Number 50 (October 2008)
Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings
Part of the Marine Biology Commons 0
0 Proceedings is a publication of the Southeastern Fishes Council, Inc., and is published in Milledgeville, Georgia. Officers are Bernie Kuhajda, Chair; Gerry Dinkins, Chair-Elect; Noel M. Burkhead, Immediate Past Chair; Rebecca Blanton, Secretary; and Anna George, Treasurer. Managing Editor for the Proceedings is Martin T. O'Connell, Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences , 1008 Geology-Psychology Building , University of New Orleans , New Orleans, LA 70148, 504-280-4032 , USA
Follow this and additional works at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/sfcproceedings Recommended Citation Southern Fishes Council (2008) "Number 50 (October 2008)," Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings: No. 50. Available at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/sfcproceedings/vol1/iss50/1
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Regional Southeastern Fishes Council Reports
This full issue is available in Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings: http://trace.tennessee.edu/sfcproceedings/vol1/iss50/1
Number 50
Southeastern Fishes Council
Proceedings
Dedicated to the Conservation of Southeastern Fishes
CONTENTS
Use of Visible Implant Fluorescent Elastomer (VIE) Tag Technique on Darters (Teleostei: Percidae): Mortality and Tag
Retention
Joyce A. Coombs and J. Larry Wilson................................................................................................................................. 1
Diversity and Distribution of Native Freshwater Mussels in Bayou Bartholomew, Arkansas
Jeff A. Brooks, Russell L. Minton, Steven G. George, David M. Hayes, Ronnie Ulmer, and Frank Pezold........................ 8
Regional Southeastern Fishes Council Reports ............................................................................................................................... 25
Minutes, Business Meeting, 33rd Annual Meeting, Southeastern Fishes Council ....................................................................... 39
Please check your mailing label. Opposite your name on the mailing label is the last year
for which we have a record of dues paid (or “9999” for lifetime members). If you have not
yet paid 2008 dues (or other dues in arrears), please send a check payable to Southeastern
Fishes Council to Anna George, Director, Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute, 5385
Red Clay Road, Cohutta, GA 30710; phone (706) 694-4419; fax (706) 694-3957. Dues are
$20 per year. If you are uncertain regarding your status, email Anna George at
The SFC will meet in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Thursday and Friday, the 13th and 14th
of November 2008, with possible field trips on Saturday, the 15th. Our meeting host is
Tennessee Aquarium. The finalized program and call for abstracts is posted on our
website <www.sefishescouncil.org>.
Use of Visible Implant Fluorescent Elastomer (VIE)
Tag Technique on Darters (Teleostei: Percidae):
Mortality and Tag Retention
JOYCE A. COOMBS AND J. LARRY WILSON
University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries 244 Ellington PSB, Knoxville, TN 37996-4563
We assessed mortality and tag retention for the Visible
Implant Fluorescent Elastomer (VIE) tagging technique in
four species of darters. Redline darters (Etheostoma
rufilineatum) VIE-tagged in the laboratory experienced no
mortalities and exhibited 100% tag retention after 125 d. A
subset of these E. rufilineatum was released in the wild
and VIE-tagged individuals were recaptured up to a year
after their release with identifiable tags. Gilt (Percina
evides), blueside (E. jessiae), and bluebreast darters (E.
camurum) were also tagged with VIE in the field. Of the
1,917 darters VIE-tagged and immediately released, only
1.2 % died from the tagging procedure. Subsequent surveys
revealed that recaptured P. evides retained VIE tags for as
long as 915 d (2.5 yrs). Also, one E. camurum that had
been VIE-tagged in 2003 was recaptured in 2007,
representing a tag retention time of approximately four years (1,449
d). While tagging mortality was low and tag retention time
high, there were some limitations in tag visibility and
discriminating different VIE colors (e.g., green versus yellow).
INTRODUCTION
Marking small fishes for research and conservation
purposes has always been problematic. There is a need to
develop an effective marking method for small (< 100 mm)
fishes that is inexpensive, biocompatible with the
organism, permanent, and can be easily used in the field. To
conduct precise studies of population dynamics and life
histories, a marking method must have minimal effect on fish
behavior, reproduction, life span, growth, feeding,
movement, and vulnerability to predation. Physical tags are
especially cumbersome for small fishes and chemical
marking has evolved as a possible alternative method.
Fishes have been marked using various chemicals
including metallic compounds, fluorescent compounds,
radioactive isotopes, latex, plastic, inks, paints, dyes, and stains
(Arnold, 1966)
. Application techn (...truncated)