Robert C. Haas

Assessment of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) Spawning Efforts in the Lower St. Clair River, Michigan

One of the most threatened remaining populations of lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes is found in the connecting channels between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Only two spawning grounds are presently known to be active in this region, and both are in the St. Clair River. The spawning reef in the St. Clair River delta has been recently colonized by round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in densities up to 25/m2, raising concerns regarding predation on the benthic-oriented eggs and larvae of the sturgeon. Investigations in 1998–1999 showed that while round goby predation does occur, a number of other factors may be equally affecting sturgeon spawning success, including few spawning adults (< 60), suspected poaching pressure, low retention rate of eggs on the reef, low hatch rate (∼0.5%), the presence of organic contaminants, and predation from native and exotic invertebrates and fish. Overall, we estimate that less than 1% of the eggs deposited during a spawning run survive to hatch. We were able to increase the egg hatch rate to 16% by placing eggs in predator-exclusion chambers on the reef. The fate of the larvae is uncertain. Two weeks after hatching, no larvae were found on the reef. We were unable to find them anywhere else in the river, nor was predation on larvae noted in either year. There were factors other than predation affecting larval survival in 1999. There was a higher silt load on the reef than in 1998 and large numbers of dead larvae were found. Recruitment success from this site could be improved by utilizing techniques to increase the number of eggs on the reef, such as reducing the illegal take of adult fish and by placing eggs in predator-exclusion chambers to increase hatch rate.

Movement of Walleyes in Lakes Erie and St. Clair Inferred from Tag Return and Fisheries Data

Abstract Lake Erie walleyes Sander vitreus support important fisheries and have been managed as one stock, although preliminary tag return and genetic analyses suggest the presence of multiple stocks that migrate among basins within Lake Erie and into other portions of the Great Lakes. We examined temporal and spatial movement and abundance patterns of walleye stocks in the three basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair with the use of tag return and sport and commercial catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) data from 1990 to 2001. Based on summer tag returns, western basin walleyes migrated to the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and to Lake St. Clair and southern Lake Huron, while fish in the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair were primarily caught within the basins where they were tagged. Seasonal changes in sport and commercial effort and CPUE in Lake Erie confirmed the walleye movements suggested by tag return data. Walleyes tagged in the western basin but recaptured in the ...

Spatial Patterns Emphasize the Importance of Coastal Zones as Nursery Areas for Larval Walleye in Western Lake Erie

Abstract Lake Erie walleye Sander vitreus exhibits significant interannual variability in year-class strength. Recent research revealed the importance of larval growth and survival rates in determining walleye year-class strength in western Lake Erie, indicating that spatial and temporal overlap of larvae with good habitat conditions (e.g., abundant prey, warm waters) promoted walleye growth and survival. To assess the spatial overlap between walleye larvae and habitat parameters (water depth, temperature, water clarity, prey density) in western Lake Erie, we evaluated the spatial distribution of walleye larvae and these habitat parameters with intensive sampling at 30 to 36 sites during spring 1994–1999. We analyzed spatial relationships among pelagic walleye larvae and various habitat attributes using a geographic information system and principal components analysis. Larval walleye density was consistently highest at nearshore sites during all years and showed a high degree of spatial overlap with high ichthyoplankton density, and warm water temperatures. Larval walleye density was negatively associated with water depth and water clarity. Two principal components represented 79.6% of the total variability in site attributes. Principle components analysis supported our spatial analysis by graphically separating sites into distinct groups based on larval walleye density and habitat attributes. These analyses indicated that similar relationships between larval distribution and habitat attributes occur each year, emphasizing the importance of nearshore coastal zones as nursery areas for walleye.

Effects of Long-Term Changes in the Benthic Community on Yellow Perch in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron

Abundance, mortality, age and growth, food habits, and energetics of a yellow perch Perca flavescens population were investigated in eutrophic Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron during May to October, 1986 to 1988, and compared population characteristics with historical data from times when eutrophic conditions were less severe. During 1986 to 1988, yellow perch were abundant, but grew slowly and experienced high natural mortality. A size threshold was present at 150 to 180 mm beyond which few individuals survived, and sex ratios became biased toward males. An energetic model suggested that yellow perch were food limited; as they increased in size they spent a greater proportion of the growing season near maintenance ration. Low feeding rates were a consequence of subsistence on small chironomid larvae. Piscivory provided little energetic relief. Historical data suggested that availability of large benthic prey such as nymphs of the burrowing mayfly Hexagenia was important to yellow perch. Yellow perch formerly consumed Hexagenia, but mayflies were extirpated from Saginaw Bay during 1953 to 1965, and never recovered. When Hexagenia was present, yellow perch growth was moderate to fast depending on population size, size thresholds were not present, and yellow perch reached large size and older age despite moderate to high fishing mortality. Decreases in yellow perch growth rates during 1952 to 1955 coincided with extirpation of Hexagenia. Fast growth of yellow perch did occur after Hexagenia became extirpated, but only when fishing mortality was high, population size was small, and some large benthic invertebrates remained. Eutrophication of Saginaw Bay appeared to affect yellow perch by changing species composition and reducing size structure of the benthic community.

Genetic and Tagging Evidence for Movement of Walleyes Between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair

Walleyes (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) from Lake Erie differed in allele frequencies from walleyes in Lake St. Clair (N = 1,680; 25 loci); however, only slight differences were found among walleyes from different spawning sites in each lake. Analyses of allele frequency data from samples of nonspawning walleyes taken in Lake St. Clair provided conditional maximum likelihood estimates that 86% of these walleyes were from Lake St. Clair and 14% from Lake Erie (SD = 19.7%) in 1983 and that 63% were from Lake St. Clair and 37% were from Lake Erie (SD = 20.0%) in 1984. About 30% of 1,159 recoveries of walleyes tagged in Lake Erie were taken from the Detroit River northward to southern Lake Huron, thus demonstrating extensive mixing of stocks from Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. Additionally, tags recovered from the upper half of the St. Clair River provided an estimate of mixed stock composition of 76% Lake St. Clair fish and 24% Lake Erie fish. Analyses of tags returned during successive spawning seasons showed that walleyes strongly tended to return to suspected natal spawning areas. The tagging data thus corroborate the genetic evidence that walleye stocks from Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie are different, and that large numbers of Lake Erie walleyes enter Lake St. Clair during nonspawning seasons and return to their Lake Erie spawning sites each year. Western Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair walleyes should be considered as separate stocks for management purposes.

Capture of Lake Sturgeon with Setlines in the St. Clair River, Michigan

Abstract Setlines were constructed and used to capture lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in the St. Clair River, a Great Lakes connecting waterway. Particularly strong current, steep bottom contours, and water depths exceeding 18 m make traditional sampling methods in this area problematic. We constructed six setlines, each with 25 hooks (a total of 150 hooks), for a cost of about US

Removal of Walleye Eggs from Reefs in Western Lake Erie by a Catastrophic Storm

60 each. Hooks were baited with a variety of cut and whole fish. Sixty-seven sets in May and Jun of 1997 caught 84 lake sturgeon. The only other fish caught was one northern pike Esox lucius. Round goby Neogobius melanostomus, an introduced exotic species, was the most successful bait used. Lake sturgeon caught on setlines ranged in weight from 0.8 kg to 45.5 kg. Most lake sturgeon were hooked in the mouth and experienced little visible damage or stress, but about 20% of the fish were hooked outside the mouth (snagged) and in a few cases considerable bleeding and tissue damage occurred. The highest incidence of snagging coin...

Field Test of Two Energetic Models for Yellow Perch

Abstract We document the removal of walleye Stizostedion vitreum eggs from reefs in western Lake Erie by a gale-force storm event during April 1998. From April 8 to April 10 of that year, the western basin reefs were exposed to sustained winds exceeding 80 km/h and originating from the east-northeast. This storm produced waves in excess of 4 m on the reefs and caused extensive flooding along the Ohio and Michigan shorelines owing to seiche activity. We sampled eggs on Cone, Crib, Locust Point, Niagara, Round, and Toussaint reefs on April 6, the day before the storm, and on April 10, the day after the storm. We found approximately 80% fewer eggs in the samples collected on April 10, a difference that was significant. Shallow sites on reefs lost significantly more eggs (87%) than deep sites (50%). The lower loss rate of eggs from deep sites was thought to be related to reduced wave energy at greater depths. The results of this study emphasize the importance of physical processes in structuring walleye early...

Annual Production of Burrowing Mayfly Nymphs (Hexagenia spp.) in U.S. Waters of Lake St. Clair

Abstract Field data from a population of yellow perch Perca flavescens in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, were used to evaluate the ability of two energetic models to predict consumption by yellow perch. Field estimates of daily ration for age-1–4 fish during May through October 1987 and 1988 were compared with independent predictions made by the Wisconsin energetic model and an energetic model developed by Karas and Thoresson. Predictions of daily ration using the Wisconsin model were lower than daily rations estimated from field data for all ages, primarily due to poor model–field agreement at temperatures above 22°C. This caused estimates of cumulative consumption from the Wisconsin model to be 25–50% lower than field estimates. Predictions of daily ration by the Karas–Thoresson model agreed with field estimates over a temperature range of 10–26°C for age-1–3 yellow perch but not for older fish. Despite improvement, model predictions of cumulative consumption were 2–35% lower than field estimates. Although th...

Parasites of Walleyes, Stizostedion vitreum, from Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, and the Other Great Lakes

Abstract Burrowing mayfly nymphs ( Hexagenia spp.) were sampled monthly, September through October 1995 and April through August 1996, with a standard Ponar grab (538 cm 2 jaw opening) at 16 stations in U.S. waters of Lake St. Clair. Annual production (production, P) was 0 to 477 mg dry weight/m 2 at three stations where pollution and sediment grain-size distribution limited the population, and was 738 to 5,255 mg dry weight/m 2 at the other 13 stations. The highest production value measured for Hexagenia in Lake St. Clair was about three times higher than the highest value reported for other areas in the northern United States and Canada (39° to 53° North latitude). The production-mean annual biomass (biomass, B) ratio (P/B) for Hexagenia in Lake St. Clair in 1995–96 was described by the straight line P = 2.4 B (R 2 = 0.94). Adding published P/B data for other North American populations changed the relation only slightly to P = 2.5B (R 2 = 0.96). A P/B ratio of 2.5 is consistent with the expected value for an aquatic insect with a 2-year life cycle and overlapping cohorts, and these data suggest this relation has general applicability for estimating production of Hexagenia in the northern United States and Canada. Size-class and seasonal partitioning of Hexagenia biomass and production were evident in the data. Both biomass and production were highest among nymphs 16.0 mm and larger, and biomass was highest in October and again in June, immediately before the annual emergence of subimagos. The large size of the mature nymphs and the concentration of biomass and production among the larger nymphs in the population is consistent with their importance in the diets of many fishes in the northern United States and Canada.