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<br />growth in certain areas. It should be recognized that many Wyoming resi- <br />dents have had positive recreational experiences in warmwater fisheries <br />and consider warmwater fishing opportunities as desirable recreation <br />alternatives. <br /> <br />Influences of temperature on life history <br /> <br />The wide variation in altitude and latitude in Wyoming creates a di- <br />verse spectrum of climatic conditions. An assessment of the possible cli- <br />matic conditions in which largemouth and smallmouth bass may become natur- <br />alized in Wyoming impoundments is essentially a review of their thermal <br />ecology. Despite the common belief that smallmouth bass are more cold toler- <br />ant than largemouth bass, both species have very similar temperature <br />tolerances. <br />Both smallmouth and largemouth bass begin spawning at about 130C <br />(550P) and exhibit peak spawning activity around 170C (630P). However, the <br />smallmouth bass terminate spawning at a lower temperature than largemouth <br />bass (Miller 1975, Coutant 1975). The eggs of both species develop nor- <br />mally between 150 and 250C (590-770P) with best survival at 200C (680P) <br />(Webster 1948, Kerr 1966, Coutant 1975). <br />The feeding rate of both bass species increases rapidly between 100 and <br />200C (500-680P), plateaus between 210 and 270C (700-8l0P), and declines at <br />temperatures warmer than 270C (Johnson and Charlton 1960, Molnar and Tolg <br />1962, Coutant 1975). During the summer, smallmouth occupy 190-210C <br />(670-710P) water in stratified lakes (Hile and Juday 1941, Westman and <br />Westman 1949, Hallman 1959), but do well in unstratified lakes with surface <br />water temperatures up to 300c (860P) (Hubert and Lackey 1979). Largemouth <br />bass seem to prefer warmer summer temperatures around 270C (800P) <br />(Dendy 1948). <br />As temperatures drop below 150C (590P) the activity of smallmouth bass <br />decreases and they become torpid at 4.50C (400F) (Klauda 1968, Coble 1975). <br />Below lOoc (500F) there is little feeding (Bennett 1954, Marcus 1932). A <br />similar pattern occurs for largemouth bass, but they may be slightly more <br />active during winter (Coutant 1975, Heidinger 1975). <br />The growth rate of both species is influenced by water temperature and <br />food supply. Growth begins with commencement of feeding near 100C (SOOP). <br />Optimal temperature for growth is near 260C (78.80F) for both largemouth <br />and smallmouth bass (Rowan 1962, Peek 1965, Horning and Pearson 1973, <br />Coutant 1975). Growth is influenced by latitude and the length of the <br />growing season (Coble 1967, Coutant 1975). <br />It has been observed that low water temperatures during and after <br />spawning have a negative influence on year class strength of largemouth <br />bass (Kramer and Smith 1962, Summerfelt 1975, Summerfelt and Shirley 1978). <br />In the northern edge of their range, summer temperatures influence first <br />year growth and subsequent overwinter survival or year class strength of <br />both black bass species (Fry and Watt 1956, Kramer and Smith 1960 and 1962, <br />Miller and Kramer 1971, Clady 1975, Serns 1982). <br />Robbins and MacCrimmon (1974) suggested that low summer temperature may <br />restrict establishment of black bass even where spawning temperatures are <br /> <br />13 <br />