Long-term Trends in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations in Lake Huron over the Past Four Decades

Congruent energy density trends of fish and birds reflect ecosystem change

“…The biomass of Lake Huron phytoplankton and zooplankton communities declined , 50% from 1999-2006, with water clarity doubling over the time frame of the current study (Barbiero et al 2012). Reduced abundances of benthic invertebrate species, including chironomids, oligochaetes, sphaerid mussels, and the benthic amphipod Diporeia spp., have also occurred during the establishment of dreissenid mussels in Lake Huron (Nalepa et al 2007;Barbiero et al 2011). Higgins and Vander Zanden (2010) proposed that nutrient and energy cycling in freshwater ecosystems are highly conserved such that food availability is tightly regulated by in situ production.…”

“…Early abundance estimates ranged from 26-75,296 m 22 for Lake Huron's more eutrophic Saginaw Bay from 1991-1994 (Nalepa et al 1995). The benthic invertebrate community of Lake Huron's main basin, however, remains one of the least studied among the Great Lakes, with little information being available for dreissenid abundances during the initial invasion period (Riley 2013).…”

Misapplied survey data and model uncertainty result in incorrect conclusions about the role of predation on alewife population dynamics in Lake Huron: a comment on

“…Furthermore, these factors can vary in space and through time in systematic ways, thus causing trends in catchability. For example, increases in water clarity and changes in the physical structure of the lake bottom due to dreissenid mussels in Lake Huron (Nalepa et al 2007;Dobiesz and Lester 2009) could affect the catchability of fish in index survey gear, including trawls. He et al (2015) base their contention that the catchability of YAO alewives by the USGS Lake Huron trawl survey is "near to 1.0" on a "catchability coefficient" from modeling conducted in Lake Michigan using data from a different trawl , combined with an estimate of a fishing power correction (FPC) between the two trawls based on data from Lake Huron (Adams et al 2009).…”

Winter distributional overlap facilitates lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) piscivory on invasive round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in Green Bay, Lake Michigan

“…However, the abundance of Diporeia spp. declined in Lakes Michigan and Huron during the late 1990s and 2000s, coinciding with the proliferation of invasive Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis mussels (Nalepa et al 2007(Nalepa et al , 2009). In addition, lake whitefish reached and sustained high levels of abundance in several areas of Lakes Michigan and Huron over roughly the same timeframe (Madenjian et al 2002;Kratzer et al 2007).…”