AUTHORS: Maxwel Wilkinson, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point; Stephanie Shaw, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Escanaba Lake Research Station; Joseph Mrnak, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Escanaba Lake Research Station and University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Limnology; Greg Sass, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Escanaba Lake Research Station; Daniel Dembkowski, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point; Daniel Isermann, U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
ABSTRACT: The Ceded Territory of Wisconsin is a lake-rich region that supports important tribal subsistence and recreational fisheries for multiple species. Recently, declines in walleye Sander vitreus production and recruitment, coupled with increases in centrarchid abundance (e.g., largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and bluegill Lepomis macrochirus) have created challenges for managers in terms of maintaining desired fish community structure amidst changing environmental conditions and angler preferences. Competitive and predatory interactions between centrarchid species and walleye have been hypothesized to influence walleye natural recruitment, notably in small lakes (
