Abstract

AbstractStandardized protocols for sampling fish in lentic systems were recently established for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. One of the main concerns of state biologists is that standard sampling methods could reduce the value and comparability of long‐standing, fixed‐transect historical data sets. Therefore, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides were sampled by electrofishing in six lakes using both the historical and the new standard methods in spring 2006. Based on a two‐way analysis of variance, the mean log‐transformed catch per unit effort (CPUE) and proportional size structure of quality‐size fish (PSSQ) and preferred‐size fish (PSSP) did not differ significantly between the two sampling methods for any lake, when all samples were included. Based on bootstrapping analyses, which controlled for differences in sample sizes between the standard and historical methods, the variation associated with mean CPUE was generally higher for the standard method, whereas the variation associated with mean PSSP was generally higher for the historical method. Aside from PSSQ, the sample size required to obtain adequate levels of power and detection were met only by the standard method, for which a larger number of samples were collected. Our study suggests that the point estimates (i.e., means) from the historical methods can be used in trend analyses in concert with the new standard methods but that the standard method provides for better comparisons among water bodies.

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