Abstract
Abstract Over 3,600 hectares of submersed aquatic vegetation in Lake Conroe, Texas, were eliminated 1 year after 270,000 grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella were stocked in 1981–1982. Seventeen fish species were commonly collected in cove rotenone samples and the biomasses of eight species declined (P ≤ 0.10) after vegetation removal. The most notable declines were observed for several small, phytophilic Lepomis spp., for bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, and for crappie Pomoxis spp. Biomass of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides did not decline (P = 0. 12) but the density of age-1 and older fish did decline (P = 0.02). Biomass and density of two cyprinid species and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus increased. Although biomass of longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis did not increase (P = 0.11), mean size declined and density increased an order of magnitude (P = 0.02). Density of threadfin shad Dorosoma petenense increased nearly fivefold after vegetation removal, coincident with a decline in mean size; howev...
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