AUTHORS: Laurel H. Sacco, Jeremy L. Kientz1 Gene F. Galinat1, Bill Miller, Jacob L. Davis1 and Steven R. Chipps2
Department of Natural Resource Management South Dakota State University Brookings, SD, 57007
1South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks TOC West-4310 Adventure Trail Rapid City, SD, 57702
2U.S. Geological Survey, South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit, Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007
ABSTRACT: Understanding population recruitment is an important step in developing effective Walleye management strategies. In western South Dakota, Angostura, Belle Fourche, and Shadehill reservoirs provide important irrigation needs and flood control. These reservoirs also represent popular destinations for Walleye anglers, although the recruitment dynamics of these fisheries are poorly understood. In Angostura Reservoir, the stocking of larger, fingerling fish successfully augmented year class strength and was the principal driver of Walleye recruitment. In reservoirs where stocking was absent or inconsistent, Walleye recruitment dynamics were influenced by abiotic factors, particularly temperature and hydrologic conditions. Spring temperatures were universally influential in recruitment outcomes, although environmental conditions in late summer and fall were also important. Because recruitment bottlenecks generally occur during early life stages for Walleye, warming rate and(or) elevated temperatures, particularly during spring, may have negative impacts on cohort survival in western irrigation reservoirs.
