Hondorp, Yule, Lowe to Investigate Cisco Ecology in Western Lake Superior

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GLSC Scientists Darryl Hondorp (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Dan Yule (Ashland, Wisconsin), and Mike Lowe (Millersburg, Michigan) were awarded funding from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to investigate use of acoustic telemetry for quantifying site fidelity and spawning behavior of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in western Lake Superior. Cisco fisheries in western Lake Superior are managed based on assumptions about stock structure and vulnerability of spawners to fishery hydroacoustic surveys that have not been tested via direct observation of cisco movements. This study will evaluate feasibility of acoustic telemetry as a tool for describing the spatial ecology of cisco in western Lake Superior. Field experimentation and data simulation will be used to develop best practices for cisco capture and tag implantation and to determine the spatial scale and spacing of acoustic receiver arrays needed to quantify the behavior of cisco on spawning grounds. Spawning site fidelity for the Madeline Island "stock" also will be estimated. Study results are expected to support cisco assessment initiatives and to advance a key objective of the Great Lakes Coregonid Adaptive Management Framework: “map current and historical populations and habitat.” The full project team includes scientists from Michigan State University (Drs. Scott Colborne and Todd Hayden) and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (Dr. Dmitry Gorsky).