Publications

The discovery of zebra mussels in North America in 1988 raised concern for water users because the species became abundant enough to obstruct the flow of water in human-made structures such as pipes and screens. This work reviews the biology, distribution, and impacts of zebra mussels in the context of its discovery in the Laurentian Great Lakes and its impending spread to most surface...

We examined diel feeding chronology of six fish species in the Juniata River, Pennsylvania. Ephemeropteran nymphs were the major prey of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus; 70.5%) and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu; 59.7%) during each of six 4-h intervals over a 24-h period. The main dietary component of mimic shiner (Notropis volucellus) was chironomids (42.3%), whereas spotfin...

We examine evidence that biotic factors, particularly predation, may be limiting early survival of wild lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) juveniles in many areas of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes contain numerous potential predators of lake trout eggs and fry, some of which are recent invaders, and most of which were probably absent when lake trout most recently re-invaded the Great...

Progress toward lake trout restoration in Lake Michigan is described through 1993. Extinction of the native lake trout fishery by sea lamprey predation, augmented by exploitation and habitat destruction, resulted in an extensive stocking program of hatchery-reared lake trout that began in 1965. Sea lamprey abundance was effectively controlled using selective chemical toxicants. The...

We review existing information on lake trout spawning habitat, which might indicate whether habitat is now a limiting factor in lake trout reproductive success. Lake trout spawning habitat quality is defined by the presence or absence of olfactory cues for homing, reef location with respect to the shoreline, water depth, proximity to nursery areas, reef size, contour, substrate size and...

Ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, a percid native to Europe and Asia, is established in the Lake Superior drainage and could have negative impacts on native fish through competition for forage and predation on fish eggs. We investigated the diet of ruffes in the 4,654-ha St. Louis River estuary in May–October 1989–1990 and the feeding periodicity of ruffes in two adjacent habitats during five...

The oligochaete fauna at 40 stations in western Lake Erie were collected in 1982 and compared to oligochaete fauna collected similarly in 1961. A total of 34 taxa, representing 18 Tubificidae and 16 Naididae, were identified. Changes in the proportions of low, moderate, and heavy polluted sediments, as determined by ranges of total numbers of oligochaetes, indicate that, in general...

We examined PCB concentration data for seven species of Lake Michigan fishes to determine what trends were apparent °20 yr after PCB restrictions became effective. Total PCB concentrations in all seven species, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brown trout (Salmo trutta), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)...

To better understand the role of piscivorous waterbirds in the food web of western Lake Erie, we applied a bioenergetics model to determine their total fish consumption, The important nesting species included the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), Ring-billed Gull (L. delawarensis), Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Black-crowned Night...

Because the 57-mm-mesh gill net is the predominant gear in the Lake Eric fishery for yellow perch Perca flavescens, gear selectivity is an important factor operating in that fishery. The selectivity curve for age-groups 2–6 is roughly symmetrical with peak vulnerability at age 4; younger and older perch are substantially less susceptible to the gear. The Beverton-Holt yield-per-recruit...

Mysis relicta and Diporeia dominated the diet of slimy sculpins (Cottus cognatus) caught at depths of 55, 75, and 95 m at two locations in southern Lake Ontario. Length of prey was positively correlated with length of slimy sculpin. At a given depth, mean length of slimy sculpins was greater at Rochester than at Nine Mile Point, and mean length increased with depth at both locations...

Recently metamorphosed sea lampreys Petromyzon marinus were captured in the Devil River, a tributary to Lake Huron, during summer and autumn 1990. They were tagged with a coded wire tag and returned to the river to continue their migration to Lake Huron to begin the parasitic (juvenile) phase of their life. During the spawning run in spring 1992 when the tagged animals were expected to...