PINES (Bemidji State University)
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Assessing the Dispersal and Recruitment of Stocked Walleye Fry in a Northern Minnesota Chain of Lakes
No full textAs part of Minnesota\u27s Walleye Sander vitreus egg take practice, 10% of eggs taken for hatchery purposes are stocked back into the donor lake. For Andrusia, part of the Cass Lake Chain of Lakes (Chain), this practice can result in elevated fry densities (mean: 17,000 fry/littoral hectare). However, if fry are able to disperse and use all available littoral hectares throughout the Chain, fry densities would be intermediate to typical stocking densities for Minnesota lakes (1,200 - 2,400 fry/littoral hectare). In 2016-2018, 3-3.5 million fry were mass-marked by immersion in oxytetracycline (OTC) prior to stocking into Andrusia to allow differentiation between these fish and those originating from natural reproduction or stocking of unmarked fry in other connected waters. Age-0 Walleyes were sampled throughout the Chain each fall (2016-2018) primarily by boat electrofishing. Each year, age-0 fish were widely distributed by late August. Combined mean marking rates (2016-2018) for each lake of the Chain ranged from 16 to 97% and cohort marking rates ranged from 71 to 78%. The ability of stocked fish to disperse throughout the Chain helped suppress density dependent effects, although, total length (mm) increased as catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) decreased with distance from stocking site. In 2019, a chain-wide gill net assessment resulted in cohort (2016-2018) marking rates at ages 1 to 3 similar to their age-0 marking rates. The Chain was previously thought to be largely self-sustaining with put-back stocking considered a social aspect of management by compensating for the removal of eggs (i.e. potential recruits) rather than contributory to the Walleye population, but our results suggest that this stocking is substantially contributing to the population
Commencement Program, May 2021
No full texthttps://pines.bemidjistate.edu/commencement/1003/thumbnail.jp
The Feasibility of Containerization in The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System
No full textThe use of waterways to transport goods has always been a staple of civilization dating back to some of our earliest days. And throughout history it has always played a pivotal role in our economies and affected the very way in which our civilizations developed. Perhaps one of the world\u27s most important waterways is the Great Lakes that lie directly in the heart of the North American continent and connect the heartland of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, providing a vital mode of transportation for shipping a variety of products from North America’s heartland to the rest of the world. The Great Lakes are also strategic for the transportation of domestic products, providing a way for producers to move goods from state to state without relying on truck or rail transportation. Around the rest of the world, it is no different as global trade has become an increasingly more important part of our daily lives. This has only become more true with the introduction of containerization, something that has revolutionized the shipping industry and brought about a dramatic change. The result of that is that shipping using the world’s oceans and waterways has become increasingly more important than ever before. Furthermore, the revolution that containerization has brought about has led some to ponder the possibility of introducing container shipping into the Great Lakes. Well, this may be an intriguing possibility as it could bring new found economic advantages, one must first ask what is the true feasibility of introducing containerization into the Great Lakes. Even if it were to be introduced would it truly be able to serve in an effective manner and operate in the same manner as containerization has around the rest of the world
Effects of Salt Runoff on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Colonies
No full textAquatic macroinvertebrates bridge the gap in part between primary and secondary consumers, making them ecologically important for most aquatic systems. They are used as biotic indicators for water quality due to their sensitivity to pollutants and may be affected, specifically, by chloride ion concentrations in the water. Water quality can be evaluated by looking at species compositions and their respective tolerance values. To determine long-term effects of road salt on macroinvertebrate colonies, a total of 338 identified macroinvertebrates of 10 families (two generalized to class) at 9 sites were collected from before, after, and between three bridges on Turtle River in Bemidji, Minnesota. The most numerous families of invertebrates were Gammaridae, Ephemeridae, and Corixidae (116, 73, and 71, respectively), and the weighted average tolerance values ranged from 4.10 to 8.07. The conductivity was also measured at each collection by using 1000 mL of surface water, with an average of 294.0 µS/cm for all sites, ranging from 285.5 to 305.1 µS/cm. Conductivity had no significant relationship with tolerance values, diversity, or richness (P \u3e 0.10). There was, however, a significant positive, linear relationship between river kilometer and conductivity (P = 0.01)
Comparing the Condition of Deformed and Non-deformed Walleyes in Long Lake, MN
No full textWalleye Sander vitreus is a popular game fish in Minnesota. Walleye’s have become such a popular game fish for anglers that it has led agencies to raise Walleye in rearing ponds. Farm raised fish can show deformities due to environmental, genetic, nutritional, infectious, and toxic factors. Due to this phenomenon, the purpose of this study was to determine if the condition of the Walleye differed between those with and without deformities in Long Lake, MN. Angling was the method of capture during the months of September 2020 through July 2021. There was no evidence to suggest condition differed between non-deformed and deformed Walleyes (P = 0.56)
Predicting Total Length of Fish in Minnesota Lakes Using Bony Structure Dimensions
No full textThis study seeks to establish a relationship between a fish’s total length to the size of various bony structures of prey fishes. Three important prey fish species in Minnesota were selected for examination in this study, including Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus, Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Length and weight dimensions of each fish’s otoliths, cleithra, and vertebrae were associated to total lengths of the fish they came from. In many dietary studies, the need for these relationships is strongly related to the disfigurement or degradation of prey fish in stomach samples. With accurate enough regression equations, researchers can formulate cheaper and more efficient methods to collecting data regarding piscivorous predator diets. Data collected from these species could predict the original fish’s length with a range of 92-99% confidence using the bony structure regressions. The cleithrum weight was the most useful measurement among all three species with an average of 98.3% accuracy of predicting total length. Additionally, all other relationships between total length and bony structure dimensions were highly significant (P\u3c 0.001). Upon success, these relationships may be implemented to reconstruct the size of a fish when length data is not available
Juvenile Diversion Programs: Comparing Minnesota County Characteristics to Determine Their Role in Pre-Trial Diversion Programs
No full textThe main goal of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate offenders and prevent youth from entering the adult justice system. One approach is through the use of diversion programs. The state of Minnesota requires all counties to offer at least one type of pre-trial diversion program. However, there is no ubiquitous program; the number and types of programs differ between counties, and the reason for these differences between jurisdictions is under-researched. I analyze the number and types of pre-trial diversion programs in Minnesota counties and compare them to various county characteristics to determine which characteristics play a role in the types of diversion programs implemented in different jurisdictions. I use county data collected from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the 2012 election. I find that the majority of Minnesota counties use only the required one type of pre-trial diversion program, and county characteristics do not play a significant role. However, the few outlier counties containing more than one type of pre-trial diversion program are found to have interesting components that suggest further research of specific jurisdictional differences to determine the key factors of a successful diversion program
A Political Effect on Judicial Decision Making: Does Ideology or Election Effect the Way Judges Decide?
No full textPolitics have shown to have a strong effect on most things in our country. There has been lots of research on our state judicial systems and their effects on judicial decisions. Judges have been accused of having underlying reasons to their decisions even though they are not supposed to. Past research has suggested that how the judge is retained has a small but relevant effect on judicial decision making. The literature review discusses effects of the state\u27s system of judicial selection. That leads us to question more about political effects on decision making. I analyze how the ideology of a state and all that entails may affect the decisions made by judges on joining a majority overturning precedent. My data comes from the Pollock States Dataset which is made up of political variables on states, the Judge File Data that is variables on cases separated by state such as the salience and retention systems, as well as some variables I added. The States Dataset focuses on different state statistic and the Judge File data is on variables that effected judicial decisions. All the data I used was based around the 2016 election year including all cases in the Jude File Data. The judicial decisions are focused on a judge choosing to join the majority in overturning precedent rulings. I analyze factors associated with politics to judicial decisions. When cross examining these factors, I expect to see a correlation between how a judge decides and the ideology of that state. I think there will be a connection to other factors such as competitiveness and major social issues. There was not a significant connection between the decision to overturn precedent and a state’s partisan characteristics. Competitiveness of the 2016 election and overturning precedent did show a correlation. The Democratic party was affected more by competitiveness. A states ideology influenced the judge\u27s decision to overturn precedent
Fall 2020 BSU Today Conference Program
No full textTLC Presents Virtual BSU Today 2020! (Aug. 19, 2020