NC AFS Chapter and Student Subunit Join NCSU Summer Class in Fish Population Studies

For 20 years, the Fisheries and Wildlife Summer Camp class (FW 312, Fisheries Techniques and Management) has been sampling the Bull Test Pond, a small impoundment on the NC State University Butner Beef Cattle Field Laboratory, along with American Fisheries Society members.  Organized by professors Tom Kwak and Rich Noble, the sampling has been an important exercise for the undergraduate students in the class, as well as an enjoyable partnership involving the American Fisheries Society State Chapter and NCSU Student Subunit.

Each summer, the largemouth bass population of the pond is sampled on two occasions using angling techniques and a mark-recapture method to estimate the population size and other important parameters.  The size and balance of the bass and bluegill populations have varied widely over the years, but what has remained constant is that the exercise has yielded important knowledge and experience to the students and AFS members who participate -- and as always, a day on the water is better than one in the classroom!

Thanks to all students and AFS members who participate, as well as to Dean Askew, Facility Superintendent, and his staff for accommodating the activity and the NC Agricultural Research Service for encouraging multiple uses of research facilities.

Bull Test Pond Photos

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