Lake Tarpon, located in Pinellas County, Florida, supports important recreational fisheries and ranks among the best largemouth bass lakes in Florida. A proposed change in the annual water-level fluctuations could affect recruitment of largemouth bass and black crappie. This project will document largemouth bass and black crappie recruitment over four years of varying water-level fluctuations. Additionally, a computer map of macrohabitats (e.g., aquatic plant communities, shoreline habitat compostion) will be generated using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).The computer map will allow simulation of potential habitat changes in response to water-level fluctuations. By examining sportfish recruitment and potential habitat responses to changing water levels, management of the lake water level could be be tailored to optimize sportfish populations. This project is funded by Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management.
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