Seasonal Movements and Angler Exploitation of an Adfluvial Walleye Population in the Missouri River, Montana

An unauthorized introduction of walleye in Canyon Ferry Reservoir (CFR) challenges fisheries managers as the population pioneers new habitat upstream in the Missouri River.  Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) confirmed walleye in the river upstream of CFR in 2007.  Angler tag returns suggested walleye were abundant in the river.  It was unknown if these were adfluvial walleye originating in CFR, or a discrete fluvial population. Understanding seasonal movements and ecology of walleye in the river will allow managers to effectively monitor and manage these fish.  The objectives of this study were to monitor radio and anchor-tagged walleye movements to quantify movements and determine if two distinct populations exist, establish spatial and temporal densities within the river, and calculate exploitation rates of walleye by anglers in the river.  Overall, most radio-tagged walleye relocated in the river, 88 percent river and 100 percent CFR implanted fish, exhibited seasonal adfluvial movements suggesting, similar to other studies, that two distinct walleye populations are not present. Adfluvial walleye were concentrated in the lower 6.4 km of the river during the annual ascending hydrograph, maintained maximum upstream extent throughout the summer, and out-migrated into CFR by late fall. Radio-tagged walleye only used the river between 17 March and 27 November. We estimated walleye exploitation rates were 21 percent for CFR-tagged walleye and 13 percent for river-tagged walleye.  Exploitation rates for anchor-tagged walleye in this study reflect CFR exploitation rates (18% from 20102014) just prior to this study.  These results suggest that adfluvial Missouri River walleye are seasonally abundant and exploited at similar rates as lacustrine CFR walleye, but no changes to current river walleye management strategies are recommended.  In addition, routine walleye population monitoring surveys and a creel survey are warranted as the adfluvial CFR walleye population continues to adapt, expand, and establish

Rainbow Trout Spawning Characteristics and Relation to the Parasite Myxobolus cerebralis in the Missouri River, Montana

The myxosporean parasite Myxobolus cerebralis is responsible for significant declines of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations in several western states, including Montana. Despite a high prevalence of the parasite in Montana’s Missouri River, there have been no apparent impacts to the rainbow trout population. This study examined long-term M. cerebralis monitoring data from the Missouri River system below Holter Dam and evaluated rainbow trout spawning characteristics such as migration distance, spawning location, site fidelity and amount of spawning in the Missouri River and tributaries over three years in an attempt to explain why the population has not declined in the presence of M. cerebralis. Over 13 years of monitoring, a mean 5.3 percent of rainbow trout handled during population estimates had clinical signs of M. cerebralis infection. In experiments using sentinel fish 53 percent of the spawning habitat had high severity of M. cerebralis, 38 percent had low to moderate severity, and 9 percent had no infection. Radio telemetry showed spawning locations varied among years and tagged fish lacked spawning site fidelity. The distance that radio-tagged rainbow trout migrated to spawning locations was significantly different among river sections of the study area. Twenty-eight percent of the spawning redds were found in the Missouri River and 72 percent in the tributaries. Relative to previous studies, we found less tributary spawning and an increase in Missouri River spawning, where M. cerebralis infection severity is lower. Our findings suggest that diverse spawning behaviors may contribute to rainbow trout population stability by spreading the risk of M. cerebralis impact over spawning locations that have a broad range of infection severity

South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Review Panel report

The South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) is designed as a state level assessment of physical education programs. A Revision Panel of physical education experts and practitioners was charged with the responsibility to review SCPEAP and make recommendations for revisions to the Department of Education. This paper gives those recommendations

Heschl's gyrus is more sensitive to tone level than non-primary auditory cortex

Previous neuroimaging studies generally demonstrate a growth in the cortical response with an increase in sound level. However, the details of the shape and topographic location of such growth remain largely unknown. One limiting methodological factor has been the relatively sparse sampling of sound intensities. Additionally, most studies have either analysed the entire auditory cortex without differentiating primary and non-primary regions or have limited their analyses to Heschl's gyrus (HG). Here, we characterise the pattern of responses to a 300-Hz tone presented in 6-dB steps from 42 to 96 dB sound pressure level as a function of its sound level, within three anatomically defined auditory areas; the primary area, on HG, and two non-primary areas, consisting of a small area lateral to the axis of HG (the anterior lateral area, ALA) and the posterior part of auditory cortex (the planum temporale, PT). Extent and magnitude of auditory activation increased non-linearly with sound level. In HG, the extent and magnitude were more sensitive to increasing level than in ALA and PT. Thus, HG appears to have a larger involvement in sound-level processing than does ALA or PT