| Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. Ecological Assessment of Kirk Pond (2006) | |||||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||||
| Kirk Pond is a 29-ha man-made pond adjacent to Fern Ridge Reservoir, OR. It is the central feature of Kirk Park, a multiple day-use park at the project. Kirk Pond supports a naturally reproducing warmwater fishery and a put- and-take trout fishery. For many years, the pond has been impacted by dense growths of Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.), which has greatly restricted recreational use of the pond and threatens both the native plants and vigor of the fishery. The primary purpose of this study was to provide an ecological assessment of the pond in preparation for an experimental application of the potential biological control agent Mycoleptodiscus terrestris (Mt), marketed as the mycoherbicide Aqua-Fyte. The primary goals of the assessment were to (1) determine the role of environmental factors, such as water depth, sediment and water chemistry, and light availability in affecting the present and future distribution and abundance of submersed aquatic plants (particularly M. spicatum) in Kirk Pond; (2) assess the condition of the Kirk Pond ecosystem, including water quality as well as the distribution, abundance, and species diversity of fish populations; and (3) document the existence of any endemic populations of the pathogenic fungus Mycoleptodiscus terrestris. | |||||||||||
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