Image from the article
Nature · Disappearing Texas Bass | Emerging Hybrids:
"More not-so-great news on nature front, courtesy of the man. The state fish of Texas, the Guadalupe bass, is on its way to extinction if it’s not already there. Why? Because of human meddling with the ecosystem that once supported the bass – in the name of creating greater sport."
Here’s what happened. In the late ‘60s-early ‘70s, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department started restocking the Guadalupe and other rivers of west-central Texas with Guadalupe bass — a popular target for fly fishers and known as “Texas trout” for its fighting abilities.
Unfortunately for the Guadalupe, small-mouth bass is equally popular, so Texas PWD added the small-mouth at the same time. A poor understanding of mating abilities led PWD to believe that if the two fish species mated, their offspring would be sterile.
Going to research more on this article. With inquiries aimed at Texas PWD, I wonder about it's authors information source, Since the accompanying image sure looks like a 'Largemouth' (Black) to me. Was the Smallmouth introduced or already a native species?
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Image from..Fly Fish the Hill Country
3 comments:
I was pretty excited to find this blog. Then I found this article. The loss of Guadelupe bass is actually a very serious issue in fish management in general. I don't understand on what basis you're questioning this work.
You are not seriously questioning the validity of the Guadelupe Bass as a species?
That species has been the subject of multiple scientific studies and intense scrutiny over the years. Surely you're not saying that you decide on the basis of a sketch of a species you've never even seen before whether or not it exists?
Surely I must have misunderstood what you meant?
No No No I am questioning the information source from the Article I posted. I still have yet to research the issue, But it sounds as if you are familiar with it. Are the Smallmouth Hybridizing the Guadeloupe out of existence or is it from another cause (Pollutants or Fungal). The article states that the introduction of Smallmouth has caused for "Hybridization" of the Guadeloupe Hence the possibility of "extinction" If that were the case why are not the Smallmouth experiencing the same symptoms? Or has it not been studied? Female Smallies rearing hybrid Smallies?
The article just got my attention to this issue and if the author had known better he/she would not have posted a Largemouth image with it since it irrelevant.
Babble or explain my view?...;)
Sometimes there's an asymmetry in the ability of the males of one species to compete for mates. They're bigger, stronger or more aggressive and they win the competitive interactions for opportunities to mate.
Guadelupe bass are smaller than smallmouth bass, so that might be happening here. The smaller guadelupe bass males are getting passed over by the females who are mating with the smallmouth males instead.
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