Data

This data release includes Lake Ontario gillnet catch and biological data from individual fish from the Lake Ontario adult lake trout survey, from 1983 to 2025. Data from gillnets fished in Canadian waters are included from 1985 to 1995, 2008, and 2024. Details about the vessel and gear descriptions, sampling protocols, and fish processing protocols are provided in the associated...

This dataset includes information from a yellow perch (Perca flavescens) tagging experiment, where the goal was to evaluate tag retention rates, and impact of tagging on growth, condition, and survival. Fish were held in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) over a 168-day period to evaluate four external tag types including loop, ring, streamer, and T-bar anchor tags. Data were...

Assessing the distribution and abundance of both predator and prey (forage) fish species is a cornerstone of ecosystem-based fishery management and supports decision making that considers food-web interactions. In support of binational Great Lakes fishery management, the objectives of this survey were to: provide estimates of densities of key forage and predator species in the western...

Impacts of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.) on Great Lakes ecosystems are well documented, but a better understanding of mechanisms that cause variation in mussel abundance is needed. An outstanding question is how much mussel biomass is consumed by predation. To date, attention has mainly focused on invasive Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) predation of mussels. Biomass of native

This dataset records physical (photosynthetically available radiation, currents, wave action, and temperature) and physicochemical (specific conductivity, turbidity, pH, phycocyanin, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen) data from sensors moored during the winter season of 2024-2025 at two lake whitefish spawning reefs – Good Harbor Bay in Lake Michigan and Thunder Bay in Lake Huron. The...

This dataset includes fish community data collected during the annual nearshore and offshore surveys for Lake Superior from 1978-2025. The data includes: the number, weight, number per hectare, and kg per hectare of fish caught at each location from 1978-2025; annual age-1 numerical density estimates for select species in the nearshore region (1978-2025) and offshore region (2011-2025)...

This data set includes information on macroinvertebrate community composition collected along with benthic algae and dreissenid mussels from May to October of 2024. Stations are located along the U.S. shoreline of Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Macroinvertebrates were identified from benthic samples collected by scuba divers. Macroinvertebrates, algae, and dreissenids were...

This dataset describes environmental DNA (eDNA) sample collections, DNA extractions, and DNA copy numbers (abundance of environmental DNA) for cisco Coregonus artedi, a native prey fish of restoration interest in the Laurentian Great Lakes, in tributaries to Lake Huron’s North Channel in Canada. Samples were collected during cisco spawning runs (mid-November) from 2022-2024.

This data set includes metadata for fish and microbes from water samples collected in southern Lake Michigan in August 2021. All field eDNA samples were collected using a Tethys-class Long Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LRAUV) carrying an eDNA sampler, the 3G Environmental Sample Processor (ESP). Water samples were collected at various depths within following target layers: the...

This dataset is from a vessel comparison study between four motorized research vessels (RVs) and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) RV Almar and RV Grandon, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) RV Muskie, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) RV Erie Explorer and a wind propelled USV (SD-1080; Saildrone Inc.). Paired...

This data release includes thiamine concentration measurements from lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) eggs and associated biological data (e.g., fish length, weight, sex) and capture location data (e.g., lake, coordinates, date of collection). Lake trout used in this dataset were collected during 2024 from across the Great Lakes and other inland lakes such as the Finger Lakes, New York...

Annual spring/summer (May-July) and fall (October) gillnet assessment surveys and spring/summer young-of-year (YOY) lake trout beam trawl surveys were conducted by researchers at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in central Lake Huron on two offshore reefs, Six Fathom Bank and Yankee Reef. The spring/summer and fall gillnet assessment took place between 1991- 2022 and 1991-1998