Length-Weight Relationships for 44 Central Appalachian Fish Species

Abstract

Species-specific length-weight relationships can inform researchers and managers about the growth patterns and health of fish populations. Few length-weight relationships exist for Appalachian stream fish species despite the high amount of biodiversity within the region. The main purpose of our study was to determine the length-weight relationships for stream fish species found in Central Appalachia. We sampled 16 streams and captured over 14,000 individual fish among 44 species. We identified each fish to species and recorded total length (mm) and weight (g) for each individual. These data were log10 transformed and analyzed using linear regression to calculate the length-weight parameters for each species. Relationships were calculated for 44 different stream fish species. Searches in FishBase.org revealed that of the 44 species in our data, 9 species have no current data in FishBase.org (Froese and Pauly, 2016), while 20 others have no previous representation from Central Appalachia. The relationships obtained in this study are some of the first published for these species in this region. Availability of species- and region-specific data on length-weight relationships could help inform future research and management of these species.