Identifying important micro-habitat characteristics of muskellunge spawning locations in the upper Niagara River

Muskellunge egg incubation habitat in the upper Niagara River

“…The upper Niagara River supports a self-sustaining recreational fishery for muskellunge despite extensive in-water, riparian, and wetland habitat alteration . This investigation focused on four shallow water (≤2 m) locations that were identified by Harrison and Hadley (1978), , and Crane et al (2014) as important areas for muskellunge spawning and rearing (Fig. 1).…”

“…Three general methods have been used to identify muskellunge spawning habitats (see Crane et al, in press, for a review of these methods): telemetry (Strand, 1986;Pierce et al, 2007;Diana et al, 2015), visual observation of spawning (Zorn et al, 1998;Rust et al, 2002;Crane et al, 2014;Nohner and Diana, 2015), and egg collection (Farrell et al, 1996;Monfette et al, 1996;Farrell, 2001). Visual observation and telemetry provide information on habitat use by spawning adults, but may not provide information on egg incubation habitat if eggs are transported away from their initial deposition point by water currents.…”

“…Ideally, visual observation of spawning behavior or telemetry is validated by collection of eggs at points where fish were observed or believed to have spawned. In fluvial environments, where egg transport is likely, only including points validated by collection of eggs may result in a sample size that is prohibitive of rigorous quantitative analysis (e.g., Crane et al (2014) only collected muskellunge eggs at 5 of 15 points where muskellunge were observed spawning). If eggs are likely to be transported away from their initial deposition point, results from separate surveys of spawning adults and collection of eggs should be considered together when describing habitat features that are associated with muskellunge reproduction.…”

“…If eggs are likely to be transported away from their initial deposition point, results from separate surveys of spawning adults and collection of eggs should be considered together when describing habitat features that are associated with muskellunge reproduction. Crane et al (2014) presented a study of muskellunge spawning habitat in the upper Niagara River based on visual observation of spawning fish from 2011 through 2013. Fish were observed spawning in areas with moderate water currents (up to 32 cm/s) during the 2011 spawning period.…”

“…It became apparent that there was potential for transport of eggs away from spawning points, and eggs were only collected at three of nine locations where muskellunge were observed spawning. Egg collection techniques were refined during the 2011 field season and a randomized survey for eggs was conducted from 2012 through 2014 (presented here) to complement the results presented by Crane et al (2014) and provide a more holistic view of muskellunge reproductive ecology in the upper Niagara River. The objectives of this study were to describe muskellunge egg incubation habitat, identify important habitat features of locations where muskellunge eggs were collected, and make qualitative comparisons between spawning habitat documented through visual observation and egg collection.…”