Consumption of two exotic zooplankton by alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in three Laurentian Great Lakes

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1314-1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J Storch ◽  
Kimberly L Schulz ◽  
Carla E Cáceres ◽  
Peter M Smyntek ◽  
John M Dettmers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Bythotrephes Longimanus ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Gut Content ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Cercopagis Pengoi

Introductions of the zooplankton Bythotrephes longimanus and Cercopagis pengoi into the Great Lakes have drawn attention surrounding their suitability as prey for zooplanktivorous fishes. We used gut contents and stable carbon isotopes to quantify differential consumption and selection of the exotics by alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in Lakes Erie, Michigan, and Ontario. The exotics were more often consumed by alewife (up to 70% of gut content biomass) than by smelt (up to 25% of gut content biomass). Measured stable carbon isotope ratios of fish and ratios predicted from mixing models confirmed that the “snapshot” descriptions of diet through gut contents were representative of longer-term diets. While B. longimanus generally was selected for (14 of 17 sampling dates), C. pengoi was not a preferred prey item. Cercopagis pengoi was sometimes a large component of alewife diet because of its high densities in the environment. The exotic zooplankton are more important for alewife than for smelt, and consumption of the cladocerans varies throughout the growing season and among lakes, generally related to patterns of exotic abundance. Effects associated with consumption of the exotics should be high in alewife-dominated systems invaded by B. longimanus or large numbers of C. pengoi.

Early Life Stage Mortality Syndrome in Fishes of the Great Lakes and Baltic Sea

1998 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Thiamine Content ◽  
Lake Variation

<em>Abstract</em>.—Thiamine concentrations in representative Great Lakes prey fish, including alewives <em>Alosa pseudoharengus</em>, rainbow smelt <em>Osmerus mordax</em>, slimy sculpin <em>Cottus cognatus</em>, bloater chub <em>Coregonus hoyi</em>, and lake herring <em>Coregonus artedi</em>, and their major dietary items, including mysids <em>Mysis relicta</em>, amphipods <em>Diporeia hoyi</em>, and net macroplankton, were measured to assess their potential involvement in depressed thiamine concentrations in lake trout <em>Salvelinus namaycush </em>of the Great Lakes. Mean thiamine concentrations in all biota were greater than the recommended dietary intake of 3.3 nmol/g for prevention of effects on growth, although the adequacy of these concentrations for reproduction is not known. Mean thiamine concentrations decreased in the order alewives > bloater chub, herring > smelt and differed from the order of associated egg thiamine concentrations published for lake trout feeding on these species (herring > alewives, smelt). As a result, these data strongly implicate the high thiaminase content, rather than the low thiamine content, of alewives and smelt as being responsible for the low egg thiamine concentrations of Great Lakes lake trout stocks that feed heavily on these species. Variations in thiamine content among prey species did not appear to be related to levels in their diet, because thiamine concentrations in <em>Mysis</em>, <em>Diporeia</em>, and macroplankton showed little consistency between group or between lake variation. There was no lake to lake variation in mean thiamine concentrations of prey species, but considerable within species variation occurred that was unrelated to size.

Cercopagis pengoi as a New Prey Item for Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) in Lake Ontario

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara M. Bushnoe ◽  
David Michael Warner ◽  
Lars Gösta Rudstam ◽  
Edward L. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Prey Item ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Cercopagis Pengoi

Early Life Stage Mortality Syndrome in Fishes of the Great Lakes and Baltic Sea

1998 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Inland Lakes ◽  
Early Mortality Syndrome ◽  
Thiamine Content

<em>Abstract</em>.—Lake trout <em>Salvelinus namaycush </em>eggs were collected from 18 separate locations in the Great Lakes and inland lakes to evaluate the relationship between diet and egg thiamine content. Thiamine concentrations in the eggs of lake trout whose diet consisted primarily of rainbow smelt <em>Osmerus mordax </em>and alewife <em>Alosa pseudoharengus </em>were one-ninth to one-seventeenth those of eggs of lake trout whose diet lacked either of these two species and was composed of lake herring <em>Coregonus artedi</em>, yellow perch <em>Perca flavescens</em>, cyprinids, or invertebrates. Within the Great Lakes, concentrations of thiamine in the eggs of lake trout increased in the order Ontario, Erie, Michigan, Huron < Superior and reflected the proportion of smelt, alewives, or both in the diet. Of the three forms of thiamine found in eggs, free thiamine was the most important and the form most affected by a diet of alewives or smelt. Collections from inland lakes were similar in terms of thiamine content and its relationship to diet composition. Average free thiamine concentrations in lake trout from Lakes Ontario, Erie, Michigan, and Huron were 1.5 to 4 times a threshold of 0.8 nmol/g that has been associated with the development of a thiamine-responsive early mortality syndrome. In contrast, the concentration of free thiamine in Lake Superior lake trout eggs was 26 times the threshold. We concluded that the reduction in egg thiamine concentrations in lake trout whose diet was primarily smelt or alewives was the result of their high thiaminase content, because published thiamine contents could not explain the patterns observed. Egg thiamine concentrations in lake trout were unaffected by maternal age.

The diet of herring gulls during the nesting period in Canadian waters of the Great Lakes

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1075-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Fox ◽  
L. J. Allan ◽  
D. V. Weseloh ◽  
P. Mineau
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Larus Argentatus ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
The One

We report the content of 132 boli and 2000 pellets regurgitated by adults and 1749 boli regurgitated for or by chicks in 25 herring gull (Larus argentatus) colonies in Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, between mid-April and mid-July, 1977–1983. Fish were the predominant food in all four lakes. Although 11 families of fish and a minimum of 16 species were identified, 80% of the fish were of two exotic species, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and the rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). The dietary importance of these two fish species reflected their relative abundance within a lake. In addition, representatives of eight orders of insects and 11 families of birds were identified. In the one colony where diets of birds of known sex were quantified, male and female gulls fed on different proportions of alewife and smelt, suggesting the sexes have different foraging strategies. Although some food was scavenged, most was obtained alive. Dietary differences existed between colonies and between lakes, both within and between years. We suggest that diet, contaminant burden, and population size of Great Lakes herring gulls will be affected by fisheries policies which alter the predator–prey dynamics of this exotic-dominated ecosystem.

Fish community change in Lake Superior, 1970–2000

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 1552-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R Bronte ◽  
Mark P Ebener ◽  
Donald R Schreiner ◽  
David S DeVault ◽  
Michael M Petzold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Natural Reproduction

Changes in Lake Superior's fish community are reviewed from 1970 to 2000. Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) stocks have increased substantially and may be approaching ancestral states. Lake herring (Coregonus artedi) have also recovered, but under sporadic recruitment. Contaminant levels have declined and are in equilibrium with inputs, but toxaphene levels are higher than in all other Great Lakes. Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control, harvest limits, and stocking fostered recoveries of lake trout and allowed establishment of small nonnative salmonine populations. Natural reproduction supports most salmonine populations, therefore further stocking is not required. Nonnative salmonines will likely remain minor components of the fish community. Forage biomass has shifted from exotic rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) to native species, and high predation may prevent their recovery. Introductions of exotics have increased and threaten the recovering fish community. Agencies have little influence on the abundance of forage fish or the major predator, siscowet lake trout, and must now focus on habitat protection and enhancement in nearshore areas and prevent additional species introductions to further restoration. Persistence of Lake Superior's native deepwater species is in contrast to other Great Lakes where restoration will be difficult in the absence of these ecologically important fishes.

Planktivory by alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) on microcrustacean zooplankton and dreissenid (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae) veligers in southern Lake Ontario

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 925-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward L. Mills ◽  
Connie Adams ◽  
Robert O'Gorman ◽  
Randall W. Owens ◽  
Edward F. Roseman
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
South Shore ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Veliger Larvae

The objective of this study was to describe the diet of young-of-the-year and adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in nearshore waters coincident with the colonization of Lake Ontario by Dreissena. Laboratory experiments and field observations indicated that alewife and rainbow smelt consumed dreissenid veligers and that the veligers remained intact and identifiable in the digestive tract for several hours. Dreissenid larvae were found in field-caught alewife and rainbow smelt in August 1992, even though veliger densities were low (<0.1/L). Zooplankton dominated the diet of all fish and veliger larvae were <0.1% of the biomass of prey eaten by these fish. Density of veligers and the distribution of settled dreissenids declined from west to east along the south shore of Lake Ontario. Based on veliger consumption rates we measured and the abundance of veligers and planktivores, we conclude that planktivory by alewife and smelt in the nearshore waters of Lake Ontario did not substantially reduce the number of veligers during 1991–1993. However, our results indicate that if the density of veligers in Lake Ontario decreases, and if planktivores remain abundant, planktivory on veliger populations could be significant.

Partitioning Potential Fish Yields from the Great Lakes

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s417-s424 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Loftus ◽  
C. H. Olver ◽  
E. H. Brown ◽  
P. J. Colby ◽  
W. L. Hartman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Commercial Yield ◽  
Fish Yields

We proposed and implemented procedures for partitioning future fish yields from the Great Lakes into taxonomic components. These projections are intended as guidelines for Great Lakes resource managers and scientists. Attainment of projected yields depends on restoration of stable fish communities containing some large piscivores that will use prey efficiently, continuation of control of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), and restoration of high-quality fish habitat. Because Great Lakes fish communities were harmonic before their collapse, we used their historic yield properties as part of the basis for projecting potential yields of rehabilitated communities. This use is qualified, however, because of possible inaccuracies in the wholly commercial yield data, the presence now of greatly expanded sport fisheries that affect yield composition and magnitude, and some possibly irreversible changes since the 1950s in the various fish communities themselves. We predict that total yields from Lakes Superior, Huron, and Ontario will be increased through rehabilitation, while those from Lakes Michigan and Erie will decline. Salmonines and coregonines will dominate future yields from the upper lakes. The Lake Erie fishery will continue to yield mostly rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), but the relative importance of percids, especially of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), will increase. In Lake Ontario, yields of salmonines will be increased. Managers will have to apply the most rigorous management strictures to major predator species.

Mysid and fish zooplanktivory in Lake Ontario: quantification of direct and indirect effects

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2734-2747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Gal ◽  
Lars G Rudstam ◽  
Edward L Mills ◽  
Jana R Lantry ◽  
Ora E Johannsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Fish Feed ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Mysis Relicta ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Potential Rate

Mysis relicta and planktivorous fish feed on zooplankton in Lake Ontario and form a trophic triangle that includes intraguild predation by fish on mysids. Thus, fish affect zooplankton both directly and indirectly. To evaluate the importance of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and mysids as zooplanktivores in Lake Ontario, we measured abundances and distributions, assessed diets, and computed mysid and fish consumption rates based on bioenergetics models. We further estimated indirect effects by comparing clearance rates given observed and potential mysid distributions. Estimated consumption rates varied widely with season and water depth and ranged between 2.6 × 10–3 and 1.3 g·m–2·day–1 for mysids and between 1.4 × 10–3 and 0.5 g·m–2·day–1 for fish, representing a daily removal of zooplankton of up to 10.2%·day–1 and 2.0%·day–1 by mysids and fish, respectively. Mysid planktivory exceeded fish planktivory in May and August, but fish planktivory dominated in October. Estimated mysid planktivory rates were 2- to 90-fold lower than the potential rate if mysids moved to temperatures that maximized their predation rates, suggesting an indirect positive effect of fish on zooplankton.

Entrainment of Larval Fish by the Douglas Point Generating Station, Lake Huron, in Relation to Seasonal Succession and Distribution

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. M. Kelso ◽  
John K. Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Seasonal Succession ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Entrainment Rate ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Early Fall

Larval fish were sampled by net in Lake Huron and the Douglas Point generating station throughout spring, summer, and early fall 1975. Dominance shifted from fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) to rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) then to ale-wife (Alosa pseudoharengus) from late April to late September. Entrainment of the major species paralleled dominance and abundance observed in the lake, but yellow perch (Perca flavescens), brook stickleback (Eucalia inconstans), and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) caught in the lake — each ranging from 5 to 25% of the total catch — were not entrained. Conversely, white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) was entrained but not captured in the lake. Size of individuals entrained, upper limit approx. 40 mm, paralleled size of individuals in the lake. Vertical distribution, and thus proximity to the submerged intake, greatly influenced entrainment rate. Key words: larval fish, entrainment, power plant, distribution, abundance.

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