Project: Movements of Resident and Non-Resident Anglers in Montana: Implications of Transferring Whirling Disease Among Drainages

Primary Investigator: Christopher Guy
Project Summary: Despite the numerous studies on the biology of Myxobolus cerebralis, little is known about the transfer of M. cerebralis among drainages by anglers. It is highly likely that anglers can transfer M. cerebralis because myxospores are found in the sediment, myxospores are resilient to environmental stress, fishing equipment captures benthic sediment, and anglers are mobile. Therefore, this research study will quantify amount of sediment on angling equipment, determine if the sediment on angling equipment contains myxospores, and determine sediment load and presence of myxospores on various wader and boot types. Preliminary data indicate that movement of salmonid anglers in Montana is at a global scale and that quantifying their movement rates is critical to determining the influence that anglers have on transporting myxospores and other invasive species. Results from this study will be useful in developing management strategies to reduce the spread of whirling disease and other invasive species throughout Montana and globally. These results will be useful in risk assessment and identifying angler transportation corridors that can be targeted for education purposes and wash stations. Finally, these data will provide managers with the needed information to determine if restricting wader type is needed.
Funding Period: 2005-2006
Final Report: 2005-2006 final report not yet available
Dataset(s) associated with this project:

There are no datasets associated with this project.