Date of Graduation

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Wildlife and Fisheries Resources

Committee Chair

Stuart A Welsh

Committee Co-Chair

George T Merovich

Committee Member

David I Wellman

Abstract

This thesis describes population characteristics of Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus) in Cheat Lake, West Virginia in two chapters. The first chapter is comprised of a literature review on the ecology, diet and growth of Channel Catfish, as well as the influence of water level fluctuations on biota. The second chapter examines the age, growth and fall diet of Channel Catfish in Cheat Lake, West Virginia. Acidification has historically impaired Cheat Lake's fish community, but recent mitigation efforts within the Cheat River watershed have improved water quality and species richness. Presently, Channel Catfish are abundant and attain desirable sizes for anglers. I evaluated the age, growth and fall diet of the population. A sample of 155 Channel Catfish was collected from Cheat Lake from 5 August to 4 December 2014, a subsample of which was aged (n = 148) using lapillus otoliths. Four growth models (von Bertalanffy, logistic, Gompertz and power) were fit to length at age data and compared using an information theoretic approach. Fall diets were collected from 55 fish sampled from 13 October to 4 December 2014. Total lengths of individuals in the sample ranged from 154--721 mm and ages ranged from 2--19 years. The von Bertalanffy growth model was AICc -selected as the best approximating model, and the power and Gompertz models also had considerable support. Diets were numerically dominated by Diptera larvae, specifically Chironomidae and Chaoboridae, while 39% of stomachs contained terrestrial prey items. This study provides baseline data for management of Cheat Lake's Channel Catfish population. Further, this study fills a knowledge gap in the scientific literature on Channel Catfish, as few studies have examined the population ecology of Channel Catfish in the Central Appalachian region.

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