Kentucky Lake: An Opportunity for Long Term Monitoring of Fish Communities

Global aquatic ecosystems are impacted by a variety of mechanisms including habitat destruction, fish overharvest, and the introduction of invasive species. Long term monitoring of an ecosystem’s fish community, along with abiotic and biotic factors that influence the fish community, is crucial in establishing effective management strategies. Currently, numerous monitoring programs exist across the United States. However, a long term monitoring program of non-game and non-commercial fish community dynamics has not been established within Kentucky Lake in Western Kentucky. Preliminary sampling of the Kentucky Lake fish community was performed using boat electroshocking and surface trawling. Four embayments within Kentucky Lake were sampled with a randomized block experimental design. Within each embayment, 6 separate electrofishing samples were obtained from randomly chosen 500-meter shoreline segments; each sample utilizing 1 of 6 different randomly selected DC electroshocking wave forms. Two 10-minute surface trawling samples were also taken. Each specimen was identified to species and total length of each specimen was measured. Concurrently with Hancock Biological Station’s bimonthly water quality/plankton surveys, this sampling protocol will be used for a long term fish monitoring program that will track catch per unit effort, body condition, and species diversity of non-game and non-commercial fish in Kentucky Lake.