Uncovering Secrets of the 'Fish of 10,000 Casts': The Physiological Ecology and Behaviour of Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy ).

摘要

Touted as one of North America's largest and most difficult freshwater sport fish to angle, nearly all muskellunge (Esox masquinongy ) caught are released, particularly by specialized anglers. In Chapter 2, I coupled field and laboratory methods to demonstrate minimal sub-lethal and lethal impacts of specialized catch-and-release (C&R) angling on muskellunge. In Chapter 3, acoustic transmitters equipped with tri-axial acceleration and pressure sensors were used to assess the fine-scale activity and depth patterns of muskellunge as a function of time of day, water temperature, fish size, and lunar cycles. Despite remaining primarily inactive and relatively shallow (i.e., 3.0 m), muskellunge activity and depth varied greatly as a function of these four biotic and abiotic variables. The novel findings presented in this thesis support the conservation and management of muskellunge populations throughout North America.