Characteristics of lake sturgeon<i>Acipenser fulvescens</i>Rafinesque, 1817 in a tributary of Lake Michigan, USA: Status of the Muskegon River population

Harris, Brandon S.; Ruetz, Carl R.; Wieten, Alex C.; Altenritter, Matthew E.; Smith, K. M.

doi:10.1111/jai.13365

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Food requirements for BHC in their early life stages are probably less—due to their smaller size and energy densities—than that for the adult BHC we used in our study, which suggests productive river mouths that can support adult BHC growth would also provide sufficient food for the completion of larval and juvenile stages. Therefore, the benefits river mouths provide make these areas—and the variety of resident fish species that depend on them in their early life stages (Harris, Ruetz, Wieten, Altenritter, & Smith, ; Janetski, Ruetz, Bhagat, & Clapp, )—particularly vulnerable to a BHC invasion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake Michigan's suitability for bigheaded carp: The importance of diet flexibility and subsurface habitat

et al. 2019

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As bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)—collectively bigheaded carp (BHC)—arrive at Lake Michigan's doorstep, questions remain as to whether there is sufficient food to support these invasive filter‐feeding fishes in the upper Laurentian Great Lakes. Previous studies suggest that suitable BHC habitat is limited to a few productive, nearshore areas. However, those studies did not consider the influence of BHC's diet plasticity or the presence of spatially‐discrete subsurface prey resources. This study aimed to characterise Lake Michigan's suitability for BHC and evaluate the importance of these considerations in habitat suitability assessments. We used simulated outputs of prey biomass (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and detritus) and water temperature from a three‐dimensional biophysical model of Lake Michigan to evaluate growth rate potential (GRP, quantitative index of habitat suitability) of adult BHC throughout the entire volume of the lake. Our GRP model applied a foraging model and a bioenergetics model to translate prey concentrations and water temperatures into habitat quality indexed by individual fish growth rate. We defined suitable habitat as habitats that can support GRP ≥ 0 g g−1 day−1. We developed six feeding scenarios to evaluate the impact of diet flexibility and subsurface prey resources on suitable habitat quantity. Scenarios were defined by the number of prey types the fish could consume and the depths at which they could feed (surface or whole water column). Consistent with previous studies, we found that habitats with the highest quality were concentrated near river mouths and in eutrophic areas of Green Bay. However, in contrast to previous studies, we found suitable offshore habitat for bighead carp owing to our added considerations of diet plasticity and subsurface prey resources. For silver carp, these considerations extended suitable habitat within Green Bay and in some tributary‐influenced nearshore areas, but offshore areas remained predominantly unsuitable in all feeding scenarios. Differences in simulated habitat suitability between these two species probably reflect differences in energy density and mass of the specific fishes we used in our model. However, reports of these two species in environments where they coexist indicate that bighead carp grow at faster rates than silver carp, as our model simulated. Our vertical analysis at Muskegon, MI, U.S.A. indicates that subsurface temperature and prey biomass are not only sufficient to support bighead carp growth but provide maximum habitat quality during late summer stratification. Overall, our study demonstrates that BHC are capable of surviving and growing in much larger areas of Lake Michigan than predicted by previous studies, and thus suggests that the risk of establishment is not sufficiently reduced by low plankton concentrations. Maps generated by our model identified the potential for cross‐lake migration corridors that may facilitate and accelerate lake‐wide movements....

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake Michigan's suitability for bigheaded carp: The importance of diet flexibility and subsurface habitat

et al. 2019

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“…Two sites were sampled in nearshore Lake Michigan. We supplemented our sampling with yellow perch fin clips collected from northern and southern Lake Michigan by MDNR and from the deep-DRM habitat in Muskegon Lake during 2013 as part of another project (see Harris, Ruetz, Wieten, Altenritter, & Smith, 2017). We supplemented our sampling with yellow perch fin clips collected from northern and southern Lake Michigan by MDNR and from the deep-DRM habitat in Muskegon Lake during 2013 as part of another project (see Harris, Ruetz, Wieten, Altenritter, & Smith, 2017).…”

Section: Field Sites and Sample Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One site was adjacent to the furthest north DRM, Charlevoix, and the other site was located between the two most southern DRMs, Macatawa and Muskegon (Figure 1). We supplemented our sampling with yellow perch fin clips collected from northern and southern Lake Michigan by MDNR and from the deep-DRM habitat in Muskegon Lake during 2013 as part of another project (see Harris, Ruetz, Wieten, Altenritter, & Smith, 2017). These fin clips were genotyped with the fish collected for this study.…”

Section: Field Sites and Sample Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yellow perch genetic structure and habitat use among connected habitats in eastern Lake Michigan

Chorak

Ruetz

Thum

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Maintenance of genetic and phenotypic diversity is widely recognized as an important conservation priority, yet managers often lack basic information about spatial patterns of population structure and its relationship with habitat heterogeneity and species movement within it. To address this knowledge gap, we focused on the economically and ecologically prominent yellow perch (Perca flavescens). In the Lake Michigan basin, yellow perch reside in nearshore Lake Michigan, including drowned river mouths (DRMs)—protected, lake‐like habitats that link tributaries to Lake Michigan. The goal of this study was to examine the extent that population structure is associated with Great Lakes connected habitats (i.e., DRMs) in a mobile fish species using yellow perch as a model. Specifically, we tested whether DRMs and eastern Lake Michigan constitute distinct genetic stocks of yellow perch, and if so, whether those stocks migrate between the two connected habitats throughout the year. To do so, we genotyped yellow perch at 14 microsatellite loci collected from 10 DRMs in both deep and littoral habitats during spring, summer, and autumn and two nearshore sites in Lake Michigan (spring and autumn) during 2015–2016 and supplemented our sampling with fish collected in 2013. We found that yellow perch from littoral‐DRM habitats were genetically distinct from fish captured in nearshore Lake Michigan. Our data also suggested that Lake Michigan yellow perch likely use deep‐DRM habitats during autumn. Further, we found genetic structuring among DRMs. These patterns support hypotheses of fishery managers that yellow perch seasonally migrate to and from Lake Michigan, yet, interestingly, these fish do not appear to interbreed with littoral fish despite occupying the same DRM. We recommend that fisheries managers account for this complex population structure and movement when setting fishing regulations and assessing the effects of harvest in Lake Michigan.

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“…Although O'Neal (1997) Flathead catfish were also collected during lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens sampling in Muskegon Lake between 2008 and 2013 using small-mesh gillnets, fyke nets, and boat electrofishing (Harris et al 2017;Janetski and Ruetz III 2015).…”

Section: Muskegon River Michiganmentioning

confidence: 99%

The flathead catfish invasion of the Great Lakes

Fuller

Whelan

2018

Journal of Great Lakes Research

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A detailed review of historical literature and museum data revealed that flathead catfish were not historically native in the Great Lakes Basin, with the possible exception of a relict population in Lake Erie. The species has invaded Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, nearly all drainages in Michigan, and the Fox/Wolf and Milwaukee drainages in Wisconsin. They have not been collected from Lake Superior yet, and the temperature suitability of that lake is questionable. Flathead catfish have been stocked sparingly in the Great Lakes and is not the mechanism responsible for their spread. A stocking in 1968 in Ohio may be one exception to this. Dispersal resulted from both natural range expansions and unauthorized introductions. The invasion is ongoing, with the species invading both from the east and the west to meet in northern Lake Michigan. Much of this invasion has likely taken place since the 1990s. This species has been documented to have significant impacts on native fishes in other areas where it has been introduced; therefore, educating the public not to release them into new waters is important. Frequent monitoring of rivers and lakes for the presence of this species would detect new populations early so that management actions could be utilized on new populations if desired.

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Characteristics of lake sturgeonAcipenser fulvescensRafinesque, 1817 in a tributary of Lake Michigan, USA: Status of the Muskegon River population

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Lake Michigan's suitability for bigheaded carp: The importance of diet flexibility and subsurface habitat

Lake Michigan's suitability for bigheaded carp: The importance of diet flexibility and subsurface habitat

Yellow perch genetic structure and habitat use among connected habitats in eastern Lake Michigan

The flathead catfish invasion of the Great Lakes

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