scholarly journals Dynamics of the Lake Michigan food web, 1970–2000

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 736-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles P Madenjian ◽  
Gary L Fahnenstiel ◽  
Thomas H Johengen ◽  
Thomas F Nalepa ◽  
Henry A Vanderploeg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Petromyzon Marinus ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Sea Lamprey ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis

Herein, we document changes in the Lake Michigan food web between 1970 and 2000 and identify the factors responsible for these changes. Control of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) populations in Lake Michigan, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, had profound effects on the food web. Recoveries of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and burbot (Lota lota) populations, as well as the buildup of salmonine populations, were attributable, at least in part, to sea lamprey control. Based on our analyses, predation by salmonines was primarily responsible for the reduction in alewife abundance during the 1970s and early 1980s. In turn, the decrease in alewife abundance likely contributed to recoveries of deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and burbot populations during the 1970s and 1980s. Decrease in the abundance of all three dominant benthic macroinvertebrate groups, including Diporeia, oligochaetes, and sphaeriids, during the 1980s in nearshore waters ([Formula: see text]50 m deep) of Lake Michigan, was attributable to a decrease in primary production linked to a decline in phosphorus loadings. Continued decrease in Diporeia abundance during the 1990s was associated with the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion, but specific mechanisms for zebra mussels affecting Diporeia abundance remain unidentified.

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) effects on sediment, other zoobenthos, and the diet and growth of adult yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in pond enclosures

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1903-1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Thayer ◽  
R C Haas ◽  
R D Hunter ◽  
R H Kushler
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Zooplankton Density ◽  
Growth Differences ◽  
Percent Nitrogen ◽  
Induced Changes

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in enclosures located in an experimental pond adjacent to Lake St. Clair, Michigan, increased sedimentation rate but had relatively minor effects on percent organic matter and percent nitrogen content of sediment. In contrast, sediment from Lake St. Clair adjacent to zebra mussels was significantly higher in carbon than that 0.5 m away. Zebra mussels increase the nutritional value of surficial sediment and provide greater structural heterogeneity, which is probably more important in causing change among zoobenthos. Zoobenthos and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) diet were dominated by dipteran larvae and leeches. Zoobenthos was significantly different between enclosures with and without zebra mussels. Treatments with zebra mussels had significantly more oligochaetes and tended to have more crustaceans (isopods and amphipods). In June, yellow perch without zebra mussels consumed significantly more zooplankton, and those with mussels had more crustaceans in their diet. Zooplankton density was greater in treatments without zebra mussels. Yellow perch with zebra mussels grew significantly more than those without mussels. Zebra mussels in the enclosures neither reproduced nor were eaten by yellow perch; hence. the observed growth differences were due to indirect effects involving zebra mussel induced changes in benthic structure and biota.

Response of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Oneida Lake, New York, to the establishment of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Mayer ◽  
A J VanDeValk ◽  
J L Forney ◽  
L G Rudstam ◽  
E L Mills
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Water Clarity ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Oneida Lake ◽  
Zooplankton Size ◽  
Adult Growth

We used long-term data on Oneida Lake, New York, to evaluate hypotheses about the effects of introduced zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on yellow perch (Perca flavescens). We detected no change in survival, diet, or numbers of young-of-the-year (YOY) yellow perch. YOY growth increased in association with zebra mussel introduction and was marginally correlated with zooplankton size, which increased after zebra mussel introduction. Low numbers of YOY in recent years did not explain their increased growth rate. The percentage of age 3 and older yellow perch that consumed zooplankton and benthos increased after zebra mussel introduction. Water clarity, which has increased since zebra mussel introduction, was inversely related to the percentage of the adult population with empty stomachs and positively related to the percentage that consumed benthos. The percentage of adult yellow perch that consumed zooplankton was positively related to zooplankton size. Despite the increase in percentage of adults consuming both types of invertebrate prey, we detected no changes in adult growth associated with zebra mussel introduction. This suggests that the principal effects of zebra mussels on yellow perch in Oneida Lake were not via benthic pathways but through modifications of water clarity and zooplankton. Thus far, these effects have not been negative for the yellow perch population.

Complementarity in the Use of Food and Thermal Habitat by Lake Michigan Fishes

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 662-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry B. Crowder ◽  
John J. Magnuson ◽  
Stephen B. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Thermal Habitat ◽  
Young Of The Year

The potential for ecological segregation of Lake Michigan fishes was examined by comparing diets and thermal habitat use of common species. Samples were collected by bottom trawling (N = 68) off Grand Haven, Michigan, September 7–13, 1977. Five common species exhibited complementarity in the use of food and thermal habitat resources. During the day, adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) had similar diets but occupied somewhat different thermal habitats. Young-of-the-year (YOY) alewives segregated from adult alewife and rainbow smelt on both habitat and food. Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), YOY alewives, and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) used similar thermal habitats but fed on different prey. Trout-perch (Percopsis osmiscomaycus) tended to segregate from the others based on both food and thermal habitat but may experience diffuse competition. Adults of the three native species consume entirely different prey than exotic alewife and rainbow smelt. The native species which declined during the invasion of alewife and rainbow smelt were those with apparently similar habitat and food requirements to the exotics. These data suggest that competition is important in maintaining the structure of the Lake Michigan fish community.Key words: competition, fishes, food, habitat, Lake Michigan, predation, temperature

Changes in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations of Lake Michigan, 1954–75

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1821-1829 ◽  
Author(s):  
LaRue Wells
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Commercial Production ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Exploitation Competition ◽  
Sport Fishery ◽  
High Production

In the early and mid-1960s the abundance of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Lake Michigan declined abruptly. The decline began in the northern part of the lake and spread progressively southward. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the nonnative alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), by interfering with perch reproduction, was the primary cause of the decline. The alewife was first reported in northeastern Lake Michigan in 1949, and had become extremely abundant throughout the lake before an enormous die-off in 1967 reduced its numbers by an estimated 70%. An intensive fishery hastened the decline of perch. In most areas the decline was immediately preceded by a period of conspicuously high commercial production. This high production appears to have been related in part to increased growth rates of perch resulting from much lower density of younger fish. A sport fishery for perch in shallow water collapsed a few years before the species declined in abundance. The most logical explanation is that heavy concentrations of alewives physically displaced the perch from nearshore areas. Although perch populations increased in some areas in the 1970s, a full recovery is unlikely unless alewife numbers are further reduced. Key words: Percidae, Lake Michigan, Perca, population dynamics, exploitation, competition

Ecosystem change and decadal variation in stock–recruitment relationships of Lake Erie yellow perch (Perca flavescens)

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 531-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Kevin B Reid ◽  
Thomas D Nudds
Keyword(s):  
Random Walk ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
Stock Recruitment

Abstract Fish stock–recruitment relationships (SRRs) may vary in response to ecosystem change, increasing uncertainty for fisheries management. We defined three periods between 1975 and 2015 over which Lake Erie, a Laurentian Great Lake, underwent significant ecosystem changes: before zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) establishment, after zebra mussel establishment and before re-eutrophication, and after re-eutrophication. To examine the extent to which SRRs of Lake Erie yellow perch (Perca flavescens) also varied over these periods, we compared the performance of Baseline (constant recruitment), Ricker (constant SRR), Periodic Ricker (different SRRs among three periods) and Random-walk Ricker (annually varying SRRs) models fitted to data for yellow perch stocks corresponding to three lake basins. Periodic and Random-walk Ricker models performed better for stocks in the western and eastern basins, but the Baseline model performed best in the central basin. Annual variation in the SRRs coincided with the timing of zebra mussel establishment and re-eutrophication in the shallower western basin, but not in the deeper eastern basin, where quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) established later and conditions are less eutrophic. These results underscore that temporally and spatially varying SRRs associated with ecosystem change should be taken into account in models of fish population dynamics.

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), habitat alteration, and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) foraging: system-wide effects and behavioural mechanisms

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2459-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Mayer ◽  
L G Rudstam ◽  
E L Mills ◽  
S G Cardiff ◽  
C A Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Species Introduction ◽  
Abiotic Interactions

The aggregate impact of an exotic species introduction, such as the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), may involve a large number of biotic and abiotic interactions within the recipient ecosystem. We used laboratory experiments and field data to assess effects of zebra mussels on both foraging success of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and activity of the amphipod Gammarus fasciatus. In two laboratory experiments zebra mussel clusters reduced the rate at which yellow perch captured amphipods. Yellow perch captured fewer amphipods when zebra mussels were present at two light levels (<2.1 and >214 lx) and across a range of prey densities (76–1500 amphipods·m–2). The effect of zebra mussels on amphipod activity depended on light level. Yellow perch captured fewer amphipods in the presence of mussel clusters than when plants were present. The frequency of amphipods in the diets of adult yellow perch in Oneida Lake increased after zebra mussel introduction, but the increase was greater in low mussel density habitats. Our laboratory results and field observations suggest that zebra mussels affect yellow perch foraging on amphipods through increased structural complexity (negative) and increased light penetration ( positive), but not through increased prey density.

Individual-based model simulations of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) induced energy shunt on walleye(Stizostedion vitreum) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations in Oneida Lake, New York

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 2148-2160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward S Rutherford ◽  
Kenneth A Rose ◽  
Edward L Mills ◽  
John L Forney ◽  
Christine M Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Forage Fish ◽  
Stizostedion Vitreum ◽  
Individual Based Model ◽  
Oneida Lake ◽  
Model Predictions

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) recently invaded North American aquatic ecosystems and are hypothesized to impact lakes by increasing water clarity through filtration and shunting energy from pelagic to benthic pathways (ES effect). We used an individual-based model of Oneida Lake, New York, walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations to simulate ES effects on percids by lowering zooplankton density and production rates and increasing benthos rates. We performed 50-year simulations involving both zooplankton and benthos changes together and each change alone. We also performed simulations to determine robustness of model predictions under different assumed levels of zooplankton and benthos, increased forage fish and mayflies, and walleye stocking. Predicted ES effects were elimination of walleye high-recruitment years, resulting in a 30% reduction in adult walleye abundance. Yellow perch adult abundance increased by 6% due to reduced walleye predation. Neither component (zooplankton or benthos) of ES generated the same total response for yellow perch as both components together. Simulated walleye stocking and increased forage fish density had little effect on model predictions. Increased mayfly densities offset predicted ES effects by buffering predation on juvenile percids. Model predictions of ES impacts on percids generally were consistent with observed changes in Oneida Lake since zebra mussel arrived.

scholarly journals Elucidating patterns of size-dependent predation on larval yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Lake Michigan: an experimental and modeling approach

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S Fulford ◽  
James A Rice ◽  
Thomas J Miller ◽  
Fred P Binkowski
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Larval Mortality ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Larval Phase ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Recruitment Failure ◽  
Productive Systems

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Lake Michigan have experienced sustained recruitment failure since 1990 as a result of increased mortality during the pelagic larval phase. Increased mortality of larval yellow perch has been tied indirectly to increased alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) predation, but effects of predation on larval survival variability must be better understood. We compared the relative importance of predation by alewife and two other fish predators to larval survival in laboratory experiments and developed an individual-based predation model (IBM) to examine patterns in size-dependent predation vulnerability. Simulations exposing larval perch to predation by all predators suggest that larval mortality resulting from alewife predation is more size-dependent than mortality resulting from the other two predators, and the range of sizes vulnerable to alewife is smaller. Alewife predation may not be an important mortality source for larval yellow perch in Lake Michigan at present because of the narrow range of vulnerable sizes and low densities of larval perch in the open lake. Predation is more likely to be important in smaller, more productive systems where other predators are abundant. Modeling results also indicate IBM analysis of date of hatch distributions of surviving larvae is a valuable tool for identifying factors most important to larval survival.

Effect of Acclimation Temperature and Heat Shock on Vulnerability of Fry of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) to Predation

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1503-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Yocom ◽  
Thomas A. Edsall
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Acclimation Temperature ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Attack Data

Fry of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) acclimated to 10, 15, and 18 C were exposed to temperatures of 24.5, 25, and 28 C for 1 min and then immediately returned to water at their acclimation temperature, in test tanks containing yearling yellow perch (Perca flavescens). The number of attacks on the fry and the number captured and eaten in 30 min were recorded in separate tests of shocked and unshocked (control) whitefish.Significantly more whitefish were captured per attack (data for shocked and unshocked fry combined) at 15 and 18 C than at 10 C; and shocked fry were significantly more vulnerable to capture by the perch than were unshocked controls.

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