Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Welcome to the Great Lakes Science Center's Publications page.

Filter Total Items: 2806

Distribution of alewives in southeastern Lake Ontario in autumn and winter: a clue to winter mortalities Distribution of alewives in southeastern Lake Ontario in autumn and winter: a clue to winter mortalities

Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus in the Great Lakes are thought to avoid extreme cold in winter by moving to deep water where the temperature is usually highest because of inverse thermal stratification. Information collected in Lake Ontario during autumn and winter 1981–1984 with an echo sounder and bottom and midwater trawls indicated that many alewives remained at depths above 110 m...
Authors
Roger A. Bergstedt, Robert O’Gorman

Development of a benthic invertebrate objective for mesotrophic Great Lakes waters Development of a benthic invertebrate objective for mesotrophic Great Lakes waters

A biological indicator of mesotrophic conditions should (1) provide an appropriate and interpretable objective; (2) be achievable if corrective measures are taken (i.e., it should be within the expected environmental range of the system); and (3) allow measurement of progress toward the objective. Historical data from the Great Lakes suggest that population density of the burrowing...
Authors
Trefor B. Reynoldson, Donald W. Schloesser, Bruce A. Manny

Submersed macrophyte communities before and after an episodic ice jam in the St. Clair and Detroit rivers Submersed macrophyte communities before and after an episodic ice jam in the St. Clair and Detroit rivers

We conducted surveys in 1983 and 1984 of submersed macrophyte communities off six islands in the St. Clair and Detroit rivers using low altitude aerial photography and ground-truth collections. Sample collections in 1984 followed one of the coldest winters on record, during which ice up to 4 m thick developed in areas that were normally ice-free. Growth of many of the 20 taxa collected...
Authors
S. Jerrine Nichols, Donald W. Schloesser, Patrick L. Hudson

Food of forage fishes in western Lake Erie, 1975-76 Food of forage fishes in western Lake Erie, 1975-76

In western Lake Erie in the summer and fall of 1975–1976, food eaten by seven forage fishes—emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus), andyoung-of-the-year (YOY) of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), white bass (Morone chrysops), and freshwater drum (Aplodi-notus grunniens)—was...
Authors
Kenneth M. Muth, Wolf-Dieter N. Busch

Assessment of lake trout spawning habitat quality in central Lake Huron by submarine Assessment of lake trout spawning habitat quality in central Lake Huron by submarine

Interstitial water quality was measured using a submersible at seven locations on Six Fathom Bank. Historically, the bank was an important lake trout spawning ground. It is currently the focus of coordinated, interagency efforts to rehabilitate lake trout in Lake Huron. Water quality, evaluated from measurements of biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and hydrogen...
Authors
Bruce A. Manny, Thomas A. Edsall

Migration and control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) along highway corridors Migration and control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) along highway corridors

The east-west density gradient and the pattern and mode of migration of the wetland exotic, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.), were assessed in a survey of populations along the New York State Thruway from Albany to Buffalo to determine if the highway corridor contributed to the spread of this species. During the peak flowering season of late July to early August, individual...
Authors
Douglas A. Wilcox

Behavior of fish predators and their prey: Habitat choice between open water and dense vegetation Behavior of fish predators and their prey: Habitat choice between open water and dense vegetation

Behavior of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and northern pike, Esox lucius, foraging on fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, or bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus, was quantified in pools with 50% cover (half the pool had artificial stems at a density of 1000 stems m−2). Both predators spent most of their time in the vegetation. Largemouth bass searched for bluegills and ambushed...
Authors
Jacqueline F. Savino, Roy A. Stein

Side-scan sonar mapping of lake trout spawning habitat in northern Lake Michigan Side-scan sonar mapping of lake trout spawning habitat in northern Lake Michigan

Native stocks of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush were virtually or completely extirpated from the lower four Great Lakes by the early 1960s. The failure of early attempts to reestablish self-sustaining populations of lake trout was attributed partly to the practice of stocking hatcheryreared juveniles at locations and over substrates that had not been used in the past for spawning by...
Authors
Thomas A. Edsall, Thomas P. Poe, Robert T. Nester, Charles L. Brown

Potential effects of shipping on submersed macrophytes in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers of the Great Lakes Potential effects of shipping on submersed macrophytes in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers of the Great Lakes

An extensive survey of submersed macrophytes in the St. Clair and Detroit rivers revealed statistically significant differences in the composition and density of macrophyte beds in shipping channels (used by commercial vessels passing between Lakes Huron and Erie) and non-shipping channels. Of nine common macrophyte taxa, four (Characae, Potamogeton richardsonii, Potamogeton spp. narrow...
Authors
Donald W. Schloesser, Bruce A. Manny

Sublethal effects of phenanthrene, nicotine, and pinane on Daphnia pulex Sublethal effects of phenanthrene, nicotine, and pinane on Daphnia pulex

Chronic studies of Daphnia Pulex exposed to different concentrations of phenanthrene, nicotine, and pinane produced consistent sublethal effects among replicates and concentrations. The LOEC's for growth and fecundity with each chemical tested were 3 to 30% of the 48-hr EC50's. Growth decreased as concentration increased for each chemical tested, and fecundity approached zero at 2 to 5...
Authors
Jacqueline F. Savino, Lila L. Tanabe

Behavioural interaction between fish predators and their prey: effects of plant density Behavioural interaction between fish predators and their prey: effects of plant density

Prey-specific anti-predatory behaviour under different degrees of structural complexity determines foraging success of predators. The behaviour of piscivorous fish (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides and northern pike, Esox lucius) and their prey (bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus, and fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas) were quantified in 60-min experiments in laboratory pools (2...
Authors
Jacqueline F. Savino, Roy A. Stein

ROV dives under Great Lakes ice ROV dives under Great Lakes ice

Observations of the underside of ice have a wide variety of applications. Severe under-ice roughness can affect ice movements, rough under-ice surfaces can scour the bottom disturbing biota and man-made structures such as pipelines, and the flow rate of rivers is often affected by under-ice roughness. A few reported observations of the underside of an ice cover have been made, usually by...
Authors
S. J. Bolsenga, John E. Gannon, Gregory Kennedy, D. C. North, Charles E. Herdendorf
Was this page helpful?