Publications

We collected samples of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and white perch (Morone americana) in spring, and of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in autumn, from commercial trap nets set in western Lake Erie in 2008. The yellow perch sample (N = 153) was dominated (72%, of the total sample) by the 2003 year class, followed by the 2005 year class (12%). The white perch sample (N = 201)...

Since 2004, population density of the large hypolimnetic calanoid Limnocalanus macrurus Sars. has increased dramatically in Lake Michigan. The average summer biomass of this species between 2004 and 2006 was roughly three times that of the period 1984–2003, and at levels unprecedented in our 22-year dataset, making L. macrurus the dominant zooplankter in the lake in terms of biomass...

Throughout much of the Great Lakes basin, reproduction of several fish species is impaired by deficiency of thiamine in their eggs, an effect attributed to consumption of thiaminase-containing forage species, primarily alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus.) Because the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) nesting on islands in Lake Ontario is known to consume considerable amounts of...

Growth and survival of stocked Sander spp. fingerlings can be influenced by timing of stocking in relation to the peak in density of larval gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum. However, coordinating stockings to coincide with peaks in gizzard shad density is difficult due to temporal variation in spawn timing among reservoirs. We used weekly estimates of larval gizzard shad density and...

We examined the feeding ecology of larval lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, during April and May 2004-2006. Larvae were collected with towed ichthyoplankton nets offshore and with larval seines along the shoreline. Larval feeding periodicity was examined from collections made at 4-h intervals over one 24-h period in 2005. Inter-annual variation in...

The U.S.Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center has conducted trawl surveys to assess annual changes in the deepwater demersal fish community of Lake Huron since 1973. Since 1992, surveys have been carried out using a 21 m wing trawl towed on-contour at depths ranging from 9 to 110 m on fixed transects. Sample sites include five ports in U.S. waters with less frequent sampling near...

Eleven male walleyes (Sander vitreus) and 10 female walleyes from the Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) population were caught during the spawning run at Dow Dam (Midland, Michigan) in the Tittabawassee River during April 1996, and individual whole-fish polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) determinations were made. Total PCB concentrations averaged 7.95 and 3.17??mg/kg for males and females...

The Lake Erie Biological Station has conducted bottom trawl assessments of fish populations in western Lake Erie near East Harbor State Park, Ohio each summer and autumn since 1961. The catches of most age-0 forage fishes in 2008 were less than their 15-year means. Mean densities for five species exceeded the long term mean. Mean density of age-0 white perch Morone americana was more...

Expansion of the invasive round goby Apollonia melanostoma (=Neogobius melanostomus) throughout the Great Lakes drainage has created considerable concern among fisheries management agencies. These concerns have led to several studies on the biology and impact of the goby in the basin. However, little information exists on diel patterns in food consumption of the round goby. We examined...

Cisco Coregonus artedi form pre-spawning aggregations in Lake Superior during November with the bulk of spawning occurring during late November through early December (Dryer and Beil 1964). Eggs are broadcast into open water (Smith 1956) with fertilized eggs settling to the lakebed (Dryer and Beil 1964). Peak hatching occurs the following May (United States Geological Survey – Great...

Regression analyses and hydrodynamic modeling were used to identify environmental factors and flow paths associated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations at Memorial and Metropolitan Beaches on Lake St. Clair in Macomb County, Mich. Lake St. Clair is part of the binational waterway between the United States and Canada that connects Lake Huron with Lake Erie in the Great Lakes...

Disease may be an important factor affecting wild fish population dynamics in the Great Lakes, but a lack of information on the ecology of fish disease currently precludes the prediction of risks to fish populations. Here we propose a conceptual framework for conducting ecologically-oriented fish health research that addresses the inter-relationships among fish health, fish populations...