Managing Fish and Invertebrate Resources in a Wood Stork Feeding Pond

ABSTRACT

We monitored densities and growth of juvenile bluegills (< 45 mm sl) stocked in autumn into a coastal Georgia freshwater pond that was managed as a wood stork feeding habitat. Cage experiments were used to examine how fish stocking rates and detrital supplements affected fish survival, fish growth, and the availability of invertebrate food supplies. As fish became large enough (> 50 mm standard length) to be useful wood stork food, the majority sought refuge in beds of vegetation and were thus not readily available to storks until July when a complete drawdown concentrated them in residual water. Bluegill growth and survival were not affected by detrital supplements or fish stocking rates (even as high as 450,000/ha). However, detrital hay supplements increased densities of tadpoles and most invertebrates. Fish density did not significantly affect invertebrate abundance.