicted changes in angler effort (r² = 0.60). Increases in waterbody surface area led to increases in angler effort, and decreases in waterbody surface area led to decreases in angler effort. Our findings show promise that remotely sensed fluctuations in waterbody surface area could be used as an indicator of interannual angler effort dynamics. Dynamic waterbody size-angler effort models could provide managers the ability to predict changes in angler effort via climate-related hydrological cycles that affect the size and distribution of waterbodies on the landscape.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change
Series title	Fisheries Research
DOI	10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107156
Volume	279
Year Published	2024
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Contributing office(s)	Coop Res Unit Leetown
Description	107156, 5 p.
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Other Geospatial	Devils Lake