A preliminary credibility analysis of the Lake Erie portion of the Great Lakes Forecasting System for springtime heating conditions

1995 ◽  
pp. 397-423
Author(s):  
Kuan Chihfeng ◽  
Keith W. Bedford ◽  
David J. Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Forecasting System

Zebra Mussels as Biomonitors for Organic Contaminants in the Lower Great Lakes

1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Comba ◽  
Janice L. Metcalfe-Smith ◽  
Klaus L.E. Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Organic Contamination ◽  
Contamination Levels ◽  
St Lawrence River

Abstract Zebra mussels were collected from 24 sites in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River between 1990 and 1992. Composite samples of whole mussels (15 sites) or soft tissues (9 sites) were analyzed for residues of organochlo-rine pesticides and PCBs to evaluate zebra mussels as biomonitors for organic contaminants. Mussels from most sites contained measurable quantities of most of the analytes. Mean concentrations were (in ng/g, whole mussel dry weight basis) 154 ΣPCB, 8.4 ΣDDT, 3.5 Σchlordane, 3.4 Σaldrin, 1.4 ΣBHC, 1.0 Σendosulfan, 0.80 mirex and 0.40 Σchlorobenzene. Concentrations varied greatly between sites, i.e., from 22 to 497 ng/g for ΣPCB and from 0.08 to 11.6 ng/g for ΣBHC, an indication that mussels are sensitive to different levels of contamination. Levels of ΣPCB and Σendosulfan were highest in mussels from the St. Lawrence River, whereas mirex was highest in those from Lake Ontario. Overall, mussels from Lake Erie were the least contaminated. These observations agree well with the spatial contaminant trends shown by other biomoni-toring programs. PCB congener class profiles in zebra mussels are also typical for nearby industrial sources, e.g., mussels below an aluminum casting plant contained 55% di-, tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls versus 31% in those upstream. We propose the use of zebra mussels as biomonitors of organic contamination in the Great Lakes.

Burbot: Ecology, Management, and Culture

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Pelagic Larvae ◽  
Sea Lampreys ◽  
Long Term Trends

Abstract.—Burbot <em>Lota lota </em>populations collapsed in four of the five Laurentian Great Lakes between 1930 and the early 1960s. Collapses in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario were associated with sea lamprey <em>Petromyzon marinus </em>predation, whereas the collapse in Lake Erie was likely due to a combination of overexploitation, decreased water quality, and habitat degradation. We examined time series for burbot population density in all five lakes extending as far back as the early 1970s to present time and characterized the long-term trends after the initial collapses. Burbot population density in Lake Superior has remained relatively low and stable since 1978. Recovery of the burbot populations occurred in Lakes Michigan and Huron during the 1980s and in Lake Erie during the 1990s. Control of sea lampreys was a requirement for recovery of burbot populations in these three lakes. Declines in alewife <em>Alosa pseudoharengus </em>abundance appeared to be a second requirement for burbot recovery in Lakes Michigan and Huron. Alewives have been implicated in the decline of certain Great Lakes fish stocks that have pelagic larvae (e.g., burbot) by consuming the pelagic fry and possibly by outcompeting the fry for food. Relatively high populations of adult lake trout <em>Salvelinus namaycush </em>compared to burbot served as a buffer against predation by sea lampreys in Lakes Huron and Erie, which facilitated recovery of the burbot populations there. Although sea lampreys have been controlled in Lake Ontario, alewives are probably still too abundant to permit burbot recovery.

scholarly journals Late-summer phytoplankton in western Lake Erie (Laurentian Great Lakes): bloom distributions, toxicity, and environmental influences

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 915-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Millie ◽  
Gary L. Fahnenstiel ◽  
Julianne Dyble Bressie ◽  
Ryan J. Pigg ◽  
Richard R. Rediske ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Western Lake Erie

Identification of the Great Lakes Quagga Mussel as Dreissena bugensis from the Dnieper River, Ukraine, on the Basis of Allozyme Variation

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 1485-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian P. Spidle ◽  
J. Ellen Marsden ◽  
Bernie May
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Allozyme Variation ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Quagga Mussel ◽  
Allozyme Data ◽  
Dreissena Bugensis ◽  
The North ◽  
Deep Waters

The discovery of a second dreissenid species, the quagga mussel, in the Great Lakes in 1991 prompted a search for its identity. We have identified the North American quagga mussel as Dreissena bugensis Andrusov on the basis of allozyme data and morphological characters. Further, a phenotypically distinct form of the quagga mussel found in Lakes Erie and Ontario also matches the electrophoretic profiles of the typical Lake Ontario quagga and European D. bugensis. We confirm that the white "profunda" mussel found in the deep waters of Lake Erie is a phenotype of the quagga mussel, and we conclude that the quagga mussel is D. bugensis which has been introduced from the Black Sea drainage of Ukraine.

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) Fluctuations in the Great Lakes and Possible Causes, 1800–1975

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1878-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Schneider ◽  
J. H. Leach
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Stizostedion Vitreum ◽  
Spawning Habitat ◽  
Green Bay ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Foreign Species ◽  
Western Lake Erie

Changes in walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) stocks in the Great Lakes from 1800 to 1975 were linked to proliferation of foreign species of fish and culturally induced sources of stress — exploitation, nutrient loading, alteration of spawning habitat, and toxic materials. During the 1800s, three small spawning stocks (and probably many others) were damaged or destroyed because of either overfishing or elimination of spawning habitat through logging, pollution, or damming.During 1900–40, stocks in the Michigan waters of Lake Superior, southern Green Bay, the Thunder Bay River of Lake Huron, the North Channel of Lake Huron, and the New York waters of Lake Ontario declined gradually. Pollution, in general, and degradation of spawning habitat, in particular, probably caused three of the declines and overexploitation was suspected in two instances. In addition, the decline of three of these stocks occurred when rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) were increasing.During 1940–75, stocks in seven areas declined abruptly: Saginaw Bay (1944), northern Green Bay (1953), Muskegon River (mid-1950s), western Lake Erie (1955), Nipigon Bay (late 1950s), Bay of Quinte (1960), and Black Bay (mid-1960s). The decline of each stock was associated with a series of weak year-classes. The stocks were exposed to various sources of stress, including overexploitation, pollution, and interaction with foreign species, which, if not important in the decline, may be suppressing recovery. Only the western Lake Erie stock recovered, in part due to a reduction in exploitation and, possibly, because of the relatively low density of smelt and alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the nursery areas.Relatively stable stocks persisted in five areas: Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair — southern Lake Huron, eastern Lake Erie, northern Lake Huron, and parts of Georgian Bay. Pollution problems were relatively minor in these areas and exploitation was light during recent decades. Apparently these stocks were more capable of withstanding the additional stresses exerted by alien species. Key words: population fluctuations, Percidae, Stizostedion, Great Lakes walleye, history of fisheries, summary of stresses, harvests, management implications

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