FACTORS RELATED TO WARMOUTH (LEPOMIS GULOSUS) BIOMASS AND DENSITY IN FLORIDA LAKES

Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) biomass and density were positively related to percent area covered with aquatic vegetation in 60 Florida lakes. Warmouth biomass and denity were sampled in Lake Baldwin for nine years and found to be higher in the littoral than limnetic habitats. These data support conventional wisdom and suggest that the primary factor affecting warmouth biomass and density in Florida lakes is aquatic macrophytes abundance. Also, data examined from 60 Florida lakes showed that warmouth biomass averaged 10% of the entire fish population but reached as high as 50%. Because warmouth biomass and density can dominate other fishes in some systems they have the potential to direct a large portion of the energy flow through that system. Additional studies should be conducted to examine the ecological importance of warmouth, especially in macrophyte-dominated aquatic systems.