The Spatial Distribution of Fish in Gill Nets

1963 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 735-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Berst ◽  
A. M. McCombie
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Mesh Size ◽  
Lateral Distribution ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Gill Nets ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Distribution Of Fish

The spatial distribution of yellow perch (Perca flavescens), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), smelt (Osmerus mordax), chub spp. (Coregonus spp.) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) caught in gill nets fished in South Bay of Lake Huron is described. The vertical distribution was essentially the same for all catches examined, the fish being concentrated towards the bottom of the net. The lateral distribution varied with species, mesh size and setting. Three types of lateral distribution were recognized, namely random, dispersed and bunched. Possible reasons for these different types and the relation between the distribution of fish in the net and in the water are discussed.

Entrainment of Larval Fish by the Douglas Point Generating Station, Lake Huron, in Relation to Seasonal Succession and Distribution

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. M. Kelso ◽  
John K. Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Seasonal Succession ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Entrainment Rate ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Early Fall

Larval fish were sampled by net in Lake Huron and the Douglas Point generating station throughout spring, summer, and early fall 1975. Dominance shifted from fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) to rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) then to ale-wife (Alosa pseudoharengus) from late April to late September. Entrainment of the major species paralleled dominance and abundance observed in the lake, but yellow perch (Perca flavescens), brook stickleback (Eucalia inconstans), and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) caught in the lake — each ranging from 5 to 25% of the total catch — were not entrained. Conversely, white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) was entrained but not captured in the lake. Size of individuals entrained, upper limit approx. 40 mm, paralleled size of individuals in the lake. Vertical distribution, and thus proximity to the submerged intake, greatly influenced entrainment rate. Key words: larval fish, entrainment, power plant, distribution, abundance.

Effects of Intensified Fishing, Species Changes, and Spring Water Temperatures on Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens, in Saginaw Bay

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1830-1838 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Eshenroder
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Spring Temperature ◽  
Saginaw Bay ◽  
Size Limit ◽  
History Of

A combination of intensified effort and size limit removal in the mid-1960s resulted in exceptional landings of yellow perch, Perca flavescens, from Saginaw Bay. Though gillnet effort increased from insignificance to account for more than half of the annual catch, gillnet catch per unit of effort (CPE) did not decline during the period of intensified fishing (1964–71) despite severe depletion on some grounds. Trapnet landings and CPE peaked in 1966, when the size limit was removed, but by the early 1970s both statistics were only one-third of the 1966 peaks. A fishing-up sequence began in outer Saginaw Bay and the stocks there were depleted. The fishery then shifted to the inner bay, where the stocks also declined, but to a lesser degree. With intensification of the fishery yellow perch growth rate increased, age-groups V–VII were no longer prominent in the catch and females became relatively scarce shortly after attaining vulnerability. The low recruitment of the late 1960s and early 1970s may have been related to the reduced brood stocks.Within the past 35 yr those changes in the fish community which appeared to affect yellow perch most included loss of the walleye, Stizostedion vitreum vitreum, in the 1940s and proliferation of smelt, Osmerus mordax, and alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, in the 1950s. However, these changes occurred well before the late 1960s, and were probably not involved in the recent yellow perch decline.A comparison of the rate and regularity of the spring warming with the strengths of the strongest and weakest year-classes for the years 1957–75 suggested that spring temperature had an important role in reproductive success. Key words: Percidae, Perca, yellow perch, exploitation, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, water temperature, fish community, population trends, history of fishery, Great Lakes

Cyclopoid Predation on Lake Michigan Fish Larvae

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1563-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Hartig ◽  
David J. Jude ◽  
Marlene S. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Common Carp Cyprinus Carpio ◽  
Diacyclops Thomasi ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Cyclopoid predation on fish larvae, as evidenced by copepods attached to larvae in field collections, was quantitatively investigated during 1975–76 in southeastern Lake Michigan. Although six species of fish larvae were collected, predation occurred primarily (98%) on alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus); 2% of the predators were attached to spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius) larvae. No cyclopoids were observed on rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), or sculpin (Cottus spp.) larvae. Most alewife larvae attacked were 3–8 mm long; older larvae and larvae of more robust species, such as yellow perch and spottail shiner, are apparently immune to such predation. Most predation (99%) occurred in July when alewife larvae were numerous and cyclopoids abundant. Fish larvae with attached copepods were found only in night collections. Most cyclopoid predators (99%) were adult female Diacyclops thomasi and Acanthocyclops vernalis. Other predaceous species of zooplankton, that occurred in close temporal and spatial proximity to fish larvae, apparently were not predaceous on these organisms.Key words: Alosa pseudoharengus larvae, Notropis hudsonius larvae, Diacyclops thomasi, Acanthocyclops vernalis, cyclopoid predation, Lake Michigan

Interspecific Relations among Fish Species in South Bay, Lake Huron, 1949–84

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s10-s14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Henderson ◽  
F. E. J. Fry
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
White Sucker ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Coregonus Artedii

Of the nine species caught in pound and gill nets in South Bay, Lake Huron (lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), splake (S. namaycush × S. fontinalis), burbot (Lota lota), lake hering (Coregonus artedii), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens)), only yellow perch, white sucker, and lake whitefish were significantly related to the abundances of all other fish species (multiple regression) from 1965 to 1984. For the longer period (pound nets 1949–84), all but smelt, burbot, and white sucker were dependent upon variations in the abundance of the nine other species. For the same period (1965–84) and species (nine), the abundances only of yellow perch and white suckers were significantly and positively related in two basins of the Bay. None of the inverse correlations between species abundances was significant in both basins. Within the Outer Basin, only the correlations between alewife and lake herring (r = −0.49, r = −0.45) and yellow perch and white sucker (r = +0.55, r = +0.47) were significant in the same direction for both time periods (1949–64 and 1965–84, respectively). We concluded that there was little evidence that the abundances of species were affected significantly by interspecific influences.

scholarly journals Monitoring the Milwaukee Harbor breakwater : an Engineering With Nature® (EWN®) demonstration project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Geisthardt ◽  
Burton Suedel ◽  
John Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Demonstration Project ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Novel Ecosystem ◽  
Hemimysis Anomala ◽  
Fish Juveniles

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) maintains breakwaters in Milwaukee Harbor. USACE’s Engineering With Nature® (EWN®) breakwater demonstration project created rocky aquatic habitat with cobbles (10–20 cm) covering boulders (6–8 metric tons) along a 152 m section. A prolific population of Hemimysis anomala, an introduced Pontocaspian mysid and important food source for local pelagic fishes, was significantly (p < .05) more abundant on cobbles versus boulders. Food-habits data of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) provided evidence that H. anomala were a common prey item. Night surveys and gill netting confirmed O. mordax preferred foraging on the cobbles (p < .05) and consumed more H. anomala than at the reference site (p < .05). H. anomala comprised a significant portion of the diets of young-of-the-year (YOY) yellow perch (Perca flavescens), YOY largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and juvenile rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) caught on the breakwater. The natural features’ construction on the breakwater increased the available habitat for this benthopelagic macroinvertebrate and created a novel ecosystem benefiting forage fish and a nursery habitat benefiting nearshore game fish juveniles. These data will encourage the application of EWN concepts during structural repairs at other built navigation infrastructure.

Complementarity in the Use of Food and Thermal Habitat by Lake Michigan Fishes

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 662-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry B. Crowder ◽  
John J. Magnuson ◽  
Stephen B. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Thermal Habitat ◽  
Young Of The Year

The potential for ecological segregation of Lake Michigan fishes was examined by comparing diets and thermal habitat use of common species. Samples were collected by bottom trawling (N = 68) off Grand Haven, Michigan, September 7–13, 1977. Five common species exhibited complementarity in the use of food and thermal habitat resources. During the day, adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) had similar diets but occupied somewhat different thermal habitats. Young-of-the-year (YOY) alewives segregated from adult alewife and rainbow smelt on both habitat and food. Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), YOY alewives, and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) used similar thermal habitats but fed on different prey. Trout-perch (Percopsis osmiscomaycus) tended to segregate from the others based on both food and thermal habitat but may experience diffuse competition. Adults of the three native species consume entirely different prey than exotic alewife and rainbow smelt. The native species which declined during the invasion of alewife and rainbow smelt were those with apparently similar habitat and food requirements to the exotics. These data suggest that competition is important in maintaining the structure of the Lake Michigan fish community.Key words: competition, fishes, food, habitat, Lake Michigan, predation, temperature

Early Life Stage Mortality Syndrome in Fishes of the Great Lakes and Baltic Sea

1998 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Inland Lakes ◽  
Early Mortality Syndrome ◽  
Thiamine Content

<em>Abstract</em>.—Lake trout <em>Salvelinus namaycush </em>eggs were collected from 18 separate locations in the Great Lakes and inland lakes to evaluate the relationship between diet and egg thiamine content. Thiamine concentrations in the eggs of lake trout whose diet consisted primarily of rainbow smelt <em>Osmerus mordax </em>and alewife <em>Alosa pseudoharengus </em>were one-ninth to one-seventeenth those of eggs of lake trout whose diet lacked either of these two species and was composed of lake herring <em>Coregonus artedi</em>, yellow perch <em>Perca flavescens</em>, cyprinids, or invertebrates. Within the Great Lakes, concentrations of thiamine in the eggs of lake trout increased in the order Ontario, Erie, Michigan, Huron < Superior and reflected the proportion of smelt, alewives, or both in the diet. Of the three forms of thiamine found in eggs, free thiamine was the most important and the form most affected by a diet of alewives or smelt. Collections from inland lakes were similar in terms of thiamine content and its relationship to diet composition. Average free thiamine concentrations in lake trout from Lakes Ontario, Erie, Michigan, and Huron were 1.5 to 4 times a threshold of 0.8 nmol/g that has been associated with the development of a thiamine-responsive early mortality syndrome. In contrast, the concentration of free thiamine in Lake Superior lake trout eggs was 26 times the threshold. We concluded that the reduction in egg thiamine concentrations in lake trout whose diet was primarily smelt or alewives was the result of their high thiaminase content, because published thiamine contents could not explain the patterns observed. Egg thiamine concentrations in lake trout were unaffected by maternal age.

Lake Ontario: Effects of Exploitation, Introductions, and Eutrophication on the Salmonid Community

1972 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 913-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Christie
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
White Perch ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Commercial Catch ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Catch Statistics ◽  
Average Size

Commercial catch statistics were analyzed to follow the sequence of events in the deterioration of the major fish stocks of Lake Ontario. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salas), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), burbot (Lota lota), deepwater ciscoes (Coregonus sp.), and whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) have all disappeared or declined seriously in abundance. Only the colonists alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), smelt (Osmerus mordax) and white perch (Morone americana) are currently abundant. Abundance of deepwater ciscoes is thought to have been controlled originally by the piscivores lake trout and burbot. Three deepwater cisco species are inferred to have been progressively eliminated by overfishing, leaving only the smallest and least valuable present when the fishery collapsed. The effects of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) on the Lake Ontario fishes are held to have increased with the reduction of the number of dams in the watershed, and as fishing reduced numerical abundance and average size of the prey fishes. The early colonists alewife and carp (Cyprinus carpio) were thought to have stabilized early. It was suggested smelt were suppressed for many years by trout and burbot predation, and after the release of this constraint, the smelt in turn caused the collapse of the deepwater ciscoes and other species through predation. The white perch invasion of the Bay of Quinte was thought particularly swift and successful because of the absence of predators. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) abundance may have increased because of eutrophication effects in the nearshore areas. Recent deterioration of water quality appears so extreme as to ensure that the last premium species which used the inshore areas cannot return. Overfishing is thought to have been the major destabilizing influence. The role of the open lake predators in the vectoring of energy and materials through the system is discussed.

Thermal Habitat Partitioning by Fishes in Lake Michigan

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1557-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Brandt ◽  
John J. Magnuson ◽  
Larry B. Crowder
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Habitat Partitioning ◽  
Thermal Ecology ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Thermal Habitat ◽  
Thermal Distribution ◽  
Niche Shifts

Thermal distribution of Lake Michigan fishes were determined by aimed bottom trawling (n = 68) along temperature isotherms (3–20 °C) in a region where the thermocline intersected the bottom off Grand Haven, Michigan, during September. Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), and trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus) comprised 94% of the catch by numbers. Species segregated along temperature gradients. Patterns of thermal habitat partitioning were maintained despite rapid oscillations in thermocline location. Alewife, rainbow trout, and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) showed intraspecific differences in thermal distribution of size-classes. Thermal niche shifts of some fishes on the bottom apparently occur at dawn and dusk. Patterns of thermal resource use are considered in relation to competition, predation, and thermal ecology of the more common species.Key words: competition, fishes, habitat partitioning, Lake Michigan, predation, temperature

Diel Vertical Migrations and Horizontal Distributions of Limnocalanus macrurus and Senecella calanoides (Copepoda, Calanoida) in Lakes of Southern Ontario in Relation to Planktivorous Fish

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2508-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. H. Carter ◽  
K. A. Goudie
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Planktivorous Fish ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Osmerus Mordax ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Rainbow Smelt ◽  
Southern Ontario ◽  
Diel Vertical Migrations ◽  
Limnocalanus Macrurus

Patterns of diel vertical migration of two copepods, Limnocalanus macrurus and Senecella calanoides, showed marked differences among four lakes in southern Ontario. We hypothesize that diurnal and nocturnal vertical distributions of these two species reflect their vulnerability to planktivorous fish, which may include alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), lake herring (Coregonus artedii), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus), and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Horizontal distributions of the two copepods also differed among four lakes: during early summer both species occurred in much shallower waters in lakes with low transparency than in clearer lakes.

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