Publications

Hearing ability is well studied across teleost fishes in general, and vertebrates more broadly, but little is known about sound detection abilities of lampreys (Petromyzontiformes), a basal extant vertebrate group. The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a destructive invader of the Laurentian Great Lakes, while numerous lamprey species (including the sea lamprey) are imperiled in their...

To improve understanding of how recent changes in lower trophic levels in Lake Michigan could be affecting prey-fish biomass and production, the Lake Michigan Committee (LMC) convened a Lower Trophic Level Task Group and provided several charges that are responded to in this report. First, we compiled a comprehensive summary of lower trophiclevel data in Lake Michigan, separating out...

Stream entry of many fishes is influenced by environmental factors including water temperature, stream discharge, and photoperiod (Leggett 1977; Jonsson 1991). Environmental factors influence stream entry differently depending on the species and life stage of fish, likely because of varying physiologies and life histories (Lucas and Baras 2008). Many spring-run migratory fishes occupy...

Loss of shallow water riparian zones in the St. Clair River has reduced availability of nursery areas and refuge for fishes. To remediate habitat losses and provide fish nursery areas, five remediation projects were carried out along the river’s United States bank from 2012 to 2014, replacing seawalls with sloping banks and adding in-stream structure (e.g., root wads and boulders)...

This study describes growth and reproductive characteristics of a facultative elasmobranch symbiont, Echeneis naucrates. Females grew slower but achieved a larger size than males (growth coefficient, K = 0.25 and 0.38 year−1, and mean maximum size, L∞= 603 and 477 mm, respectively). Mean relative batch fecundity was 39.5 (s.d. = 13.1). Gonadosomatic indices peaked in July and August for...

Using Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON), fishery acoustic observation data was collected from the Ocqueoc River, a tributary of Lake Huron in northern Michigan, USA. Data were collected March through July 2013 and 2016 and included the identification, via technology or expert analysis, of eight fish species as they passed through the DIDSON’s field of view. A set of short...

Basin-scale assessment of fish habitat in Great Lakes coastal ecosystems would increase our ability to prioritize fish habitat management and restoration actions. As a first step in this direction, we identified key habitat factors associated with highest probability of occurrence for several societally and ecologically important coastal fish species as well as community metrics, using...

Bioenergetics modeling was used to assess the relative importance of food availability and water temperature in determining walleye (Sander vitreus) growth. Temperature regimes experienced by both female and male adult walleye in three basins of Lake Huron and in Lake Erie were determined by use of surgically implanted temperature loggers and acoustic telemetry. Temperatures experienced...

Lake sturgeon populations show a variety of movement patterns, but this variation is poorly understood. To compare two migratory phenotypes of lake sturgeon in the St. Clair River, multiple data types were analyzed. Individual fish were classified into migratory phenotypes based on acoustic telemetry data from 2012-2015. Lake sturgeon consistently showed movement from the St. Clair River...

In this paper, we describe a mechanism for the transfer of nutrients from symbiotic microbes (bacteria and fungi) to host plant roots that we term the ‘rhizophagy cycle.’ In the rhizophagy cycle, microbes alternate between a root intracellular endophytic phase and a free-living soil phase. Microbes acquire soil nutrients in the free-living soil phase; nutrients are extracted through...

Management of invasive species, whether prevention, population reduction, or eradication, requires assessment of the invasive species’ population status and an assessment of the probability of success of management options. Perceptions of a species’ permanence in an environment or lack thereof frequently drives how limited time, financial, and personnel resources are allocated to such...

The whole-fish total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in 25 mature female and 26 mature male white suckers (Catostomus commersonii) caught during their spawning run in the Kewaunee River, a tributary to Lake Michigan. The age of each fish was estimated using thin-sectioned otoliths, and total length (TL) and weight were determined for each fish. When adjusted for the effect of...