摘要:Characterizing the structure of riverine fish populations that are
patchily distributed and at low densities is often difficult. Due to
the wide distribution but low abundance of Spotted Bass,
Micropterus punctulatus, throughout the lower Wabash River
(LWR), captures from fixed and random sampling designs were
compared to assess their performance in determining relative
abundance and size structure. The LWR is monitored using both
sampling regimes—the Long Term Electrofishing Program monitors
community assemblages uses a stratified-random sampling,
whereas the Illinois Department of Natural Resources monitors
the fish community using a fixed-sampling design. Mean CPUE
was significantly higher for fixed site sampling compared to random
sites. However, the size structure of Spotted Bass sampled
by each design were similar. These results suggest random-sampling
designs should be used when monitoring low density populations
of fishes in large riverine systems because this method
provides the greatest spatial coverage of habitats, evaluates heterogeneity
in distribution, and provides a representative measure
of abundance throughout an entire aquatic system. In situations
where size distribution or temporal trends are the only goal, fixed
site sampling would be sufficient.
关键词:Sampling comparison ; spotted bass ; random sampling ; fixed versus random sampling