Poor Reproductive Success of Striped Bass from a Reservoir with Reduced Summer Habitat

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Abstract
Reproductive success (spawning, egg production, fertilization, hatch, larval survival) of striped bass Morone saxatilis from Cherokee Reservoir, Tennessee, was less in most years from 1979 to 1984 than that for stocks from two other Tennessee reservoirs, Norris and Watts Bar, when captured individuals from all three stocks were spawned in a hatchery. Reduced reproductive performance was expressed largely as reduction in percentage of females that spawned successfully and as poor embryo survival within 1 d postfertilization. Reproduction by Cherokee stock was best in years following those when the reservoir flushing rate was high. Reduced reproductive competence may be related to a decrease in the amount of summer habitat with suitable temperatures and dissolved oxygen concentrations, which stresses fish most severely in Cherokee Reservoir compared with the other two reservoirs. Rigorous testing of this hypothesis is recommended to guide management of striped bass and water quality in fresh and estuarine waters.

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