Two types of fish attractors, brush attractors made of cedar trees and Berkley and Company's Fish-Hab modules, were placed in a final cut coal mine lake and evaluated for fish concentrating effectiveness. Dives were conducted biweekly and numbers and species of fish at attractors were recorded. Data were then evaluated using Analysis of Variance tests.A total of 623 fish were recorded on attractors during the eight dives made from July 21 to October 24, 1986. Brush attractors held 485 fish or 78% of the total. Module attractors concentrated 105 fish (17%) and 33 fish (5%) were observed in the control areas. Brush attractors concentrated nearly five times as many fish as the modules and 15 times as many fish as the control area. The modules concentrated over three times as many fish as the control area. Results indicated there was no significant difference (0.05) in numbers of fish attracted by brush and modules with an Analysis of Variance With Repeated Measures test but density of individual species was not considered. Furthur analysis of attractors by date and specie over the study period using a One-Way Analysis of Variance revealed that brush attractors concentrated significantly (0.05) more fish than modules in mid to late summer, but not in the early fall. Modules were much less effective at concentrating fish and were never significantly different than the control areas.Scuba diving worked well as a method of evaluation for the attractors. Water clarity was adequate for visual observations and fish did not display a fright response or leave when the diver approached. At no time was there difficulty in identifying or counting fish greater than 10 cm.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/183429 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Rold, Robert E. |
| Contributors | Van Meter, Donald E. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 61 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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