Biology 890: Advanced Fisheries Science

Fall 2006

Instructor

Dr. Craig Paukert 

204B Leasure Hall 

532-6522

e-mail: cpaukert@ksu.edu

web page: www.ksu.edu/fisheries/

Office hours: By appointment

Meeting times

TBD

Friday 3:00 - 4:00 pm , AK 324 or at the "LAB"

Class webpage: www.ksu.edu/fisheries/classes/advfishsci/advfishsci.htm  

Note: all assignments, data sets, etc. will be posted on K-State online.  use K-State online as your primary source of information for the class.

Objectives

This course will provide and overview of current topics as well as analytical techniques used to assess fish populations in a variety of systems.  The objectives of this course are to give students knowledge of concepts, tools, and techniques that they can use in future research and management of fish populations. 

The course will have a strong independent research component in which the students will use existing data sets (or data they collect) and apply the concepts from this class.  I would like to you use some of the tools, concepts, and/or techniques from the class and apply them to your data to answer a question.  There is a lot of flexibility in this research project as I want you to get something out of this that can possibly be published or be part of your thesis or dissertation. 

Some examples of possible projects:

1. Using bioenergetics models to determine consumption of prey by a predatory fish

2. Determine the effects of certain harvest restriction (e.g., minimum length limit) on a fish population

3. Using GIS to determine stream habitat loss due to impoundments

4. Evaluate differences in abundance, size structure, etc. from several gears

5. Determine the effects of nonrandom sampling on population statistics

6. Determine the effects of tagging on growth and condition of fish

These are just examples and each student should come up with their own project.  We have the use of an experimental stream in the basement of Leasure Hall for a project.  If you do not have data of your own, feel free to talk me as I have several data sets that could be used in the class.  In addition, I would also consider the student conducting a review paper in lieu of a research project.  The project can be on most anything that would involve you learning a new technique or concept.  All projects will need to be approved by me before they can be done.

Group field project:

In addition to the independent project, we will also conduct a field project on the Kansas River where we will apply some of the concepts in class to a research project.  We will conduct 2-3 sampling trips on the Lower Kansas River to determine if the fish communities and habitat in dredged and undredged sites differ.  There is considerable interest in the environmental impacts of dredging on the Kansas River .  We will sample the river around river mile 25 (near Edwardsville , KS where there are 1-2 dredging operations.  We will sample fish and habitat at these sites and at least 2 reference sites in the same area.  I expect this will take 2-3 sampling days, as well as some time in the lab (fish ID, data entry).  Every student will be expected to participate in the sampling and lab work.  I will likely conduct the final data analysis and write up. The goal would be to develop a presentation and publication from this project in which all the students will be coauthors.

 Format:

The format of the class will be meeting one day per week for two class hours and for about one hour each Friday for a discussion (see Paper discussions and participation below).  The 2-hour class will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and (in some cases) workshops.  I hope that the course will have an informal atmosphere where students will be comfortable interjecting their thoughts throughout the 2-hour period.  We will be using several computer packages (e.g., Wisconsin Bioenergetics 3.0; Fishery Analyses and Simulation Tools) that will require some class time to be used as workshops for these packages.

Academic misconduct  

Visit the KSU Honor System Web Page for details: http://www.ksu.edu/honor  

Grading (350 total points)  

Proposal (50 points) – Each student will provide a proposal on their independent research project.  This will primarily include a literature review, questions or hypotheses addressed, study site, and methods (field and data analysis).  I expect this will be about 3-10 pages (double spaced) and should be in the format of Transactions of the American Fisheries Society or other journal where this paper could be submitted for publication.  The goal is that this will be a part of the final manuscript or report.
 

Presentation (50 points) – Each student will give a presentation on their research project near the end of the semester.  The structure should be similar to a professional meeting presentation, with 15 minutes for the presentation, with 5 minutes for questions.

Class calculations and assignments (50 points) – Each student will be expected to analyze three data sets given in class. These short exercises will allow the student to become familiar with some of the techniques (e.g., calculation of recruitment variability, mortality estimates, etc.) discussed in class.  We will go over each of the assignments in class so the real key is that each student try the calculations and turn them in on time.

Group field project (50 points) – Each student ill be expected to contribute in the field and lab in the group project on the Kansas River .  Students may not be able to be in the field each time because of other commitments, but it is expected that each student will work in the field and the lab/office for this project.

Written report or manuscript (100 points) – Each student will write a manuscript on the data analysis and research project they selected for the class.  This should build on the proposal you wrote earlier in the semester, but should include an introduction, methods, results, and discussion.  The manuscripts should follow the format of Transactions of the American Fisheries Society or other journal where the paper could be submitted for publication.  I encourage submission of this manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal. 

Paper discussions and participation (50 points) - We will have weekly discussion either in class or during our typical Friday afternoon Aquatic Ecology Journal Club meeting. Each of you will be expected to lead two of the paper discussions.  One paper will be from the syllabus and the other will be of your choosing.  Remember that they key to leading a discussion is instigating discussion from other group members, not just provide a summary of the paper. 

Schedule (subject to change)

Required Text
 

None.  Readings will be assigned as needed.

Readings

Journal club papers:

Churchill, T. N., P. W. Bettoli, D. C. Petersen, W. C. Reeves, and B. Hodge.  2002.  Angler conflicts in fisheries management: a case study of the striped bass controversy at Norris Reservoir, Tennessee .  Fisheries 27(2):10-19.

Johnson, D. 1999.  The insignificance of statistical significance testing.  Journal of Wildlife Management 63(3): 763-772.

Naiman, R. J., and J. J. Latterell.  2005.  Principles for linking fish habitat to fisheries management and conservation.  Journal of Fish Biology 67:166-185.

Peterman. R.  1990.  Statistical power analysis can improve fisheries research and management.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47:2-15.

Petersen, J. H., and J. F. Kitchell.  2001.  Climate regimes and water temperature changes in the Columbia River : bioenergetics implications for predators of juvenile salmon.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60:1433-1436.

Other recommended readings

Irwin, E. R., and M. C. Freeman.  2002 Proposal for adaptive management to conserve biotic integrity in a regulated segment of the Talapoosa River, Alabama, USA.  Conservation Biology 16(5):1212-1222.

Diana, J. S. 2004.  Biology and ecology of fishes, second edition.  Cooper Publishing, Traverse City , Michigan.

Fisher, W. L., and F. J. Rahel.  2004.  Geographic information systems in fisheries.  American Fisheries Society, Bethesda , Maryland.

Hanson, P. C., T. B. Johnson, D. E. Shindler , and J. F. Kitchell. 1997.  Fish Bioenergetics 3.0.  University of Wisconsin Sea Grant, Madison.

Krebs, C. J. 1999.  Ecological methodology, second edition.  Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, California.

Quinn, T. J. and R. B. Deriso.  1999.  Quantitative fish dynamics.  Oxford University Press, New York.

Slipke, J. W., and M. J. Maceina.  2001.  Fishery Analyses and simulation tools manual, version 2.0.  Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University.

Thompson, S. K.2002.  Sampling, second edition.  John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 

Walters, C. J.  2003.  Folly and fantasy in the analysis of spatial catch rate data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60:1433-1436.

Walters, C. J.  2001.  Adaptive management of renewable resources.  Blackburn Press, Caldwell, New Jersey .