The Effects of Thermal Pollution on the Egg Survival of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus Clupeaformis [Mitchill])

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Gary R. Ash
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Egg Survival ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Heated Water ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Heated Area ◽  
Type Water

Abstract Lake Wabamun, located approximately 64 km west of Edmonton, Alberta, has two thermal electric generating stations situated upon it which utilize lake water for cooling purposes. The fishery for lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis [Mitchill]) in the lake is important due to its high commercial and sport value. Since lake whitefish eggs require low temperatures throughout the winter for successful incubation, and since the major spawning area in the lake is located across a small bay from one of the power plants, it was feared that the heated water discharge would reduce lake whitefish egg survival on the spawning grounds. Since the whitefish are subject to heavy fishing pressure in the lake, it was thought that such a reduction in egg survival might cause a gradual reduction in the whitefish population. During preliminary fishery investigation in the lake it was discovered that large numbers of lake whitefish were spawning on an organic ooze substrate in the heated area. To determine the survival of eggs spawned on the ooze substrate in one of the heated areas , and also on the major spawning grounds (a rock and sand shoal), fertilized lake whitefish eggs were incubated in situ in enclosed trays in these areas and at control sites located in the portion of the lake not influenced by the power plants. The effects of substrate type, water temperature, and siltation on egg survival and their relation to the heated water discharge areas are discussed.

Postimpoundment Winter Sedimentation and Survival of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) Eggs in Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. P. Fudge ◽  
R. A. Bodaly
Keyword(s):  
Organic Content ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Egg Survival ◽  
Spawning Areas ◽  
Lacustrine Clay ◽  
Wave Erosion

Flooding of Southern Indian Lake for hydroelectric power development has resulted in extensive wave erosion of glacio-lacustrine clay shore material and greatly increased suspended sediment levels. Winter sedimentation on spawning grounds of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) ranged from 0.03 to 0.14 g dry wt sediment∙cm−2. This deposited a layer 1–4 mm in depth. The sediment, low in organic content, was categorized as silty clay. The effect of this winter sedimentation on survival of whitefish eggs was tested at four sites over a range of winter sedimentation rates. Three of the sites were whitefish spawning areas. Egg survival was significantly higher for eggs incubated in cages designed to minimize exposure to sedimentation compared with survival in cages allowing full exposure to sedimentation. Winter sedimentation rates and whitefish egg survival were negatively correlated for cages designed to minimize exposure to sedimentation, while egg survival in the exposed cages was uniformly low.

Spawning of Lake Whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, and Round Whiteftsh, Prosopium cylindraceum, in Aishihik Lake and East Aishihik River, Yukon Territory

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Bryan ◽  
D. A. Kato
Keyword(s):  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Hydroelectric Development ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Spawning Period

Spawning grounds used by lake (Coregonus clupeaformis) and round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) were discovered in the course of an investigation on effects of hydroelectric development. The spawning period for lake whitefish extended from early November to at least mid-December 1973. Lake whitefish spawned over silt and Potomogeton in water which had little current and was 2.0–2.5 m deep. Spawning of round whitefish was probably completed in November. Round whitefish spawned during the day. Eggs were apparently broadcast over a variety of substrata ranging from silt and Potamogeton to gravel and boulder. Round whitefish eggs were deposited in both fast and slow current at depths ranging from 0.7 to 2.5 m. Although deposited in a range of habitats, round whitefish eggs seemed to be most abundant on gravel in fast current at depths less than 1 m.

Incubation of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) embryos in cooling water discharge and the impacts of fluctuating thermal regimes on development

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1213-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Thome ◽  
Charles Mitz ◽  
Christopher M. Somers ◽  
Richard G. Manzon ◽  
Douglas R. Boreham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Discharge ◽  
Cooling Water ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Data Loggers ◽  
In Situ Incubation ◽  
Winter Temperatures

Thermal discharges released from industrial cooling water systems represent a potential environmental risk to fish species that spawn in nearshore waters. We investigated the impacts of in situ incubation of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) embryos in the vicinity of a nuclear generating station. Over 3 consecutive years, fertilized embryos were deployed in Lake Huron using custom-built incubation chambers coupled with data loggers to monitor water temperature. Temperatures at sites in the vicinity of the thermal discharge were significantly elevated compared with reference locations, with mean winter temperatures up to 3 °C warmer. Temperatures were also more variable at these sites, with a significantly greater daily temperature range and rate of change. Embryos developing at discharge sites were significantly larger with smaller yolks than those from the reference stations, suggesting an advanced growth. This increased growth was supported by thermal data, with discharge sites predicted to be more than 10% advanced based on growth rate modelling. These temperature changes and increase in development rate are below thresholds for embryonic mortality but could potentially impact posthatch larval survival.

Biotic and Abiotic Determinants of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus ciupeaformis) Recruitment in Northeastern Lake Michigan

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s313-s323 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Taylor ◽  
Martin A. Smale ◽  
Mark H. Freeberg
Keyword(s):  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Cold Winter ◽  
Egg Survival ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Spring Temperatures ◽  
Reproductive Rates ◽  
Spawning Biomass

Comparisons of lifetime average per capita reproductive rates (R0) between stocks of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Lake Michigan found higher estimates of R0 for rapidly growing exploited stocks than for a commercially unexploited stock. Earlier maturation was the prime cause of this increase. Exploited stocks, however, were dependent on fewer age-classes for reproduction and had a greater potential for instability due to annual variation in recruitment. Overwinter whitefish egg survival in Grand Traverse Bay was nearly fourfold higher during a cold winter with prevalent ice than during the preceding mild, ice-free winter. However, the higher densities of larvae produced during the cold winter experienced greater mortality, with starvation the likely cause. Factors found to influence a stock–recruitment relationship developed for year-classes from 1958 to 1980 included spawning biomass, winter severity (ice-cover), and spring temperatures. Periods of abnormally high and low whitefish catch corresponded to periods in which cold or warm winters were more frequent, respectively. Harvest strategies that dampen naturally caused fluctuations in the spawning stock are recommended.

Development of the embryonic heat shock response and the impact of repeated thermal stress in early stage lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) embryos

2017 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 294-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy M. Whitehouse ◽  
Chance S. McDougall ◽  
Daniel I. Stefanovic ◽  
Douglas R. Boreham ◽  
Christopher M. Somers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Heat Shock Response ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Shock Response ◽  
The Impact

Fecundity Comparisons for Various Stocks of Lake Whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Healey ◽  
C. W. Nicol
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Nonlinear Relationship ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Relative Fecundity ◽  
Great Slave Lake ◽  
The Relationship

We found no significant differences in slope or intercept for the regression of loge fecundity on loge fork length among samples of whitefish from four lakes near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The equation describing the relationship between fecundity and fork length for these populations was:[Formula: see text]Five other populations for which length–fecundity relationships could be calculated had length exponents ranging from 3.20 to 4.38, suggesting a nonlinear relationship between weight and fecundity. Six of the nine populations as well as four others for which limited data were available all had similar relative fecundities. Fish from Buck Lake in Alberta and from Lake Erie had high relative fecundities while fish from Great Slave Lake had low relative fecundity.

Occurrence of the eyefluke, Diplostomum (Diplostomum) baeri bucculentum Dubois et Rausch, 1948, in salmonid fishes of northern British Columbia

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 396-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilda Lei Ching
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Dolly Varden Salvelinus Malma ◽  
Prosopium Williamsoni

As a result of experimental infections in chicks, diplostomula found in the retina of chinook salmon from the Nechako River were identified as Diplostomum (Diplostomum) baeri bucculentum. Eyeflukes in other salmonids were considered to be the same species based on similar measurements and site in the eyes. These eyeflukes varied in prevalence and mean intensity in seven salmonid species surveyed in nine localities in 1979–1981. The following fish were sampled: rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), 505; mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), 334; lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), 32; Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), 66; lake trout (S. namaycush), 13; kokanee or sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), 323; and chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), 164. Eyeflukes had prevalences ranging from 84 to 100% in six lakes, 64% in the river, 53% in one reservoir site, and a prevalence of 15% in the other reservoir site. Mountain and lake whitefishes had high mean intensities while kokanee had low mean intensities. Correlation of increased intensity with increased fish size was significant for 6 of 27 samples. Four samples of lake whitefish, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout, and chinook salmon showed significant asymmetry when numbers of diplostomula were compared between eyes. More of the heavily infected fish showed asymmetry than did the lightly infected fish.

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