Body Condition of Juvenile Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock, 1828) in Anthropogenic Refuges on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation during the 2006 Dry Season

This study investigated variations m body condition of brown hoplos
(Hoplosternum littorale) refuging in ponds in the Big Cypress region of southern Florida.
During the dry season environmental parameters fluctuated, water depth and dissolved
oxygen decreased, while temperature and conductivity increased. Standard lengths and
wet weights of 675 juvenile brown hoplos were measured from seven populations. Body
condition was compared between populations and through time (early vs. late dry season)
using length-weight relationship and Fulton's condition factor. The only significant
spatia-temporal variations in body condition occurred in the deepest refuges. One
population demonstrated an unexpected positive change in body condition, while another
(a deep culvert pond) showed negative changes in body condition over time. Smaller fish
(≤S65mmSL) found in these deep-water refuges demonstrated the most change in body
condition. Almost all populations exhibited isometric growth but the culvert pond
population had variable regression slopes (slopes ≠ 3 for both samples).