Guy W. Fleischer

First Finding of the Amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus and the Mussel Dreissena bugensis in Lake Michigan

The first finding of the amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus and the mussel Dreissena bugensis in Lake Michigan is documented. These two species are widespread and abundant in the lower lakes, but had not yet been reported from Lake Michigan. E. ischnus is generally considered a warmwater form that is typically associated with hard substrates and Dreissena clusters in the nearshore zone. Along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, this species was present at rocky, breakwall habitats along the entire north-south axis of the lake. Although not abundant, this species was also found at soft-bottomed sites as deep as 94 m in the southern basin. The finding of this species in deep offshore waters apparently extends the known habitat range for this species in the Great Lakes, but it is found in deep water areas within its native range (Caspian Sea). D. bugensis was not abundant, but was present in both the southern and northern portions of the lake. Individuals of up to 36 mm in length were collected, indicating that it had probably been present in the lake for 2 or more years. Also presented are depth-defined densities of D. polymorpha at 37 sites in the Straits of Mackinac in 1997, and densities at up to 55 sites in the southern basin in 1992/93 and 1998/99. Mean densities decreased with increased water depth in both regions. Maximum mean density in the Straits in 1997 was 13,700/m2 (≤ 10 m), and maximum density in the southern basin in 1999 was 2,100/m2 (≤ 30 m). Mean densities at the ≤ 30-m interval in the southern basin remained relatively unchanged between 1993 and 1999, but increased from 25/m2 to 1,100/m2 at the 31 to 50 m interval over the same time period. D. polymorpha was rare at sites > 50 m. The presence of E. ischnus and the expected population expansion of D. bugensis will likely contribute to further foodweb changes in the lake.

Vertical Migration and Nighttime Distribution of Adult Bloaters in Lake Michigan

Abstract The vertical migration and nighttime vertical distribution of adult bloaters Coregonus hoyi were investigated during late summer in Lake Michigan using acoustics simultaneously with either midwater or bottom trawling. Bloaters remained on or near bottom during the day. At night, bloaters were distributed throughout 30–65 m of water, depending on bottom depth. Shallowest depths of migration were not related to water temperature or incident light. Maximum distances of migration increased with increasing bottom depth. Nighttime midwater densities ranged from 0.00 to 6.61 fish/1,000 m3 and decreased with increasing bottom depth. Comparisons of length distributions showed that migrating and nonmigrating bloaters did not differ in size. However, at most sites, daytime bottom catches collected a greater proportion of larger individuals compared with nighttime midwater or bottom catches. Mean target strengths by 5-m strata indicated that migrating bloaters did not stratify by size in the water column at ...

In Situ Relations of Target Strength to Fish Size for Great Lakes Pelagic Planktivores

Abstract We found mean target strength to be a reliable in situ predictor of fish weight, which allows direct estimation of the pelagic planktivore fish biomass from target strength measurements. Fish were collected by midwater trawling concurrent with target strength measurements (120-kHz frequency) in Lake Michigan. The mean weight of fish caught ranged from 2 to 71 g and mean target strength ranged from –54.9 to –38.0 decibels. Changes in mean target strength explained 73% of the variability in mean weight for combinations of various planktivore species, principally rainbow smelt Osrnerus mordax, bloaters Coregonus hovi, and alewives Alosa pseudoharengus. Bloaters were found to be less acoustically reflective than the other pelagic species, and a linear regression model with a classification variable was used to predict weight from target strength for bloaters and for the other species. We demonstrated that variations in the backscattering properties of different fish species must be considered to obta...

Lake-wide Distribution of Dreissena in Lake Michigan, 1999

The Great Lakes Science Center has conducted lake-wide bottom trawl surveys of the fish community in Lake Michigan each fall since 1973. These systematic surveys are performed at depths of 9 to 110 m at each of seven index sites around Lake Michigan. Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) populations have expanded to all survey locations and at a level to sufficiently contribute to the bottom trawl catches. The quagga (Dreissena bugensis), recently reported in Lake Michigan, was likely in the catches though not recognized. Dreissena spp. biomass ranged from about 0.6 to 15 kg/ha at the various sites in 1999. Dreissenid mussels were found at depths of 9 to 82 m, with their peak biomass at 27 to 46 m. The colonization of these exotic mussels has ecological implications as well as potential ramifications on the ability to sample fish consistently and effectively with bottom trawls in Lake Michigan.

Improving the Design of Acoustic and Midwater Trawl Surveys through Stratification, with an Application to Lake Michigan Prey Fishes

Abstract Reliable estimates of fish biomass are vital to the management of aquatic ecosystems and their associated fisheries. Acoustic and midwater trawl surveys are an efficient sampling method for estimating fish biomass in large bodies of water. To improve the precision of biomass estimates from combined acoustic and midwater trawl surveys, sampling effort should be optimally allocated within each stage of the survey design. Based on information collected during fish surveys, we developed an approach to improve the design of combined acoustic and midwater trawl surveys through stratification. Geographic strata for acoustic surveying and depth strata for midwater trawling were defined using neighbor-restricted cluster analysis, and the optimal allocation of sampling effort for each was then determined. As an example, we applied this survey stratification approach to data from lakewide acoustic and midwater trawl surveys of Lake Michigan prey fishes. Precision of biomass estimates from surveys with and w...

Effects of Pulsed Turbidity and Vessel Traffic on Lake Herring Eggs and Larvae

Proposals to extend commercial shipping in the St. Marys River (connecting Lakes Superior and Huron) to include winter months have raised concerns regarding its effect on lake herring (Coregonus artedi). Because lake herring spawn in fall and their eggs overwinter in the river and hatch in spring, their hatching success could be impacted by early opening of the locks in spring. Our laboratory studies showed that under the range of turbidities expected in the river due to vessel traffic, lake herring eggs hatched and larvae fed adequately. Field incubation studies produced about 75% survival and 70% hatching success of lake herring eggs at two of three study sites. Collections in the river throughout the month following ice-out showed that sufficient plankton of appropriate size were available to ensure growth and survival of larval lake herring. We did not detect any negative impacts on the early life stages of lake herring as a result of sedimentation in the laboratory or field. However, detailing the spawning sites of lake herring and defining the normal survival-to-hatch in these areas are necessary before making accurate predictions of the effects of early season vessel traffic on lake herring hatching success.

Pressure as a limit to bloater (Coregonus hoyi) vertical migration

Bloater Coregonus hoyi are one of the Great Lakes ciscoes, an incipient species flock of seven recognized fishes (Todd and Smith, 1992). The vertical migration of adult bloater has been documented in day-night catch-per-unit-effort comparisons on the lake bottom (Brandt et al., 1991; Argyle, 1992) and in hydroacoustic observations (Fleischer et al., 1997). Bloater stay on or near the bottom during the day, whereas at night, a portion of the population ascend in the water column (Brandt et al., 1991; Argyle, 1992). Vertical migrators with swimbladders cope with frequent buoyancy changes due to pressure-induced volume changes of the swimbladder. Maintaining neutral buoyancy by gas secretion and resorption is time consuming and not practical for daily vertical migrations (Jones and Scholes, 1985; Alexander, 1993). Frequent adjustments of swimbladder volume are also energetically expensive, especially in environments with low temperatures and high pressure gradients (Alexander, 1972, 1993; Jones and Scholes, 1985). Alexander (1972) suggested that vertical migrators with gas-filled swimbladders may cope with the problem of swimbladder adjustment by using their swimbladder for neutral buoyancy only at the shallowest depths of their migration, whereas at the deepest depths of their migration, Alexander (1972) hypothesized these fish would be negatively buoyant and either rest on the bottom or use another buoyancy mechanism such as hydrodynamic lift to remain above the bottom. Observations of Merluccius bilinearis

Landscape Scale Measures of Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Bioenergetic Growth Rate Potential in Lake Michigan and Comparison with Angler Catch Rates

The relative quality of a habitat can influence fish consumption, growth, mortality, and production. In order to quantify habitat quality, several authors have combined bioenergetic and foraging models to generate spatially explicit estimates of fish growth rate potential (GRP). However, the capacity of GRP to reflect the spatial distributions of fishes over large areas has not been fully evaluated. We generated landscape scale estimates of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) GRP throughout Lake Michigan for 1994-1996, and used these estimates to test the hypotheses that GRP is a good predictor of spatial patterns of steelhead catch rates. We used surface temperatures (measured with AVHRR satellite imagery) and acoustically measured steelhead prey densities (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus) as inputs for the GRP model. Our analyses demonstrate that potential steelhead growth rates in Lake Michigan are highly variable in both space and time. Steelhead GRP tended to increase with latitude, and mean GRP was much higher during September 1995, compared to 1994 and 1996. In addition, our study suggests that landscape scale measures of GRP are not good predictors of steelhead catch rates throughout Lake Michigan, but may provide an index of interannual variation in system-wide habitat quality.