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.

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.

Recent Changes in the Aquatic Food Web of Eastern Lake Ontario

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s37-s52 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Christie ◽  
K. A. Scott ◽  
P. G. Sly ◽  
R. H. Strus
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Size Composition ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Aquatic Food ◽  
Representative Samples

During the past 10 yr there have been dramatic increases in piscivorous populations of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) in the Bay of Quinte and of planted lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Kingston basin of Lake Ontario. This paper documents changes in the prey stocks shared by these piscivores, including reduction in size and abundance of the slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) with subsequent stock equilibration and unabated reduction in the size and abundance of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), both owing to predation pressure from the lake trout. The third primary prey species, alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), has not yet suffered severely from the depredations of the piscivores. Symptoms of the effects are discernible, however, and the implications of a possible collapse are discussed. Lake trout survival and growth have not yet been affected by the changes in prey availability, but their diet has shifted both in response to their own expanded size composition and relative abundance of the three prey species. Increased utilization of alewife makes the hunting of the trout more pelagic. Problems of obtaining representative samples of the prey are discussed.

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.

Dynamics of salmonine diets and foraging in Lake Ontario, 1983-1993: a test of a bioenergetic model prediction

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S Rand ◽  
Donald J Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Lake Trout ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Bioenergetic Model ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Mean Size ◽  
Diet Survey

We tested the hypotheses that (1) reductions in individual size and energy density of adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in Lake Ontario over the past decade have caused reductions in mean size of consumed alewife and compensatory increases in frequency of feeding by salmonines and (2) perceived recent reductions in the alewife and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) prey base in recent years have resulted in shifts in diets of salmonines to less preferred prey items. Data from a diet survey conducted on sport-caught salmonines during 1983-1988 and 1993 indicated significant reductions in the mean size of consumed alewife across all predator species over time and an increased frequency of feeding among some predators (reflected by a decline in the proportion of empty stomachs observed). We found evidence of increased ration levels in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and an increase in the number of adult alewife in stomachs of all predator species that was accurately predicted by an earlier bioenergetic model analysis. We found evidence of a shift in diet across years away from rainbow smelt and other fishes to adult alewife. Results point toward possible sources of bioenergetic stress on salmonines in Lake Ontario.

Interspecific Relations among Fish Species in South Bay, Lake Huron, 1949–84

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s10-s14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Henderson ◽  
F. E. J. Fry
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
White Sucker ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Coregonus Artedii

Of the nine species caught in pound and gill nets in South Bay, Lake Huron (lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), splake (S. namaycush × S. fontinalis), burbot (Lota lota), lake hering (Coregonus artedii), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens)), only yellow perch, white sucker, and lake whitefish were significantly related to the abundances of all other fish species (multiple regression) from 1965 to 1984. For the longer period (pound nets 1949–84), all but smelt, burbot, and white sucker were dependent upon variations in the abundance of the nine other species. For the same period (1965–84) and species (nine), the abundances only of yellow perch and white suckers were significantly and positively related in two basins of the Bay. None of the inverse correlations between species abundances was significant in both basins. Within the Outer Basin, only the correlations between alewife and lake herring (r = −0.49, r = −0.45) and yellow perch and white sucker (r = +0.55, r = +0.47) were significant in the same direction for both time periods (1949–64 and 1965–84, respectively). We concluded that there was little evidence that the abundances of species were affected significantly by interspecific influences.

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

1998 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Early Life Stage ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Sampling Times

<em>Abstract</em>.—Smelt <em>Osmerus mordax </em>and alewives <em>Alosa pseudoharengus </em>were collected from Lakes Huron and Michigan in spring and fall and from Lake Superior in spring to determine the activity of thiaminase, a thiamine-destroying enzyme, in those species. Greater thiaminase activity was found in the viscera (1,902 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for smelt and 1,705 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for alewives) than in the eviscerated body (180 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for smelt and 235 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for alewives). The average whole body thiaminase activity when all of the samples were pooled was 362 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for smelt and 357 pmol • g<sup>-1</sup> • min<sup>-1</sup> for alewives. Large differences were found in thiaminase activities between smelt and alewives from different locations in the Great Lakes region and at different sampling times. These differences may be species-, location-, or season-specific.

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.

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.

Performance of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Backcrosses, F1 Splake (S. fontinalis × S. namaycush), and Lake Trout in Lake Huron

1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 2402-2407 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Spangler ◽  
A. H. Berst
Keyword(s):  
Lake Trout ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Salvelinus Namaycush ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Bathymetric Distribution ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Sea Lampreys ◽  
Annual Mortality

This paper presents the results of plantings in Lake Huron waters of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), F1 splake (S. fontinalis × S. namaycush), and the progeny of the backcross between splake males and lake trout females.The planted fish were piscivorous throughout age-groups II – V with rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), sticklebacks (Pungitius [?]), and alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) the dominant food organisms. Hybrid stocks grew more rapidly but attained a somewhat smaller asymptotic length than did lake trout. The F1 hybrids were the earliest to mature with 34% of the males and 4% of the females spawning at age II. Earliest maturity occurred in the backcrosses at age III, in contrast to lake trout which matured predominantly at ages VI and VII. The backcrosses demonstrated a slightly broader thermal and bathymetric distribution during summer than did lake trout, while the F1 hybrids tended to concentrate in the thermocline. Total annual mortality rates (attributed mostly to predation by sea lampreys, Petromyzon marinus) ranged from 62 to 95% for all of the planted stocks.

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