Jason DeBoer, graduate student, will defend his master's degree thesis, "Recruitment of Walleye and White Bass in Southwest Nebraska Irrigation Reservoirs," at 2 p.m., Nov. 14 in Hardin Hall 107 (auditorium).
DeBoer's adviser is Kevin Pope. The graduate committee is comprised of TJ Fontaine, Richard Holland, Keith Koupal and Mark Pegg.
DeBoer's thesis abstract: Walleye (Sander vitreus) and white bass (Morone chrysops) are among the most popular sportfish in the reservoirs of the Great Plains. Despite considerable effort by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission stocking walleye and managing reservoirs for walleye and white bass, populations of walleye and white bass in southwest Nebraska reservoirs are dynamic, as erratic recruitment has led to 'boom and bust' fisheries for these two species. We investigated timing of and factors regulating recruitment using several approaches. We found no correlation between larval or age-0 juvenile fish abundances and age-1 fish abundance for either walleye or white bass. The variables in the candidate model sets for walleye were most-often related to water-level drawdown. The variables in the candidate model sets for white bass were most-often related to adult white bass abundance and condition, and to factors affecting over-winter mortality of juvenile white bass.