Wetlands

, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp 163–172 | Cite as

Indexing of common carp populations in large palustrine wetlands of the Northern Plains

  • Shane W. Clark
  • David W. Willis
  • Charles R. Berry
Note
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

We evaluated gill netting and trapnetting as tools to index relative abundance of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in two national wildlife reguges in North and South Dakota. Trap net catch rates were low (1.4/net night) and required much effort to obtain reliable sample sizes. Gill nets had mesh sizes of 51, 76, and 102 mm (bar measure). Each gill net had only one mesh size and three nets were thus needed to sample the entire length range of adult common carp for one unit of effort (one complement). The mesh sizes were suitable for capturing 30-cm and longer common carp and precluded the need for intermediate mesh sizes. Catch rates (number of common carp caught per net complement night) from May samples consistently had lower coefficients of variation than samples in June, July, or August. Based on the mean and variance from our sampling, 125–684 net complement nights would provide reliable catch-rate data at the 95% confidence level. More realistically, 8–43 net complement nights would provide reliable estimates at the 80% confidence level. Accordingly, we recommend that an optimum sampling schedule would involve sampling in May and that each gill net have all three mesh sizes within one net.

Key Words

Common carp fish population indexing wetlands waterfowl refuge management 
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Copyright information

© Society of Wetland Scientists 1991

Authors and Affiliations

  • Shane W. Clark
    • 1
  • David W. Willis
    • 1
  • Charles R. Berry
    • 2
  1. 1.Wildlife and Fisheries SciencesSouth Dakota State UniversityBrookings
  2. 2.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitSouth Dakota State UniversityBrookings

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