Movements and distributions of radio-tagged northern pike in Harding Lake
By: by Stafford M. Roach.
Contributors: Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.
Series: Fishery data series -- no. 93-12.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish
Published: 1993
Place of publication: Anchorage, Alaska
Language: eng
Number of pages: 62
Subjects: Pike -- Alaska -- Harding Lake -- Statistics.; Fishery resources -- Alaska -- Harding Lake -- Statistics.; Fish populations -- Alaska -- Harding Lake -- Statistics.; Harding Lake (Alaska)
Genres: Statistics.
Description: Radio-transmitters were surgically implanted in 14 male and 12 female northern pike Esox lucius to estimate movements and distributions relative to vegetation type and depth of water column in Harding Lake, Alaska. Straight line distances moved were determined for 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day intervals from 8 June to 2 July, 1992. Half of the radio-tagged northern pike moved at least a mean distance of 0.29 kilometers between 1-day intervals, 0.33 kilometers between 3-day intervals, and 0.47 kilometers between 7-day intervals. Distribution in relation to vegetation and water depth were determined from 8 June to 30 September, 1992. The proportion of radio-tagged northern pike found in vegetation increased from 8 June to 2 July and then decreased from 6 July to 30 September. From 8 June to 2 July, males were found more often than females in vegetation, large males more often than small males, and small females more often than large females. Distributions relative to vegetation and water depth by sex and size were most similar in late June. From 8 June to 2 July all radio-tagged northern pike remained in water depth less than 3 meters. Large males moved into deeper water in July, followed by small males in August, and females in September. These findings indicate that northern pike mark-recapture experiments, using current methods of backpack electrofishing and variable-mesh gill nets, should be delayed until Harding Lake is completely ice-free and should be completed before July. In addition, this study suggests that catch-per-unit of effort will increase and sampling bias, due to different distributions by size and sex, will decrease as June progresses. To insure adequate mixing of northern pike between mark-recapture events in Harding Lake, the width of sampling sections would need to be 0.29 kilometers for a 1-day hiatus, 0.33 kilometers for a 3-day hiatus, and 0.47 kilometers for a 7-day hiatus.
Notes: "April 1993".

"Literature cited": p. 28-30.

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