TPWD 1957 F-7-R-5 #318: Inventory of Fish Species Present in Buffalo Lake: Segment Completion Report, Dingell-Johnson Project F-7-R-5, Job B-9

Report of Fisheries Investigations Inventory of Fish Species Present in Buffalo Lake (Continued from FYRh)° by Leo Do Lewis Project Leader and Richard Otto Assistant Project Leader Dingell-Johnson Project F-T-R—S, Job hwg June 1, 1957 - May 31, l958 H. Do Dodgen a Executive Secretary Texas Game and Fish Commission Austin,_Texas Marion Toole ' William H. Brown Coordinator . Assta Coordinator _ SEGMENT COMPLETION REPORT Investigations Projects State of ' TEXAS Project No. FTRS Name: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the ' ‘ 'Waters of Region lmBs' JOb Nos B-9 Title: Inventor of Fish Species Present in Buffalo ' ' Lake (Continued from FTRfijs Period Covered: June 1, 1957 through May 3l,'l958 ABSTRACT: An estimated 200 tons of fish, mostly gizzard shad and carp, Was removed from Buffalo Lake from may 1956 through June 19579 Inventory was made during one year prior to this period through one year following, in order to compile comparative data which may indicate possible effects of this fish removals A total of 2,207 fishes was collected during this segment by gill nets from which data concerning food habits, sexual development, spawning success, coefficient of condition and patholOgical conditions was recorded, and as far as possible, re» duced to tabular forms Work done at Buffalo Lake has failed to serve as an edeguate check on selective: kill methodss The lake has been reduced to abnormally low levels, resulting in conditions that would have been a detriment to the fishery of any body of waters This jdb will be discontinued in order to devote more time to natural history studies of rough fish species in an effort to obtain information that may assist in the control of their populations. Buffalo Lake will be checked periodically on a re-survey job to determine any possible benefits derived from the work in the pasts OBJECTIVES: To determine the fish species present and their relative abundance, as well as to determine the ecological factors influencing their distributions To discover both the immediate and progressive changes which may occur in the fish population 'as the result of experimental selective-kill treatments under Job Eels TECHNIQUES: Field work on this job began in June 1957, and terminated in April 19580 The month of May 1958, was devoted to final compilation and tabulation of data and report writingo Collections were spaced approximately one month apart so that data collected would be comparable to that of previous segments, Approximately 1200 feet of gill net, ranging in size from 1 inch to 3 inch (square mesh) were set on each visits- Each fish taken in these nets was measured, weighed, and the stage of gOnadal development recorded, Filled stomachs of predacious species were saved yin formalin, as well as ripe ovaries, pathological tissues and parasites, Samples of forage fishes were obtained with the use of smallemesh seines, and the complete collections preserved in formalin, In'the laboratory, formalinepreserved materials were identified, examined and the data recordeds - In addition to collections made with gill nets and minnow seines, supplemental data was obtained by the use of 1200 foot drag seine, _In order to efficiently operate this seine, it was necessary to clear several large areas of stumps, rocks, trotline stakes and other obstructionss As a result, operation.of the seine-was much easier than during previous segments, additional information was Obtained, and considerable quantities of undesirable fish were removed, Physical data, including air temperature, watermsurface temperature and turn ' bidity (Secchi disc) was recorded at the lakes Samples of lake water were saved and the pH and dissolved solids present were determined, Also, a gallon of water was saved each time to determine turbidity with the Jackson turbidimeters . 'FINDINGS: An estimated minimum of 200 tons of fish, mostly gizzard shed and carp, was removed from Buffalo Lake by experimental selective~k111 and spot treatments, seining and gill netting, from May 1956 through June 1957,, Inventory had been taken'by gill nets and seines for 11 months prior to the first treatment in order to compile data which would be comparative to that collected following experimental“ treatmentso Details of the work done at Buffalo Lake prior to this study period are _ discussed in the reports F7R3, Job B-«93 F7R3, Job Belt; arse, Job B=9; and F7R1L, Job E-ls This report presents data collected during 11 consecutive months following the last spot chemical treatment in June 1957° FISH COLLECTIONS A total of 2,207 fishes was collected by gill nets from-Buffalo Lake during the segment period from June 1, 1957 to May 31, 19580 Percentage composition, sex ratios, and average weights by sex of fishes collected.by gill nets during the 1956 - 1957 segment as compared to the 1957= 1958 segment are given in Tables 1 and 2 respectivelyo Percentage composition by weight and mean weights of fishes collected by gill nets during the 1956 a 1957 segment as compared to the 1957 e 1958 segment is given in.Tab1es 3 and h respectivelyo A total of 7,h26 forage fishes was collected during the segment with small mesh minnow seines° This information, with a break-down of species, is given in Table 50 The total number of fishes taken by both gill nets and smallemesh seines during the 1956 - 1957 and 1957 - 1958 segments is compared in Table 60 Table 7 presents the number of fishes collected with the 1200 foot and 300 foot drag seine. WATER QUALITY Chemical analysis of Buffalo Lake water is given in Table 8, The quality of water in Buffalo Lake during this study period is appreciably the same as during previous segments, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Physical conditions of Buffalo Lake water, at times when the fish population was sampled, are given in Table 9, Air temperature ranged from 86 degrees to 36 degrees, and water surface temperature ranged from 79 degrees to 3k degrees, During the January survey, the lake was covered with at least one inch of ice which hindered gill netting operations, The water was commonly quite turbid dur- ing the survey due to fertility of the water, low water levels caused by drought, almost constant wave-action which keeps the bottom mud in suspension, and an abundant rough fish population, FOOD,HABITS Food remains were found in stOmachs of 69 specimens; 15 channel catfish, 3 flathead catfish, 5 black bullhead catfish, 38 crappie and 8 black bass, Table 10 predacious species that contained food, Shad was by far the most frequently identified food itemo A total of 98 shad was found in #9 of the 69 stomachs examined, Flathead catfish,-b1ack bullhead catfish, crappie and black bass fed almost exclusively on fish, with the exception on one crayfish in the stomach of a black bass and plant remains in 3 crappie stomachs, Channel catfish stomachs contained a wide variety of food items, including Shad, crayfish, freshwater shrimp, fish eggs, plant remains, grasshoppers and -blister bugs, ' saws M AND W__ W Larger fishes-were opened in the field and their gonads examined and the stage of development recorded, If the gonads were of mediumesise or smaller, and were poorly developed, they were recorded as "immature", If they were large and well developed, obviously approaching spawning condition, they were termed "ripe”, In those instances where a fish was captured shortly after spawning, it was called “spent", ' Immature individuals of the larger fishes were taken in seine drags, measured and counted° In addition, notes were made of schools of fry seen, young fishes found in the stomachs of predacious fishes, etco shad, carp and goldfish were observed spawning in the shallows on cockel burr stalks, tumbleweeds and large rockso Apparently, these species will utilize any object upon which their eggs will adhere, including rusty beer cans and trotline stakeso Seining collections during the summer months also indicated that these species were successful in their spawning, in spite of limited spawning areas caused by receding water levels Except for channel catfish, which probably spawned in the ' rocks near the dam, spawning of game species was somewhat limited Channel catfish young ofmthemyear were commonly found in spawning areas of the rough fish species, In the spring of 1958, the water level had been reduced to a very low level, depriving the bottom nesting game species of most of their natural spawning conditions, except down near the dam, Although the usual large scale spawning activities of shad, carp and goldfish. were not Observed, seine -collections ind_icated that they were spawning as before in spite of adverse conditions Oddly enough, freshly spawned channel catfish were collected in the latter part of Aprilo Conditions that are-conducive to the spawning of white bass have not been. afforded in Buffalo Lake, and up to the latter part of April, there are no indications that any of the lh20 white bass stocked during this segment have reproducedo COEFFICIENT ECONDITION "K" factors were worked out for all of the larger fishes taken in gill nets Distribution of "K” factors for fishes in Buffalo Lake during the l957 = 1958 segment, as compared to those of 1956 m 1957, is given in Table ll All of the fishes taken are not listed in Table ll because immature animals less than 50 mm were rejected, and a few were recorded erroneOusly, resulting in ridiculous "K" factors, ' .Interesting-to note is the substantial increase in "K" for both sexes of black bass and crappieo Coefficients of condition for most species increased slightly. with the exception of shad and female goldfish, black bullhead, carpsucker and channel catfisho "K" factors for the males of the h latter species increased to some extent, COntrary to the previous segment, monthly variations of "K" factor distribution for shad did not follow the pattern of increasing during the summer and decreasing during the winter Instead, there was a slight, but gradual, decrease of the average "K” throu.ghout_the segment with a slight increase in April, 1958 Average monthly weights and lengths also followed this pattern One possible explanation for this decrease in ”K” is the increase in the shad popul.ation, causing overwcrowded conditions in the lake which is decreasing in size During the last four months of the segment, the number of shad taken by gill note was twice that of previous months, EéTHCLOGICAL CONDITIONS All fishes taken during the study were examined for evidence of disease, parasites, or other abnormalities, Two crappie were found to be infected with the hard, encrusted type funguso Infected areas were confined to their tailsa - Gonads of several goldfish were greatly enlarged and filled with water, It appeared to be an enormous hydrocele which gave the entire fish a round appearance, This condition greatly increased the "K" factor in the infected fish, Two black bass were found to be blind in one eye, which, apparently, had no effect on their condition, Blindness in large shed was common, but it had no apparent effect on their health, Eyes and part of the head of infected fishes were covered with what appeared to be ossified mucous, One shad had a crooked body, probably resulting from an injury occurring early in lifeo A carpsucker was taken with a short, stunted body, resulting in a "K“ factor much higher than average, The only other abnormality noticed was the possession of 3 ovaries by a carpo' DISCUSSION: An estimated 200 tons of fish, mostly gizzard shed and carp, was removed from Buffalo Lake from May, 1956 through June 1957 Netting and seining operations_ during routine fisheries surveys since that time have removed an additional 1,813 pounds of shed and 8 ,133 pounds of carp, In spite of this population reduction, shad and carp have replenished themselves in sufficient numbers to constitute a major problem to the fishery of Buffalo Lake, According to gill netting results during the three years of study, the rough fish population has increased from 5501 percent to 8201 percento Shad increased from 4009 percent to #507 percent, carp from llol percent to 2306 percent, carpsucker from 101 percent to 207 percent and goldfish from 007 percent to 2,7 percento The crappie population decreased from 370h percent to 10,6 percent, whereas all other species have remained about the_same, percentagemwiseo This great increase in percentages of rough fish Species is partly explained by a change in techniques following the first period of study at Buffalo Lakes During the first survey, crappie, especially small individuals, were excessively abundant, They were taken in great numbers in the one inch mesh sections of experimental type gill nets, and were worked into the data with all other fishes takeno As a result, this overmabundant population of small crappie was considered a major problem, and recommendations were made in the report F7R3, Job B‘= =9, for a reduction of their numbers, During the last two periods of study, however, the decision was made to reject all crappie under 50 mmo long in order to obtain more reliable "K" factor data for this specieso This resulted in a great reduction in the number of crappie recorded during the last two segments, which increased the ratio of rough fish to game fisho This is only a partial explanation,_however, because crappie are apparently.not as abundant in Buffalo Lake as they were during the first segmenta This may be partly due to adverse spawning conditions caused by receding water levels and partly to the effects of the experimental selectivemkill treatmentu Nevertheless, this reduction has been beneficial to the crappie population because both the average size and coefficient of conditi.on of crappie has increased during the present segment° Judging from the great numbers of rough fish removed and the excessive population of rough fish still present, the selectiveukill treatments have not produced the beneficial effects that were expected, Immediately following the treatments, turbidity decreased considerably and there was a considerable decrease in the number of shad and carp taken in gill netso However, they replenished themselves in a very short time, 6, Shad apparently had a very productive spawn following the last treatment because their numbers have doubled during the last four months of this segment period, As stated before, the excessive relativemabundance of rough fish in Buffalo Lake is possibly due to some extent, to the low water levels for the past two years, Most of the natural nesting and breeding sites of black bass, crappie and sunfishes are no longer under water, making it more difficult for these species to reproduce in the mud and siltmladen bottom, Whereas, the rough fish species were able to produce successful spawns on windwdeposited tumbleweeds, larger rocks and other objects above the silt, Low water levels and reduction in the size of the lake is also a probable factor in the increase of rough fish captured in gill netso In order to keep the data comparable, net sets were maintained in the same locations as far as possible, As water levels receded, the nets were moved farther into the lake from the same local tion, resulting in_ most of the nets being set in shallow, muddy water, Since most - of the selfwrespecting game fishes may have retreated to the more desirable deep water at the lower end of the lake, the nets in the middle and upper and captured relatively greater numbers of rough fishspecieso Also, with a“smaller volume of water, an increase in the capture of the very active shed and carp can be expected, Although physical conditions of the fishes in Buffalo Lake did not change appreciably during this segment, "K" factors and the average lengths and weights have increased considerably since the first period of study in 1955 m l956, Although netting results indicate that the relative abundance of game species has decreased, their condition and average size have definitely increasedo The selectivemkill treatments may have produced greater selectivity on male shad than females, because 80 percent of the shed taken in gill nets, following the treatments, were females, This is an increase of 25 percent females over the 1955 w 1956 segment periodo Regrettably, the work done at Buffalo Lake has failed to serve as an adequate check on selectivemkill methods, Rains that have occurred in practically all other parts of Texas failed to occur on the watershed of Buffalo Lake, and the lake has been reduced as an abnormally low level, Conditions have resulted that would have been a detriment to the fishery of any body of water° For that reason, this job (BmQ) will be discontinued in order to devote more time to the natural history studies of rough fish species, in an effort to obtain information that may assist in the control of their populations, Buffalo Lake will be checked periodically on a rem survey job to determine any possible benefits derived from the work in;§hg_pa§to Prepare-d by: 1% Approved by: _. . _ Project Leader Chief quatic Biologist and Richard Otto Assistant Project Leader Date: June 18- 1958._._1 ea TABLE NO, 1 __ PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION, SEX RATIOS AND.AVERAGE WEIGHTS BY SEX OF FISH COLLECTED BI GILL NETS FROM.BUFFALO LAKE I956 m 1957, I AVg; Ave ‘ Iemale I Species Number Taken L of Total m% Males e1 ?_ht Females Wei _ht I Dr arosoma c_epedianum ,va I Iarplcdes carpio 2,77 , gfprinuiaggrpig l,?O Larasslus auritus lcé? ‘ FerasgiugeCyprinus Cross 1,36 IEEEEVTUS punctatus lLlO Ittalurus melas LBl Pylidictus olivaris 6,25 1 Eocene chrysops O I Micropterus salmoides 3082 Eomoxis annularis Ll? I Total E TABLE NO, r_ 2 PERCENTBGE COMPOSITION, SEX RATIOS AND AVERAGE WEIGHTS BY SEX OF FISH COLLECTED BY GILL NETS FROM BUFFALO LAKE, 1957 m 1958, ~ % of Species Number Taken Total Dorosoma cepedianum 20,0 80,0 cove Earpiodes‘carpio #609 53,1 2,86 ' lvprinus carpio 55,2 AELB 1,50 Parassggfi auritus '2300 TYLO lo5l Carasgiuem yprinus tress 36,8 63,2 1,?2 T&t&LUTUS punctatus 20,2 ?9,8 0,95 Pylodictus olivaris OLO 100°C 8,1.3 Istalurus males 16,? 83,3 00,5 Roccus chrysops 0,0 lOOLO 2,59 ' Micropterus salmoides 3h,4 ', MLOS Egmoxis annularis 37,6 I OLQl Totsl_. TABLE N0o AV3_- PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION BY WEIGHT AND MEAN WEIGHTS OF FISHES COLLECTED BY GILL NETS FROM.BUFFALO LAKE, 1956 - 1957, h Species . Wei» Dorosoma cepedienum Carpiodes carpio Cyprinus carpio Carassius auritusni CarassiuSm yprinus Cross wl—Jw \JII‘Ol-JUJNO G Ictalurus punctatus Ictalurus melas gylodictus olivaris Roccus chrysops ' Micropterus salmoides Pomoxis annularis £3, CDxnCJUIFJvisroas‘O\0\ $“4 Total TABLE N0o h PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION BY WEIGHT AND MEAN WEIGHTS 0F FISHES COLLECTED-BY GILL NETS FROM BUFFALO LAKE, l957.~ 1958 % of Total Weight Mean Weight Weight Taken (lbso) Dorosoma_cepedianum Carpiodes carpio Cyprinus carpio_ Carassius=auffififi§T” Oarassius» yprinua Cross Ictalurus punctatus Eylodictus olivaris Ictalurus melas Roccus chrysops Micropterus salmoides Pomoxis annularis 0 LA-Ji—‘UJ O O O FFOOI—‘LDUJLAJONO l—‘KOH-P'mGNCDWWl-JO Q Total