Craig Springer

New Bass Species?

outdoorlife-editor — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:26:32 -0400

You don't have to be
a rocket scientist to know that Florida-strain largemouths grow big and are hard to catch. But you might need to
be one to wrap your gray matter around research that says the Florida bass is no strain at all, but a new, distinct species.

Nine geneticists from universities and state conservation agencies around the country recently published their research in the book Black Bass: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Using biochemical analysis, the team essentially took DNA fingerprints of nearly all the known black bass species and presumed subspecies and created a map that shows the distance of relation among them.

The study's most significant finding states in effect that the largemouth bass is to Florida bass what a rainbow trout is to a cutthroat trout: a similar but distinct and even distant relative.

But one study doesn't make it law in the scientific world, and not everyone agrees with the research. "The research has validity, but the jury is still out," explains Wes Porak, a fish biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Of course, the commission Porak works for already recognizes the difference between the two bass species and has a policy
in place to stock only Florida bass in that state.

Porak says that while no scientist would argue that the two basses are not subspecies, accepting Florida bass as a distinct species altogether will be extremely controversial.
To say the least. If the new Florida bass species designation becomes widely accepted, the implications for George Perry's 22-pound 4-ounce world-record bass, caught in 1932, could get complicated.

Doug Blodgett, the World Records Administrator for the International Game Fish Association, says "a bass is a bass. It's all largemouth bass; we don't go to the subspecies level."

As for the existing records, "all the current major records are Florida strains," Blodgett says. But no one knows for sure about the Perry bass. Taken in a Georgia oxbow lake, it was within the range of both the Florida bass and the largemouth bass and could possibly have been a hybrid.

The IGFA might be faced with difficult decisions if and when the Florida bass is designated a new species.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," says Blodgett. "I can't say what the rules committee would do. If they are found to be two different species, then we would have to treat them as two different species."

As for the Perry bass, Blodgett says the IGFA would have a few options. "We could keep it, retire it or give it special recognition. When it happens, it happens."

Good Migrations

outdoorlife-editor — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:00:00 -0400

The occasional report of a mountain lion or wolf in the East or a warmwater shark swimming along Northern beaches is usually met with surprise and skepticism. However, a look at how far some animals have been documented to roam indicates that these reports might deserve a more thorough investigation than they receive.

American Eel 3,600 MILES

Cougar 830 MILES

Gray Wolf 450 MILES

Bison 400 MILES

Carp 200 MILES

Elk 150 MILES

Black Bear 100 MILES

Coyote 100 MILES

Largemouth Bass 30 MILES

Brown Trout 5 MILES

Raccoon 5 MILES

Groundhog 1,000 FEET

Trout On The Move

outdoorlife-editor — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 20:00:00 -0400

No one can blame you if after a long, fruitless day of casting for trout on your favorite river you start to wonder where exactly all the fish have disappeared to. The question of where and why trout move through a river system is exactly what a group of researchers hoped to unravel by studying brown trout in Michigan's famed Au Sable River. The scientists used radio telemetry to follow 11 fish in the Au Sable day and night for more than 900 days.

One of their key findings is that size matters. Once brown trout reach 13 inches in length, they alter their eating habits. Up to that length they lie in pools, feeding on fish and insects that drift by. But at 13 inches they become active hunters searching for piscine prey. During the day the big fish would hole up and rest in one of several "home sites" that they would return to after a night's hunt. Usually, the fish pinned themselves tight against debris or other cover.

Most of the fishes' movement occurred at dusk and dawn. Smaller fish remained stationary because they themselves were potential prey. —Craig Springer

Telemetry study at a glance:

Maximum speed: 870 feet per hour Maximum distance moved in one night: 1.2 miles Median movement during the day: 0 feet Average number of home sites per fish: 2.7 Maximum distance between home sites: 2.2 miles Percentage of brown trout using same home sites each year: 75

For more information, go to www.outdoorlife.com/news/snapshots