Yield and Dynamics of Destabilized Chub (Coregonus spp.) Populations in Lakes Michigan and Huron, 1950–84

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s371-s383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward H. Brown Jr. ◽  
Ray L. Argyle ◽  
N. Robert Payne ◽  
Mark E. Holey
Keyword(s):  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Female Predominance ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Large Predators

Deepwater ciscoes (Coregonus spp.) or "chubs" of Lake Michigan far surpassed those of Lake Huron in yield, population density, and resilience following severe depletion in the 1960s and 1970s, when the bloater (C. hoyi) composed more than 90% of the stocks. The population decline of bloaters in recent decades was mainly attributed to exploitation, to the depression of chub recruitment (e.g. from inferred predation on early life stages) by nonendemic alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and to complications arising from extreme female predominance that was best documented for Lake Michigan. The various interactions between bloaters and the nonendemic species, which were intensified after the loss of large predators to sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), would help to explain why a stock–recruitment relation was not shown for the Lake Michigan bloater. We hypothesize that reproductive inefficiency caused by a shift to strong female predominance in the bloater depresses recruitment and thus helps to regulate abundance. However, the low resilience that sex imbalance seems to impart makes the stock unstable when exploited. It should therefore be exploited conservatively during such periods. Also, the sex ratio and its direction of change appear to be important qualifiers when surplus production is estimated from stock size.

Cyclopoid Predation on Lake Michigan Fish Larvae

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1563-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Hartig ◽  
David J. Jude ◽  
Marlene S. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Common Carp Cyprinus Carpio ◽  
Diacyclops Thomasi ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Cyclopoid predation on fish larvae, as evidenced by copepods attached to larvae in field collections, was quantitatively investigated during 1975–76 in southeastern Lake Michigan. Although six species of fish larvae were collected, predation occurred primarily (98%) on alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus); 2% of the predators were attached to spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius) larvae. No cyclopoids were observed on rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), or sculpin (Cottus spp.) larvae. Most alewife larvae attacked were 3–8 mm long; older larvae and larvae of more robust species, such as yellow perch and spottail shiner, are apparently immune to such predation. Most predation (99%) occurred in July when alewife larvae were numerous and cyclopoids abundant. Fish larvae with attached copepods were found only in night collections. Most cyclopoid predators (99%) were adult female Diacyclops thomasi and Acanthocyclops vernalis. Other predaceous species of zooplankton, that occurred in close temporal and spatial proximity to fish larvae, apparently were not predaceous on these organisms.Key words: Alosa pseudoharengus larvae, Notropis hudsonius larvae, Diacyclops thomasi, Acanthocyclops vernalis, cyclopoid predation, Lake Michigan

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

Thermal Habitat Partitioning by Fishes in Lake Michigan

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1557-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Brandt ◽  
John J. Magnuson ◽  
Larry B. Crowder
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Habitat Partitioning ◽  
Thermal Ecology ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Thermal Habitat ◽  
Thermal Distribution ◽  
Niche Shifts

Thermal distribution of Lake Michigan fishes were determined by aimed bottom trawling (n = 68) along temperature isotherms (3–20 °C) in a region where the thermocline intersected the bottom off Grand Haven, Michigan, during September. Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), and trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus) comprised 94% of the catch by numbers. Species segregated along temperature gradients. Patterns of thermal habitat partitioning were maintained despite rapid oscillations in thermocline location. Alewife, rainbow trout, and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) showed intraspecific differences in thermal distribution of size-classes. Thermal niche shifts of some fishes on the bottom apparently occur at dawn and dusk. Patterns of thermal resource use are considered in relation to competition, predation, and thermal ecology of the more common species.Key words: competition, fishes, habitat partitioning, Lake Michigan, predation, temperature

A new approach toward evaluation of fish bioenergetics models

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1025-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles P Madenjian ◽  
Daniel V O'Connor ◽  
David A Nortrup
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Assimilation Efficiency ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Bioenergetics Model

A new approach was used to evaluate the Wisconsin bioenergetics model for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Lake trout in laboratory tanks were fed alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), prey typical of lake trout in Lake Michigan. Food consumption and growth by lake trout during the experiment were measured. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations of the alewife and rainbow smelt, as well as of the lake trout at the beginning and end of the experiment, were determined. From these data, we calculated that lake trout retained 81% of the PCBs contained within their food. In an earlier study, application of the Wisconsin lake trout bioenergetics model to growth and diet data for lake trout in Lake Michigan, in conjunction with PCB data for lake trout and prey fish from Lake Michigan, yielded an estimate of PCB assimilation efficiency from food of 81%. This close agreement in the estimates of efficiency with which lake trout retain PCBs from their food indicated that the bioenergetics model was furnishing accurate predictions of food consumption by lake trout in Lake Michigan.

Using linear models with correlated errors to analyze changes in abundance of Lake Michigan fishes: 1973-1992

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C Fabrizio ◽  
Jonathan Raz ◽  
Rajesh Ramanath Bandekar
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Correlated Errors ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Slimy Sculpin

We examined annual changes in relative abundance of Lake Michigan fishes using linear models with correlated errors in space and time. Abundance of bloater (Coregonus hoyi), deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni), slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) was monitored with bottom trawls at 10 discrete depths (between 18 and 110 m) off eight fixed ports from 1973 to 1992. The model describing abundance included fixed effects of year, port, depth, and interaction terms as well as quadratic and cubic effects of year and depth because changes in abundance were not strictly linear. Observed temporal trends in abundance varied with species and depth. Additionally, trends in alewife and slimy sculpin abundances depended on port. Cubic trends in the abundance of bloater and quadratic trends in deepwater sculpin and rainbow smelt abundances were similar among ports, permitting lakewide inferences for these species. Mean bloater abundance was low throughout the 1970s, increased during the 1980s, and reached high levels by 1990. Mean abundances of deepwater sculpin and rainbow smelt increased from 1973 to the mid-1980s and declined thereafter. The linear model with correlated errors can be readily applied to repeated-measures data from other fixed-station fishery surveys and is appropriate for data exhibiting spatial and temporal autocorrelations.

Recent Changes in the Inshore Forage Fish of Lake Michigan

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1154-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Jude ◽  
Frank J. Tesar
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Forage Fish ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Pelagic Larvae ◽  
Coregonus Hoyi ◽  
Predatory Pressure

Concerns have been expressed that increasing predatory pressure by salmonids may change the forage fish community of Lake Michigan. A decline in alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), the major forage fish, would be a forewarning of such a change. Our 1973–82 surveys showed that alewife declined 86% in 1980–82; concurrently, rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) increased threefold and fivefold, respectively. Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius) and trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus) showed no long-term changes. Bloater (Coregonus hoyi) increased 24-fold since commercial fishing was prohibited in 1976. These trends imply that (1) alewife declined from predatory pressure, (2) alewife suppressed rainbow smelt and yellow perch, presumably by preying on their pelagic larvae, (3) alewife did not substantially affect spottail shiner and trout-perch, presumably because their demersal larvae escaped alewife predation, and (4) overfishing, more than the alewife, suppressed bloater.

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.

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.

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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