Mark Vinson, PhD (Former Employee)

Ecosystem-based management relies on understanding how perturbations influence ecosystem structure and function (e.g., invasive species, exploitation, abiotic changes). However, data on unimpacted systems are scarce; therefore, we often rely on impacted systems to make inferences about ‘natural states.’ Among the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Superior provides a unique case study to...

No abstract available.

The trophic ecology of lake charr Salvelinus namaycush morphotypes from small and large lakes within their native and introduced ranges is reviewed over the past 50 years. The lake charr is an apex predator in most habitats it occupies, where it plays a significant role in defining food webs. While often considered piscivores, lake charr feed on a range of aquatic prey throughout their...

This report describes the status of fish species and their habitat in Lake Superior during the reporting period of 2012-2016 in response to achievement of fish community objectives (FCOs) established by fishery managers for the lake. The overarching goal for the FCOs continued to be met as the fish community remained diverse, self-regulating, dominated by indigenous species, and able to...

With the exception of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), relatively little is known about the early life history of larval coregonines in the Laurentian Great Lakes. For example, our knowledge of the feeding ecology of larval coregonines (excluding lake whitefish) is based on only 900 stomachs reported in the literature. Here, we describe the diets and demographics of larval...

The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid mussels in all but Lake Superior...