Factors of Ecologic Succession in Oligotrophic Fish Communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes

1972 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanford H. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Entire Volume

Oligotrophic fish communities of the Great Lakes have undergone successive disruptions since the mid-1800s. Major contributing factors have been intensive selective fisheries, extreme modification of the drainage, invasion of marine species, and progressive physical–chemical changes of the lake environments. Lake Ontario was the first to be affected as its basin was settled and industrialized earliest, and it was the first to be connected by canals to the mid-Atlantic where the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) which ultimately became established in the Great Lakes were abundant. Oligotrophic fish communities were successively disrupted in Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior as the affects of population growth, industrialization, and marine invaders spread upward in the Laurentian drainage.The degree and sequence of response of families offish and species within families differed for each factor, but the sequence of change among families and species has been the same in response to each factor as it affected various lakes at different times. The ultimate result of the disruption of fish communities has been a reduction of productivity of oligotrophic species that ranges from extreme in Lake Ontario to moderate in Lake Superior, and which has reached a state of instability and rapid change in the upper three Great Lakes by the rnid-1900s similar to the situation in Lake Ontario in the mid-1800s. Since oligotrophic species (primarily salmonines, coregonines, and deepwater cottids) are the only kinds of fish that fully occupied the entire volume of the deepwater Great Lakes (Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior), the fish biomass of these lakes has been reduced as various species declined or disappeared. In Lake Erie, which is shallow, and in the shallow bays of the deep lakes, oligotrophic species were replaced by mesotrophic species, primarily percids, which have successively increased and declined. All oligotrophic species are greatly reduced or extinct in lakes Ontario and Erie, and are in various stages of decline in lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, from greatest to least, respectively. The percids appear to be near the end of their sequence of succession in lakes Erie, Ontario, and Huron (primarily Saginaw Bay) where only the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) remains abundant. The yellow perch appears to be on the brink of decline in Lake Erie, which has been more severely influenced by water quality change than the other lakes.

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.

Phosphorus Enrichment, Silica Utilization, and Biogeochemical Silica Depletion in the Great Lakes

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L. Schelske ◽  
Eugene F. Stoermer ◽  
Gary L. Fahnenstiel ◽  
Mark Haibach
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Thermal Stratification ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Phosphorus Enrichment

Our hypothesis that silica (Si) depletion in Lake Michigan and the severe Si depletion that characterizes the lower Great Lakes were induced by increased phosphorus (P) inputs was supported by bioassay experiments showing increased Si uptake by diatoms with relatively small P enrichments. We propose that severe Si depletion (Si concentrations being reduced to ≤0.39 mg SiO2∙L−1 prior to thermal stratification) results when P levels are increased to the extent that increased diatom production reduces Si concentrations to limiting levels during the thermally mixed period. Large P enrichments such as those that characterized the eastern and central basis of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the early 1970s are necessary to produce severe Si depletion. It is clear that severe Si depletion in the lower lakes was produced by P enrichment because inflowing waters from Lake Huron have smaller P concentrations and larger Si concentrations than the outflowing waters of either Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Severe Si depletion probably began in the 1940s or 1950s as the result of increased P loads from expanded sewering of an increasing urban population and the introduction of phosphate detergents. The model proposed for biogeochemical Si depletion is consistent with previous findings of high rates of internal recycling because, under steady-state conditions for Si inputs, any increase in diatom production will produce an increase in permanent sedimentation of biogenic Si provided some fraction of the increased biogenic Si production is not recycled or unless there is a compensating increase in dissolution of diatoms.

scholarly journals HINDCAST WAVE STATISTICS FOR THE GREAT LAKES

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Thorndike Saville, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Beach Erosion ◽  
Wave Statistics ◽  
Local Problems ◽  
Existing Data

The General Investigations program of the Beach Erosion Board comprises investigations, regional rather than local in scope, designed to improve, simplify, and expedite the solution of local problems, by giving a compilation of all existing data pertinent to shore processes in the particular region. As a first step in the compilation of these data, a study of wave and lake level conditions on the Great Lakes is being made. The results of such studies for Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario have recently been completed and published as Technical Memorandums of the Beach Erosion Board (Saville, 1953).

Contamination Hazard from Waste Disposal Sites near Receding Great Lakes Shorelines

1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Coakley
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Groundwater Contamination ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Waste Site ◽  
Shore Zone ◽  
Upper Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Waters ◽  
Hydrogeological Information

Abstract Of the approximately 4000 waste disposal sites in Ontario, more than 230 are located within 5 km of the shoreline of the lower Great Lakes. Sixty sites are within 1 km of the shore. Unlike the more resistant bedrock shores of the Upper Great Lakes, the shoreline between Midland (Georgian Bay) and Kingston (Lake Ontario) is composed primarily of unlithified glacial deposits, and thus is prone to significant erosion. This report presents an examination of the potential for contamination of nearshore lake waters either directly through shoreline recession at the waste site, or indirectly through the transport to the lake of leachates from the nearby sites via groundwater discharges. Recession-related hazards were identified at three sites (two on Lake Ontario and one on Lake Erie). Groundwater contamination hazards were harder to identify due to insufficient subsurface and hydrogeological information. However, 31 sites, less than 0.2 km from the shore, were identified as potentially hazardous; 19 of these were located in the northern Lake Ontario shore zone.

Economic Problems Facing Canadian Shipping

1966 ◽  
Vol 3 (02) ◽  
pp. 212-224
Author(s):  
G. F. Bain
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Ocean Shipping ◽  
The Future ◽  
Operating Methods ◽  
Economic Outlook

After briefly sketching the composition of Canada's shipping fleet and pointing out how its productivity has altered and may alter in the future, an examination of the Canadian Great Lakes fleet and its economic outlook is attempted. The author holds that, having reached the physical limits of size, Canadians can no longer respond to competitive pressures except by adopting new management and operating methods and by developing new shipping patterns. Rail and foreign ocean shipping will provide increased competition. A case is made for close Industry-Government consultation to avoid conflicting policies and a case is made to build a new canal between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to match the size of the Poe lock.

scholarly journals Influence of Lake Erie on a Lake Ontario Lake-Effect Snowstorm

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 2019-2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. R. Kristovich ◽  
Luke Bard ◽  
Leslie Stoecker ◽  
Bart Geerts
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Surface ◽  
High Moisture ◽  
Lake Effect

AbstractAnnual lake-effect snowstorms, which develop through surface buoyant instability and upward moisture transport from the Laurentian Great Lakes, lead to important local increases in snowfall to the south and east. Surface wind patterns during cold-air outbreaks often result in areas where the air is modified by more than one Great Lake. While it is known that boundary layer air that has crossed multiple lakes can produce particularly intense snow, few observations are available on the process by which this occurs. This study examines unique observations taken during the Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS) field project to document the process by which Lake Erie influenced snowfall that was produced over Lake Ontario on 28 January 2014. During the event, lake-effect clouds and snow that developed over Lake Erie extended northeastward toward Lake Ontario. OWLeS and operational observations showed that the clouds from Lake Erie disappeared (and snow greatly decreased) as they approached the Lake Ontario shoreline. This clear-air zone was due to mesoscale subsidence, apparently due to the divergence of winds moving from land to the smoother lake surface. However, the influence of Lake Erie in producing a deeper lake-effect boundary layer, thicker clouds, increased turbulence magnitudes, and heavier snow was identified farther downwind over Lake Ontario. It is hypothesized that the combination of a low-stability, high-moisture boundary layer as well as convective eddies and limited snow particles crossing the mesoscale subsidence region locally enhanced the lake-effect system over Lake Ontario within the plume of air originating over Lake Erie.

Depreciation of the Warmwater Fish Community in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1849-1860 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Hurley ◽  
W. J. Christie
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
White Perch ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Morone Americana ◽  
Habitat Changes ◽  
Warmwater Fish ◽  
Species Shifts

The sequence of fish species shifts since the 1930s in the Bay of Quinte is interpreted in terms of climatic changes and the influences of man. Among the latter, eutrophication is judged most important. The marked decrease in large piscivores in both eastern Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte as a consequence of these changes resulted in instability, exemplified by the explosions in populations of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and white perch (Morone americana). Nutrients are imported to the bay, from Lake Ontario by way of alewife. This source has increased in the 1970s with the further decline of piscivores, and it brought about a greater fish production in the bay. We conclude that the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario interact significantly and should be studied as a single system.Because of its specialized feeding habits, the post-World War II rise of the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) was related to events outside the Bay of Quinte, but its later decline was attributable to direct and indirect effects of eutrophication. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens), by contrast, were apparently not affected adversely by severe habitat changes induced by cultural eutrophication. Key words: Percidae, community ecology, species shifts, eutrophication, habitat changes

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