chapter officers: fall edition: isel reaks the ice...1for those millennials reading this, cheech...
TRANSCRIPT
“Change is upon us” As I write this, I reflect on all the things around us that are changing. Leaves are quickly changing colors and falling, changes in the society that we live in, and changes in the way we do business as fisheries professionals. Throughout all of these “changes” we contin-ue to move forward as people and profession-als regardless of the adversity we must some-times face. In case you were wondering, the theme of this year’s meeting is “change”, but I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I want to acknowledge some of the positive change that has been occurring within our chapter. During my first 8 months as chapter President we have finally acquired and are working to update the new chapter webpage (https://units.fisheries.org/va/), changed the terms of Secretary and Treasurer from 2 to 3 years, and started planning to host the Southern Division meeting in 2021. We have also initi-ated the Virginia Junior Fisheries Biologist program and hope to host the first student this summer. Kudos to Eric Hallerman for spearheading this program! The field guide is also progressing nicely thanks to the work of Don Orth, Paul Bugas, Mike Pinder, Corbin Hilling and Derek Wheaton. The 2017 joint meeting with Virginia Tech at Washington & Lee University was a big suc-cess thanks to all the presenters and guest speakers for the “Applied Fish Health” ses-sion. There were 35 talks and 6 posters pre-sented at the meeting. Congratulations to our award winners – Skylar Wolf, Jason Emmel,
Corbin Hilling, Mike Pinder, Shannon White, Oscar Galagarza, and Jean Scott. Planning is underway for this year’s meeting (featuring guest speakers on “change”, a CE workshop and several great talks) to be held at the Hyatt Place in Fredericksburg on Feb-ruary 20th-22nd so go ahead and block off your calendars as we hope to see you there! Elections will be held soon for President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer so please make sure you vote for who you want to be leading the chapter on EXCOM. Participation by members is critical in the future success of the chapter so sign up to be a part of a committee or run for a position on EXCOM. I have been honored to serve as your Presi-dent and am excited for what the future holds for the Virginia Chapter of AFS. -Mike Isel
Fall Edition: November 2017
Isel Breaks the Ice:
Chapter Officers:
President:
Mike Isel
President:-Elect:
Johnathan Harris
Immediate Past-President: Craig Roghair [email protected]
Secretary:
Dan Goetz
Treasurer:
Dan Wilson [email protected]
Inside this issue:
President’s Rant 1
Fish are Stressed
DUDE!
2
2016 Meeting Award
recipients
3
Race to save the Clinch
Dace
4
Junior Fish Biologist
Award Announcement
5
Scholarship / Awards
Announcements
6-7
OD and the Snake-
heads come to town
8
2018 Meeting 9
12 days of Xmas, Alo-sid Style
10
Member Pubs 10
The Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society is a subunit of the American Fisheries Society. The chap-
ter was established in 1990 to provide fisheries professionals in Virginia with increased access to AFS; encourage
the exchange of information among fisheries and other aquatic resource professionals; provide a forum for the
discussion, debate, and resolution of aquatic resource issues within Virginia; and serve the Commonwealth by
providing expert scientific knowledge to allow for informed decisions concerning the use and development of the
state's natural resources. The Chapter website can be found at http://sdafs.org/vcafs/
Can Weed Relieve Stress in Fish? By Don Orth
Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector in the world food market. Like most of you, I love seafood and cannot get enough. No matter how you raise fish in captivity, the cost of food, space, and time to harvest will all hike up the price. Therefore, we are always looking at ways to decrease the space, food, and or the time to harvest. If we decrease the space for fish they are over-crowded and that stresses the fish and deteriorates water quality. So, “Dude! What can we do to alle-viate stress in poor water quality conditions?” What chemicals can we use for stress relief? “Dude! Marijuana works for me!” replied an old pot head. “Stress reduction is a nearly universal benefit of cannabis use” according to Cheech & Chong, many medical marijuana users, and astute readers of Leaf Science. Any regular exposure to marijuana leads to increased appe-tite and weight gain. “Well, duh” say Cheech & Chong. “Stress reduction, increased appetite, and weight gain – let’s give the cultured fish reefer! That’s some heavy shit, dude.”
It’s unlikely this research could be conducted in the USA due to the con-cerns of University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Patrick Saoud and associates in the American University of Beirut studied the ef-fect of cannabis oil on growth and metabolism of tilapia. I’m not making this up! It was published September 26, 2017 in Aquaculture Research. I don’t eat farm raised tilapia, I only care about the health and welfare of stoned tilapia fish. In an eight-week experiment, Saoud and associates confirmed that cannibas extract increased metabolism and feed conversion with no effects on blood parameters. But the stoned tilapia had reduced growth rate. So much for that theory. Saoud and associates concluded that “we do not believe fish should be given reefer.”
Clearly, Dave’s not here. But dude, really. I think Saoud and associates were missing the point. Raise marijuana with the fish tank water as efflu-ent! __________________________ 1For those Millennials reading this, Cheech & Chong were a Grammy Award–winning comedy duo
consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong who found a wide audience for their stoner comedy routines in the 1970s.
Fall Edition Page 2
Eugene W. Surber Professional Fisheries Scientist Award: Mike Pinder, DGIF
Natural Resource Conservationist Award: Jean Scott
Robert D. Ross Graduate Scholarship in Fisheries and Related Aquatic Sciences: Cowinners: Corbin Hilling (left), Virginia Tech, and Jason Emmel (right), Virginia Tech
Undergraduate Scholarship Award: Skylar Wolf, Virginia Tech.
Best Student Paper Award : Skylar Wolf, PA Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Penn State.
Best Student Poster: Oscar Galagarza, Virginia Tech
Fall Edition Page 3
Eric! Where’s
the check?
No Check???
Occupancy and detection of Clinch Dace using two gear types By M.J. Moore, D.J. Orth, and E.A. Frimpong. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management In-Press.
The Clinch Dace Chrosomus sp. cf. saylori discovered in 1999, is an undescribed headwater fish species of global conservation concern with a limited distribution in two counties in southwest Virginia. Highly efficient sampling gears are key to monitoring headwater fish as-semblages in Appalachia including those containing Clinch Dace. Additional information is needed regarding the habitat requirements of the species to understand responses to future mining and logging activities in the region. An occupancy modeling framework is useful to ac-count for incomplete detection with multiple sampling gears in presence-absence surveys for cryptic or rare species. We detected Clinch Dace at 13 out of 70 sites. Occupancy corrected for imperfect detection probability did not differ from naïve occupancy estimates and was 0.19. Clinch Dace occurred in streams with higher substrate embeddedness and catchment forest cover. Backpack electrofishing had a 55% higher probability of detecting Clinch Dace in a 50 m sub-reach than minnow traps. Appropriate management actions for this species may focus on preserving forested cover in occupied watersheds and monitoring the future impact of surface mining activities that increase total dissolved solids. Sampling protocols for the imperiled Clinch Dace can incorporate both gears and adjust sampling effort to maximize species detec-tion in specific habitats and with specific research goals.
Photo of Clinch Dace by Rebecca Bourquin
Fall Edition Page 4
You can’t find me. Neh
neh neh neh boo
boo….Wait, you need to
find me to save me?
CRAP!
Announcing the Virginia Junior Fisheries Biologist Program
Eric Hallerman and the Awards Committee
The Virginia Junior Fisheries Biologist Program aims to provide practical field experience to students with interest in pursuing a career in fisheries science and aquatic resource management. Students will be paired with a fisheries men-tor from their local area to gain hands-on experience and to plan and execute a fisheries-related project. We seek mo-tivated students that are available to participate full-time (32-40 hours per week) for at least 8 weeks during summer break. Application to the program is open to current 11th- and 12th-grade high school, community college, and four-year college students regardless of race, creed, sex, or economic background. Because a goal of the program is to in-crease diversity within the fisheries professions, groups underrepresented in our profession are especially encouraged to apply. Information for prospective mentors also may be found by following the link on our Chapter’s webpage. Ap-plications and supporting materials must be submitted by December 31, 2017.
Overview of procedure. – Members of the Virginia Chapter will establish connections with high schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges to identify prospective participants in this program. Additionally, some school districts have mentorship programs. The Awards Committee and other Virginia Chapter members will attempt to partner pro-spective junior fisheries biologists with a nearby mentor, for example at a university or an agency such as the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Applications materials may be accessed through the Chapter website or from Eric Hallerman at [email protected]. The successful applicant will be selected by the Awards Committee. An appli-cation will be approved only if the mentor can demonstrate that the student is covered by liability insurance from the institution or agency at issue or through other means. The student’s stipend will be paid by the Chapter in monthly pay-ments (to be determined based on $1000/mo. for full-time service), with payment of the last installment contingent upon receiving a final report in the form of a scientific manuscript.
Timeline
Applicants must complete all required fields in all sections of the application of the application to be considered complete. Appli-cants who submit incomplete applications will not be considered for selection. Please contact Eric Hallerman ([email protected]) with any questions about the application process.
Ascertain that the Chapter has support for one or more scholars September 30
Call for applications and nominations October 31
Call for mentors October 31
Students and mentors submit applications December 31
Award committee considers applications January – February
Announce award recipient(s) at Virginia Chapter annual business meeting
February – March
Student works with mentor through the summer June - August
Working with mentor, student prepares and submits a report of the September 30
Fall Edition Page 5
$Money$ $Money$ $Money$ Robert D. Ross Graduate Scholarship
In Fisheries and Related Aquatic Sciences
Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
The Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society invites applications for two graduate scholarships in fisheries and related aquatic sciences. The First Place Award will be $750 and an Honorable mention will be awarded at $250. The scholarship will be awarded at the Chapter’s annual meeting.
Criteria for the scholarship are:
The applicant must be a graduate student in fisheries, biology, or a related aquatic science program at an ac-credited Virginia university.
The applicant should demonstrate academic excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as promise for future contributions to fisheries and aquatic resource conservation.
Preference will be given to applicants who wish to pursue a career in fisheries or related aquatic fields and who have demonstrated interest in professional activity in addition to required academic activities.
Applications should consist of:
A letter from the applicant (not to exceed 500 words) describing his/her background in fisheries and related sciences, the significance of his/her research to management/conservation of fisheries and aquatic resources, and career aspirations
Copies of transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended (unofficial acceptable)
Two letters of recommendation, at least one of which should be from the applicant’s major advisor
Applications, transcripts and letters of recommendation should be emailed to the Past President of the Vir-ginia Chapter listed at: https://units.fisheries.org/va/officers/ with the subject line ‘Ross Scholarship’.
Application deadline is 30 days prior to the annual meeting date listed at:
https://units.fisheries.org/va/meetings-events/
Fall Edition Page 6
Robert E. Jenkins Undergraduate Scholarship In Fisheries and Related Aquatic Sciences
Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
The Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society invites applications for two undergraduate scholar-ships in fisheries and related aquatic sciences. The First Place Award will be $750 and an Honorable mention will be awarded at $250. The scholarship will be awarded at the Chapter’s annual meeting.
Criteria for the scholarship are:
The applicant must have junior or senior class standing at an accredited Virginia college or university.
The applicant should be pursuing a 4-year degree and should demonstrate in his/her letter of application a desire to pursue a career in aquatic resource management or conservation, or in a field consistent with these areas.
The applicant should demonstrate academic excellence.
The scholarship is for one academic year but may be awarded to the same student for up to two years.
Applications should consist of:
A letter from the applicant (not to exceed 500 words) describing his/her background, qualifications and inter-est in fisheries or related aquatic sciences,
Copies of transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended (unofficial acceptable), and
One letter of recommendation from a professor in the applicant’s major field of study.
Applications, transcripts and letters of recommendation should be emailed to the Past President of the Virginia Chapter listed at: https://units.fisheries.org/va/officers/ with the subject line ‘Jenkins Scholarship’.
Application deadline is 30 days prior to the annual meeting date listed at:
https://units.fisheries.org/va/meetings-events/
Fall Edition Page 7
The First International Snakehead
Symposium July 17th – 19
th, 2018 Old
Town Alexandria, VA
Please visit the VA Chapter AFS webpage for more information or contact
[email protected]. First call for presentations and early registration coming
Snakeheads, particularly Northern Snakehead Channa ar-gus, have experienced dramatic range expansions in North America over the past two decades. Commensurate with this expansion has come publicity via a plethora of popular media outlets and a handful of peer-reviewed journal articles resulting from a flurry of research by various state, federal and academic institutions. This controversial group of fish has captivated audiences around the globe, but a great deal of misinformation remains in the public domain due to mis-conceptions and limited conveyance of legitimate biological and ecological information from the scientific communi-ty. Additionally, as C. argus continues to spread along the mid-Atlantic coast and now in the central United States, resource managers from newly colonized and neigh-boring states desire information to inform expectations and implement management strategies. Despite some progress in describing certain aspects of snakehead biology and, to a lesser extent, ecology, the list of unknowns remains great. Snakeheads are often implicated as a vector of ecosystem destruction and/or restructuring, yet nearly no conclusive ev-idence of such exists. Furthermore, various facets of spawning behavior, early life history and recruitment are poorly understood at best. There is a paucity of studies de-scribing interactions between snakeheads and other spe-cies, and their ecosystem effects are thus largely unknown. This symposium aims to fill some of these gaps and bring the most germane and timely research and management information to the forefront.
Fall Edition Page 8
Save The Date! February 20th-22nd, 2018
Virginia Chapter AFS Annual Meeting
The Hyatt Place
Fredericksburg, VA Hotel Information:
The Hyatt Place In Fredericksburg, VA (540)654-3333
Rooms available on the nights of the 20th and 21st at a rate of $91/night, reservations must be made by Jan 11th, 2018
Group Name: Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
**Call for papers coming soon
**Awards and scholarships will be awarded at the meeting, please visit the Virginia AFS web-site for eligibility and applications
Fall Edition Page 9
Recent Member Publications
Joseph D. Schmitt, Eric M. Hallerman, Aaron Bunch, Zach Moran, Jason A. Emmel & Donald J. Orth. Predation and Prey Selectivity by Nonnative Catfish on Migrating Alosines in an Atlantic Slope Estuary http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/umcf20/current Moore et al Densities and Population Sizes of Clinch Dace Chrosomus sp. cf. saylori in the Upper Clinch River Basin in Virginia http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1643/CI-16-506 Hatcher et al Spawning Observations of Clinch Dace: Comparison of Chrosomus Spawning Behavior http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1674/0003-0031-177.2.318
Fall Edition Page 10
Direct all communications
regarding the newsletter to:
Dan Goetz
107 Foxwood Drive
Farmville, VA 23901
E-mail:
Virginia Chapter,
American Fisheries
Society
American Shad Christmas List
On the 12th day of Christmas my Fish biologist gave to me...
12. Twelve thousand less metric tons of Menhaden bycatch
11. Eleven State Protections
10. 10,000,000 Fry stocked annually
9. Nine improved waste water treatment plants
8. 8,000 less tons of sediment
7. 7,000 km of protected riparian zone
6. Six less dams
5. 5,000 km of river access
4. Four Fish ways
3. $300,000 in funding annually
2. Two fish hatcheries
1. And 1less shopping cart in a Bradford Pear Tree