Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Fish Populations of Five Florida Lakes

1942; Wiley; Volume: 71; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1577/1548-8659(1941)71[184

1548-8659

O. Lloyd Meehean,

Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes

Population studies were made of five representative lakes in the Ocala National Forest, Florida, which ranged from immature to very mature in ecological age and development. The largemouth black bass made up a constant proportion of the total weight of the fish population. There was a direct relation between the number of pounds of fish per acre and the degree of ecological maturity of the lake. The number of largemouth black bass was from 12 to 27 per acre, which was less than one-third of the number stocked 3 years previously. The make-up of the supporting populations of other species of fish was variable from lake to lake, indicating that there may be considerable variation in species associations. The total number of legal fish per acre also varied from lake to lake but the weight was greater in the more mature lakes. The total weight of supporting populations was also related to the maturity of the lake. The ratio of supporting populations to predators was constant. Thirty-one per cent of largemouth black bass of legal size taken weighed 3 pounds or over. Largemouth black bass fingerlings of the year were taken in two lakes and suckers of the year only in one. No immature garfish were taken, a possible indication that adequately stocked lakes are susceptible to biological control of predatory fishes, except under certain circumstances.