Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change
Climate change is expected to influence aquatic habitats and associated fish populations, yet we know little about the impact on recreational anglers. Our goal was to explore whether interannual fluctuations in waterbody surface area and other explanatory variables could be used as indicators of cha...
Saved in:
Published in: | Fisheries research Vol. 279; p. 107156 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Journal Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier B.V
01-11-2024
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Climate change is expected to influence aquatic habitats and associated fish populations, yet we know little about the impact on recreational anglers. Our goal was to explore whether interannual fluctuations in waterbody surface area and other explanatory variables could be used as indicators of changes in angler fishing effort. Our approach leveraged a combination of remotely sensed waterbody surface area, environmental and fish population data, and onsite angler survey monitoring data for Devils Lake, North Dakota, USA during the open-water fishing period (May 1st to August 31st) for 9 years (1992–2021). The information was used to develop a dynamic waterbody size-angler effort model. Changes in waterbody surface area reliably predicted changes in angler effort (r2 = 0.60). Increases in waterbody surface area led to increases in angler effort, and decreases in waterbody surface area led to decreases in angler effort. Our findings show promise that remotely sensed fluctuations in waterbody surface area could be used as an indicator of interannual angler effort dynamics. Dynamic waterbody size-angler effort models could provide managers the ability to predict changes in angler effort via climate-related hydrological cycles that affect the size and distribution of waterbodies on the landscape.
•Resource size-use models could explain dynamic social-ecological systems.•Changes in waterbody surface area explained variation in recreational angler effort.•Monitoring resource size changes could signal a social response. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0165-7836 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107156 |