Comparison of Three Methods for Sampling Fishes and Macroinvertebrates in a Vegetated Freshwater Wetland

Three methods of sampling fishes, two seining methods and a drop trap method, were evaluated in heavily vegetated freshwater habitats. The portable drop trap method, which utilized a 1 × 1 m-sq. trap, collected significantly more macroinvertebrates and fish per unit area than did the seining methods. The meter square drop trap offered the additional advantages of a greater number of animals per unit effort and an integrated sample of vegetation, macroinvertebrates and fish in a given area. A 90% (s.d.= 7.4%) recovery of tagged fishes released into the traps in different habitats showed the m2 drop trap to be a highly reliable and effective sampling method for fish in vegetated wetlands.