Publications

Genetic analysis of spawning lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) from six sites in the main basin of Lake Huron was conducted to determine population structure. Samples from fisheryindependent assessment surveys in the northwest main basin were analyzed to determine the relative contributions of lake whitefish genetic populations. Genetic population structure was identified using...

Zooplankton community composition can be influenced by lake productivity as well as planktivory by fish or invertebrates. Previous analyses based on long-term Lake Huron zooplankton data from August reported a shift in community composition between the 1980s and 2000s: proportional biomass of calanoid copepods increased while that of cyclopoid copepods and herbivorous cladocerans...

We use a combination of spectral sensitivity analyses, laboratory behavioral observations and field distributions of a vertically migrating invertebrate, Hemimysis anomala (a recent invasive species to the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America), to determine if light preference and timing of emergence has an ontogenetic component. Juvenile Hemimysis ( 4.5 mm) preferred light levels...

We evaluated the energy density of bloaters Coregonus hoyi as a function of fish size across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior in 2008–2009 and assessed how differences in energy density are related to factors such as biomass density of bloaters and availability of prey. Additional objectives were to compare energy density between sexes and to compare energy densities of bloaters in...

Indices of biological integrity of wetlands based on vascular plants (VIBIs) have been developed in many areas in the USA. Knowledge of the best predictors of VIBIs would enable management agencies to make better decisions regarding mitigation site selection and performance monitoring criteria. We use a novel statistical technique to develop predictive models for an established index of...

We compared Bythotrephes population demographics and dynamics to predator (planktivorous fish) and prey (small-bodied crustacean zooplankton) densities at a site sampled through the growing season in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Although seasonal average densities of Bythotrephes were similar across lakes (222/m2 Erie, 247/m2 Huron, 162/m2 Michigan), temporal trends in abundance...

No abstract available.

Characterization of vertebrate chemo-orientation strategies over long distances is difficult because it is often not feasible to conduct highly controlled hypothesis-based experiments in natural environments. To overcome the challenge, we couple in-stream behavioral observations of female sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) orienting to plumes of a synthesized mating pheromone, 7a,12a,24...

As the only extant deepwater cisco in Lake Michigan, bloater is currently at record low levels of abundance. Several mechanisms to regulate their recruitment have been proposed, including skewed sex ratios, predation on their larvae by adult alewife, and climatic factors during early life history stages, but none has unequivocal support. In this research, we evaluated an alternative...

Water levels of Lake Sevan (Armenia) were artificially lowered by nearly 20 m between 1949 and 1997. Lowered water levels, combined with increased eutrophication, were associated with seasonally anoxic conditions (lasting 1–4 months) near the bottom of the profundal zone each year during 1976–2004. In addition, the extents of the macrophyte zone and of certain substrate types were...

Hemimysis anomala is one of the latest macroinvertebrates to invade the Laurentian Great Lakes. Since first reported in 2006, Hemimysis have been confirmed in several locations within the Great Lakes basin. However, little is known about the seasonal and spatial variation in demographics and dynamics of Hemimysis populations. We used a standardised pier-based methodology to describe the

We developed indices of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush status in the main basin of Lake Huron (1973-2010) to understand increases in the relative abundance of wild year-classes during 1995-2010. Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus wounds per 100 lake trout declined from 23.63 in 2000 to 5.86-10.64 in 2002-2010. The average age-7 lake trout catch per effort per recruitment (CPE/R; fish•305mof...