Notes: The scale of the y-axis (total acres) changes with each selection. Costs exclude Admin costs.
Freshwater Fisheries Research & Management Long Term Plant Monitoring
What Does The Plant Community Breakdown Look Like?
Species Frequency Counts = Total number of times an aquatic plant species was encountered from points along evenly-spaced transects across the lake. All aquatic plants encountered at each point are categorized as Sparse, Moderate, or Dense.
How to Certify a Record Fish
State Record Fish
FWC Fish Attractors
Freshwater Fisheries Research & Management Electrofishing Monitoring
Freshwater Fisheries Management Long Term Monitoring
Florida's freshwater fishes, like other animals, can have naturally occurring diseases and abnormalities. Abnormalities can sometimes be caused by environmental conditions including changes in water quality, parasitic infections, predation, and genetic mutations. Based on current monitoring data, abnormalities mostly occur at a low rate and have minimal effects on fish populations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has begun to monitor abnormalities as part of an established long-term fish monitoring program. Regular data collection will support analysis of trends in the prevalence of abnormalities in Florida's freshwater ecosystems.
As fish are collected during routine sampling, they are checked for abnormalities. FWC biologists use a field-based coding system to classify abnormalities: F = fin rot or erosion, L = lesion or infected area (like a tumor, skin erosion, or open wound) that is larger than 1" x 1" in size, P = dense parasitic infection, S = skeletal malformation, and O = other abnormality (like predator or angling wound or spawning stress). The results presented in this graphic are locations that were monitored for fish health conditions and are not the only waterbodies with fish that may have these conditions. The presence of abnormalities does not necessarily indicate there is a problem for the fish or fish population.
Fin Rot (F) - Active inflammation or erosion of any or all fins
Lesion (L) - infected area (like a tumor, skin erosion, or open wound) that is larger than 1" x 1" in size, can be a single infected area or combined over multiple infected areas.
Other (O) - Conditions not described in other categories, that include but not limited to predation wounds, angler wound, and abnormal color morphs.
Parasitic infection (P) - parasites presenting at 5 parasites per square inch anywhere or 1 parasite per square inch covering the entire body.
Skeletal malformation (S) - animal with a malformation of any bony structure (spine, gill plate, jaw etc.)
Freshwater Mussels and Fish: Deception, Connection, and Transformation
Freshwater Mussels and Fish: Deception, Connection, and Transformation
Florida's native freshwater mussels are the best anglers in the state, as many species create lures to mimic a small fish or other prey item. When a fish takes a bite, the mussel releases its young which then attach to the fish's gills. This does not harm the fish and allows the young to hitch a ride upstream where they can drop off and grow. Here is a chord diagram showing the interaction between freshwater mussels and the fish hosts they use. The freshwater mussel tribe (group in the family Unionidae) is on the left in orange and the fish family is on the right in blue. Which mussel-fish interactions are happening on your lake? Click each strand for more info!