Quite a beautiful calm lake bottom.

Started by WAS, June 26, 2019, 05:08:43 AM

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WAS

Something to think about when creating lake floors. Beautiful. Not a hard effect to achieve either. Will have to give it a go in the morning.

PabloMack

#1
Interesting. Do you recognize the hexagonal detritus patterns in the gravel and know
what made them?  I think they are nesting sites for Centrachid fishes if this picture was
taken in North America. The parent fishes were momentarily scared away by the approaching
boat but they will return after it leaves. They are colonial nesters and each parent keeps
a personal space between themselves and their neighbors so that the areas of least activity
are where the detritus settles because they have least turbulence. They might act as a form of
camoflage to hide the presence of the nests from would-be predators as they are otherwise
exposed on the open lake or river bottom. Sort of reminiscent of colonial marine nesting birds.
This is an example of evidence of the presence of higher aquatic life forms that you would
probably never see in their absence. It is a form of bioturbation.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=486957

WAS

#2
Quote from: PabloMack on June 26, 2019, 11:03:27 AM
Interesting. Do you recognize the hexagonal detritus patterns in the gravel and know
what made them?  I think they are nesting sites for Centrachid fishes if this picture was
taken in North America. The parent fishes were momentarily scared away by the approaching
boat but they will return after it leaves. They are colonial nesters and each parent keeps
a personal space between themselves and their neighbors so that the areas of least activity
are where the detritus settles because they have least turbulence. They might act as a form of
camoflage to hide the presence of the nests from would-be predators as they are otherwise
exposed on the open lake or river bottom. Sort of reminiscent of colonial marine nesting birds.
This is an example of evidence of the presence of higher aquatic life forms that you would
probably never see in their absence. It is a form of bioturbation.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=486957

Sunfish are common here, but unfortunately this lake is stocked with trout which had eaten everything, and than someone introduced larged mouth bass eating the stocked fish. If these are nesting sites they're very old. The man who took the picture came for rainbow troat and couldn't get bass off his line. People have been wanting "sport fishing" in WA so they have been illegally moving bass into lakes. Really unfortunate. Sunfish, bluegills, etc, all the natural fish are being eaten out of the ecosystem.

PabloMack

#3
What we call "fresh water bass" (such as large/small mouth) are Centrarchids too. I read a study one time that said that young bass can occupy the niches of the smaller "sunfish" species and so, if the young bass are better at avoiding the large bass, then the smaller species can be wiped out. Bass are cannibalistic and they change their habits as they get older and bigger. If they start breeding when they are fairly small, they might nest up near the shore to avoid the large bass that are down in the deep water so the nest sites in the picture might still be those of bass. I wouldn't expect the hexagonal detrital patterns to hang around for years because snakes, turtles, storms etc. will most likely erase them over a period of months. IMHO

WAS

#4
Doing reading, bass will use old nests and new nests. Old nests, because the nest itself is rock, will last quite a while. Rather, the nesting sites will be covered with debris and silt if the water is running and prime to incoming debris from the forest. They will use their nest from prior years, or other basses nests if they can rather than make another. Smallmouth/bluegill/sunfish can move "boulders" of a maximum of 255mm, or 10 inches. Turtles aren't common here, usually down by the ocean, and the only snakes are single species of garden snake, and the very rare and elusive rubber boa, both don't like to swim, nor dive. PNW side of the cascades is blocked from most North Americas smaller creatures that cannot traverse the passes. No poisonous snakes or spiders that aren't hitchhikers.

Additionally I am reading that bass tend to nest alone. Bluegill tend to create large nesting sites. Also bass like to make their nests around shelter, or natural dips in the terrain. They also tend to be lazy about their nests and often just clear an area out.

Considering we don't get much high winds in the alpines here, and more just rain, it's likely these can last years and these are from either an existing or past population of bluegill or actual sunfish wish due massive breeding sites.

See large mouth bass nests (couldn't even find nests with multiple pairs that wasn't actually bluegill pictured)

PabloMack

Quote from: WASasquatch on June 27, 2019, 01:20:37 PMConsidering we don't get much high winds in the alpines here, and more just rain, it's likely these can last years and these are from either an existing or past population of bluegill or actual sunfish wish due massive breeding sites.

If the small species are gone then that's pretty sad. I complained to a USFW friend of mine one
time that our National Parks are too often places to watch birds and kill fish. I think the preservation
of native fish species is just as important as mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

:(

WAS

Quote from: PabloMack on June 27, 2019, 02:02:07 PM
Quote from: WASasquatch on June 27, 2019, 01:20:37 PMConsidering we don't get much high winds in the alpines here, and more just rain, it's likely these can last years and these are from either an existing or past population of bluegill or actual sunfish wish due massive breeding sites.

If the small species are gone then that's pretty sad. I complained to a USFW friend of mine one
time that our National Parks are too often places to watch birds and kill fish. I think the preservation
of native fish species is just as important as mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

:(

Yeah, it's technically illegal what they are doing with bass species in WA (especially Texas Largemouth), and ruining actual fishing for everyone else. And USFW is literally wasting millions of dollars stocking lakes where their stock is being eaten out before fishing season even fully starts. All while native populations of fish are disappearing. Bluegill, sunfish, brook troat, cutthroat etc, are all rare to catch in lakes unless you're rural.

And now we have a new problem of Koi! Seeing huge koi everywhere, including basic gargantuan goldfish people had let go.