Seasonal Abundance of Crustacean Zooplankton and Net Plankton Biomass of Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. H. F. Watson ◽  
G. F. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Crustacean Zooplankton ◽  
Average Weight ◽  
Calanoid Copepods ◽  
Western Basin ◽  
Saginaw Bay ◽  
Western Lake

Crustacean zooplankton concentrations (numbers per m3) in the upper 50 m found in lakewide cruises during all or most of the seasons on lakes Ontario and Erie in 1970 and on Lake Huron in 1971 showed that the species of zooplankton crustaceans present in the three lakes were generally identical, although the times of maxima and relative species compositions differed. Calanoid copepods were most abundant and diverse in Lake Huron and western Lake Erie. Cyclopoids and cladocerans were most abundant in lakes Erie and Ontario and in the Saginaw Bay region of Lake Huron. The most abundant cyclopoid throughout the year in all three lakes was Diacyclops bicuspidatus thomasi; Tropocyclops prasinus and Acanthocyclops vernalis were abundant especially in lakes Ontario and Erie, respectively. Cladocerans were most numerous in lakes Erie and Ontario. Numbers of individuals fluctuated markedly through the season with maxima in the spring or summer months in all three lakes.Biomass values (ash-free dry weight) were highest in Lake Erie, especially the Western Basin, and in Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. Although numbers of crustaceans/m3 were much lower in Lake Huron than in Lake Ontario, net biomass values were similar. This was due to the greater size and average weight of crustaceans in Lake Huron samples. Inshore waters of lakes Ontario and Huron and all three basins of Lake Erie were subject to greater fluctuations in concentrations of crustacean zooplankton and net biomass values than in the pelagic waters of lakes Ontario and Huron.

scholarly journals Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) selective filtration promoted toxic Microcystis blooms in Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) and Lake Erie

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1208-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A Vanderploeg ◽  
James R Liebig ◽  
Wayne W Carmichael ◽  
Megan A Agy ◽  
Thomas H Johengen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Laboratory Strain ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Saginaw Bay ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Filtering Rates

Microcystis aeruginosa, a planktonic colonial cyanobacterium, was not abundant in the 2-year period before zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) establishment in Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) but became abundant in three of five summers subsequent of mussel establishment. Using novel methods, we determined clearance, capture, and assimilation rates for zebra mussels feeding on natural and laboratory M. aeruginosa strains offered alone or in combination with other algae. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that zebra mussels promoted blooms of toxic M. aeruginosa in Saginaw Bay, western Lake Erie, and other lakes through selective rejection in pseudofeces. Mussels exhibited high feeding rates similar to those seen for a highly desirable food alga (Cryptomonas) with both large ( >53 µm) and small (<53 µm) colonies of a nontoxic and a toxic laboratory strain of M. aeruginosa known to cause blockage of feeding in zooplankton. In experiments with naturally occurring toxic M. aeruginosa from Saginaw Bay and Lake Erie and a toxic isolate from Lake Erie, mussels exhibited lowered or normal filtering rates with rejection of M. aeruginosa in pseudofeces. Selective rejection depended on "unpalatable" toxic strains of M. aeruginosa occurring as large colonies that could be rejected efficiently while small desirable algae were ingested.

Seasonal Distribution and Abundance of Crustacean Zooplankton in Lake Erie, 1970

1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 612-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. H. F. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Horizontal Distribution ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Crustacean Zooplankton ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
Western Basin ◽  
Algal Abundance ◽  
Peak Abundance ◽  
Life Cycle Patterns

The lakewide horizontal distribution and seasonal abundance of the cyclopoids, cladocerans, and calanoids in Lake Erie from April to December 1970, are presented.Over much of the year cyclopoids dominated by Diacyclops bicuspidatus thomasi were most numerous with offshore centers of abundance. Several species of cladocerans, often with short peaks of occurrence, were most abundant during summer in the Western basin and associated with south shore population centers in the Central basin. Calanoids were frequently much less abundant than either of the two groups but present in the same areas as the cladocerans.Most species present were short-lived with a high reproductive potential. Environmental clues are postulated to control specific abundance making group numbers more constant. Several life-cycle patterns were evident including species with spring–fall maxima and those with a single peak.Timing of peak abundance of certain species and groups varies from west to east in the same fashion as temperature differences giving rise to east–west gradients of abundance which change with season. Cladoceran and calanoid groups show similarities in distribution pattern with estimates of particulate organic material rather than with algal abundance resulting in north–south gradients of abundance.

Migrations of Adult and Juvenile Walleyes (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) in Southern Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Connecting Waters

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1133-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Ferguson ◽  
A. J. Derksen
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Stizostedion Vitreum ◽  
Western Basin ◽  
Reverse Migration ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Thames River ◽  
Western Lake Erie

Recoveries of walleyes (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) tagged as adults and juveniles at various sites in waters from southern Lake Huron to eastern Lake Erie provided information on the migrations of the Thames River stock and the mixing of these fish with other stocks in the study area. Walleyes spawning in the Thames River in March and April quickly migrated into the St. Clair River and southern Lake Huron, where they mingled with other stocks, including some from Lake Erie. The return migration to the Thames River occurred between November and March. Juvenile walleyes tagged in Lake St. Clair, on the other hand, moved downriver to Lake Erie. Young-of-the-year fish tagged in western Lake Erie, many presumably of Lake St. Clair origin, provided evidence of a reverse migration, since they tended to move back into Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron as they matured. Adult walleyes tagged along the Canadian shore of Lake Erie migrated eastward during the summer, but were recovered in or near the western basin during the spawning season. Thus, western Lake Erie appeared as a juvenile milling or mixing area during the summer, whereas southern Lake Huron and the north shore of central and eastern Lake Erie were adult areas.

Comparative analysis of Microcystis buoyancy in western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron

Harmful Algae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 102102
Author(s):  
Paul A. Den Uyl ◽  
Seamus B. Harrison ◽  
Casey M. Godwin ◽  
Mark D. Rowe ◽  
J. Rudi Strickler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Saginaw Bay ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Western Lake Erie

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) Fluctuations in the Great Lakes and Possible Causes, 1800–1975

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1878-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Schneider ◽  
J. H. Leach
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Stizostedion Vitreum ◽  
Spawning Habitat ◽  
Green Bay ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Foreign Species ◽  
Western Lake Erie

Changes in walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) stocks in the Great Lakes from 1800 to 1975 were linked to proliferation of foreign species of fish and culturally induced sources of stress — exploitation, nutrient loading, alteration of spawning habitat, and toxic materials. During the 1800s, three small spawning stocks (and probably many others) were damaged or destroyed because of either overfishing or elimination of spawning habitat through logging, pollution, or damming.During 1900–40, stocks in the Michigan waters of Lake Superior, southern Green Bay, the Thunder Bay River of Lake Huron, the North Channel of Lake Huron, and the New York waters of Lake Ontario declined gradually. Pollution, in general, and degradation of spawning habitat, in particular, probably caused three of the declines and overexploitation was suspected in two instances. In addition, the decline of three of these stocks occurred when rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) were increasing.During 1940–75, stocks in seven areas declined abruptly: Saginaw Bay (1944), northern Green Bay (1953), Muskegon River (mid-1950s), western Lake Erie (1955), Nipigon Bay (late 1950s), Bay of Quinte (1960), and Black Bay (mid-1960s). The decline of each stock was associated with a series of weak year-classes. The stocks were exposed to various sources of stress, including overexploitation, pollution, and interaction with foreign species, which, if not important in the decline, may be suppressing recovery. Only the western Lake Erie stock recovered, in part due to a reduction in exploitation and, possibly, because of the relatively low density of smelt and alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the nursery areas.Relatively stable stocks persisted in five areas: Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair — southern Lake Huron, eastern Lake Erie, northern Lake Huron, and parts of Georgian Bay. Pollution problems were relatively minor in these areas and exploitation was light during recent decades. Apparently these stocks were more capable of withstanding the additional stresses exerted by alien species. Key words: population fluctuations, Percidae, Stizostedion, Great Lakes walleye, history of fisheries, summary of stresses, harvests, management implications

scholarly journals Leptodora kindtii Population Dynamics in the Island Region of Western Lake Erie before and after the Invasion of the Predacious Cladoceran Bythotrephes longimanus

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
K. E. Simpson ◽  
W J Edwards ◽  
Douglas Donald Kane
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Bythotrephes Longimanus ◽  
Western Basin ◽  
Leptodora Kindtii ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Marked Decline

Competition among native and non-native species can cause decreases in population size and production of both species.  The native predaceous crustacean zooplankter Leptodora kindtii shares a similar niche with the invasive Bythotrephes longimanus in Lake Erie.  This niche overlap may contribute to the decline in abundance and production of Leptodora in the western basin of Lake Erie.  Historical (1946) and recent (2006) data were used to determine if the decline in Leptodora abundance and production was associated with the effects of Bythotrephes, which invaded Lake Erie in the mid-1980’s.  Pre-invasion abundances and lengths of L. kindtii were compared with current data (2006).  A change in prey community abundance, composition and dynamics were observed, relative to pre-invasion, with a marked decline in.abundance and size of L. kindtii after the invasion of Bythotrephes. Competition for food and direct predation are two explanations, among others, for the declines observed in L. kindtii size, abundance and production that have occurred since B. longimanus invasion.

Growth of submersed macrophyte communities in the St. Clair – Detroit river system between Lake Huron and Lake Erie

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1061-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. Schloesser ◽  
Thomas A. Edsall ◽  
Bruce A. Manny
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Seasonal Succession ◽  
River System ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Detroit River ◽  
Species Succession ◽  
Major River ◽  
Study Sites

Growth of submersed aquatic macrophytes was determined from observation and on the basis of biomass of samples collected from April to November 1978 at seven study sites in a major river system of the Great Lakes, the St. Clair – Detroit river system between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Growth usually began between April and June, peaked between July and October, and decreased by late November. Maximum biomass at six of the seven sites (118–427 g dry weight m−2) was similar or greater than that reported in other rivers at similar latitudes. Seasonal growth of the abundant taxa followed one of three seasonal patterns at each study site: one dominant taxon grew alone; codominant taxa grew sympatrically without species succession; and codominant taxa grew sympatrically with species succession. Differences in growth and seasonal succession of some taxa were apparently caused by the presence or absence of overwintering plant material, competition, and life-cycle differences.

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