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

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.

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An Annotated List of the Fishes of the Western Basin of Lake Erie with Emphasis on the Bass Islands and Adjacent Tributaries

The Ohio Journal of Science ◽

10.18061/ojs.v116i2.4705 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 116 (2) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

Thomas P. Simon ◽

Charles Boucher ◽

David Altfater ◽

Dennis Mishne ◽

Brian Zimmerman

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblage ◽

Native Species ◽

Salmo Trutta ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Neogobius Melanostomus ◽

Ctenopharyngodon Idella ◽

Current Status ◽

Fish Assemblage Structure ◽

Western Basin

Fish assemblage structure has changed dramatically in the Western Basin of Lake Erie since Trautman’s revision of the Fishes of Ohio. Fish surveys near the Bass Islands and adjacent mainland tributaries documented fish faunal distributional patterns during the last three decades. Recent collections (n=1,719 sites) from 1982-2014 indicate that 123 fish species are extant and 27 species have been extirpated from the Bass Islands and nearby tributaries draining the western basin. Extirpation of Polyodon spatula, Alosa sapidissima, Moxostoma lacurum, and Sander glacum occurred; however, A. sapidissima and members of genus Oncorhynchus were introduced and unable to naturalize. Recent collection of A. fulvescens in Schoolhouse bay near Middle Bass Island in May 2012; Umbra limi populations on Middle Bass Island and Kelley’s Island; and Lepisosteus oculatus populations along the southeastern shoreline of North Bass Island are stable in Lake Erie despite increased eutrophication. The current Western Basin fish assemblage includes 107 native, 26 nonindigenous, and 6 alien fish species. Twenty-one native species have been extirpated from Lake Erie, while 6 nonindigenous species have not naturalized and have been extirpated. Six additional species known from within the Lake Erie basin have not been collected from the Western Basin during the study period and current status is unknown. Introduced non-indigenous and alien species are responsible for increased species richness including Neogobius melanostomus, Proterorhinus semilunaris, Salmo trutta, Carassius auratus, Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon idella and four records for Hyphthalmichthys molatrix since 1981. Brief comments on distribution, relative abundance, and status are provided for each species.

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

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada ◽

10.1139/f71-168 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 1133-1142 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

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.

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Removal of algae by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) population in western Lake Erie: a bioenergetics approach

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f95-040 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 381-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

Charles P. Madenjian

Keyword(s):

Primary Production ◽

Water Column ◽

Zebra Mussel ◽

Dreissena Polymorpha ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Mussel Population ◽

Western Basin ◽

Bioenergetics Model ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

A bioenergetics model for growth of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) individual was verified with observations on zebra mussel growth in western Lake Erie. The bioenergetics model was then applied to the zebra mussel population in the western basin of Lake Erie to estimate the removal of phytoplankton by mussels. According to the modeling results, the zebra mussel population consumed 5.0 million tonnes of phytoplankton, while 1.4 million tonnes of phytoplankton was deposited in pseudofeces from the mussels. Thus, a total of 6.4 ± 2.4 million tonnes of phytoplankton was removed from the water column by zebra mussel in western Lake Erie during 1990. Primary production was estimated to be 24.8 million tonnes; therefore, zebra mussel removed the equivalent of 26 ± 10% of the primary production for western Lake Erie.

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The formation and evolution of Point Pelee, western Lake Erie

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e76-013 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 136-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

J. P. Coakley

Keyword(s):

Lake Erie ◽

Present Position ◽

Lake Levels ◽

Western Basin ◽

Beach Ridges ◽

Western Lake ◽

Formation And Evolution ◽

Position And Orientation ◽

Point Pelee ◽

Western Lake Erie

Point Pelee originated as a sandy foreland enclosing a marsh approximately 4000 years BP. A reconstruction of paleoenvironmental conditions prior to that time suggests strongly that it was formed initially by the progressive merging of beach ridges and dunes formed on opposite sides of the Pelee-Lorain moraine when rising lake levels in the western basin of Lake Erie were 3 to 4 m below present lake datum (173.4 m above sea level). Since that time, it has retreated to its present position and orientation under the influence of slowly rising lake levels and increasing wave energy from both sides.Such an evolution, though different from conventional mechanisms of spit formation, is supported by evidence derived from the local post glacial stratigraphy and the geomorphology of relict features preserved on the Point and on the shoal area to the south.

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Changes in Prey Fish Populations in Western Lake Erie, 1969–88, as Related to Walleye, Stizostedion vitreum, Predation

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f93-146 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 50 (6) ◽

pp. 1289-1298 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Roger L. Knight ◽

Bruce Vondracek

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Fish Community ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Stizostedion Vitreum ◽

Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽

Prey Fish ◽

Western Basin ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

Relative abundance of the total prey fish community in the western basin of Lake Erie varied little from 1969 to 1988, but species composition changed significantly. Soft-rayed fishes such as emerald shiner, Notropis atherinoides, spottail shiner, N. hudsonius, and alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, declined significantly after 1977 whereas only one spiny-rayed species, white bass, Morone chrysops, declined over the same period. Trout-perch, Percopsis omiscomaycus, a relatively abundant species rarely eaten by piscivores in this system, experienced only minor shifts in abundance between 1969 and 1988. Although several factors could be responsible for the shift in species composition, predation by increasingly abundant walleye, Stizostedion vitreum, played a major role. Walleye prefer to eat soft-rayed fishes; thus, observed shifts in the community match expectations of selection noted in the diet. We suggest that management goals focusing primarily on walleye affected not only the targeted species but the entire fish community of western Lake Erie.

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Expansion of tubenose gobies Proterorhinus semilunaris into western Lake Erie and potential effects on native species

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-011-9962-5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 2775-2784 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

P. M. Kocovsky ◽

J. A. Tallman ◽

D. J. Jude ◽

D. M. Murphy ◽

J. E. Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Western Lake ◽

Proterorhinus Semilunaris ◽

Western Lake Erie

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Increased deposition of organic matter, polychlorinated biphenyls, and cadmium by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in western Lake Erie

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f97-321 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 55 (5) ◽

pp. 1131-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Evan P Dobson ◽

Gerald L Mackie

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽

Dreissena Polymorpha ◽

Lake Erie ◽

Unit Area ◽

Zebra Mussels ◽

Suspended Material ◽

Western Basin ◽

Western Lake ◽

Western Lake Erie

Biodeposition of organic matter, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and cadmium (Cd) by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) was investigated at five stations in the western basin of Lake Erie during the summer of 1992. Biodeposition rates at the five stations were determined by using sediment traps and converted to per unit area values to facilitate comparisons with natural sedimentation rates. Biodeposition of suspended material by zebra mussels was up to 8 times greater than sedimentation in the traps. Concentrations of organic matter, PCBs, and Cd were determined for the biodeposits and the sedimented material. There were no significant differences in concentration of organic matter, PCBs, or Cd between the two types of material. Biodeposition rates per unit area of organic matter, PCBs, and Cd were 8-10 times greater than corresponding values for natural sedimentation; therefore, the natural sedimentation processes of these factors appear to be greatly accelerated in the presence of zebra mussels. Results support the possibility that zebra mussels are altering contaminant movement in western Lake Erie, as well as clarifying the water column by removing suspended material.

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Hypoxia modifies planktivore–zooplankton interactions in Lake Erie

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2012-0144 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (12) ◽

pp. 2018-2028 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Steven A. Pothoven ◽

Henry A. Vanderploeg ◽

Tomas O. Höök ◽

Stuart A. Ludsin

Keyword(s):

Lake Erie ◽

Osmerus Mordax ◽

Large Prey ◽

Bythotrephes Longimanus ◽

Rainbow Smelt ◽

Leptodora Kindtii ◽

Vertical Distributions ◽

Consumption Rates ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Zooplankton Production

We evaluated vertical distributions of fish and zooplankton, planktivore consumption, and prey production in Lake Erie during 2005 to determine how hypolimnetic hypoxia alters fish (i.e., rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and emerald shiners (Notropis atherinoides)) and invertebrate planktivore (i.e., Bythotrephes longimanus and Leptodora kindtii) relationships with their mesozooplankton prey. Hypoxia concentrated 45%–76% of fish into a narrow (<2 m) metalimnetic layer, but only 3%–13% of zooplankton production was in this layer. The epilimnion may have served to some degree as a refuge for mesozooplankton because high temperatures may have excluded rainbow smelt. High concentrations of fish above the hypolimnion likely resulted in increased competition for large prey (i.e., predatory claodcerans). Although hypoxia did not result in overall high predation demands by planktivores relative to total zooplankton production, planktivore consumption rates within the metalimnion exceeded zooplankton production in that layer.

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

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada ◽

10.1139/f74-050 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 309-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

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.

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