Postimpoundment Winter Sedimentation and Survival of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) Eggs in Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. P. Fudge ◽  
R. A. Bodaly

Flooding of Southern Indian Lake for hydroelectric power development has resulted in extensive wave erosion of glacio-lacustrine clay shore material and greatly increased suspended sediment levels. Winter sedimentation on spawning grounds of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) ranged from 0.03 to 0.14 g dry wt sediment∙cm−2. This deposited a layer 1–4 mm in depth. The sediment, low in organic content, was categorized as silty clay. The effect of this winter sedimentation on survival of whitefish eggs was tested at four sites over a range of winter sedimentation rates. Three of the sites were whitefish spawning areas. Egg survival was significantly higher for eggs incubated in cages designed to minimize exposure to sedimentation compared with survival in cages allowing full exposure to sedimentation. Winter sedimentation rates and whitefish egg survival were negatively correlated for cages designed to minimize exposure to sedimentation, while egg survival in the exposed cages was uniformly low.

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Gary R. Ash

Abstract Lake Wabamun, located approximately 64 km west of Edmonton, Alberta, has two thermal electric generating stations situated upon it which utilize lake water for cooling purposes. The fishery for lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis [Mitchill]) in the lake is important due to its high commercial and sport value. Since lake whitefish eggs require low temperatures throughout the winter for successful incubation, and since the major spawning area in the lake is located across a small bay from one of the power plants, it was feared that the heated water discharge would reduce lake whitefish egg survival on the spawning grounds. Since the whitefish are subject to heavy fishing pressure in the lake, it was thought that such a reduction in egg survival might cause a gradual reduction in the whitefish population. During preliminary fishery investigation in the lake it was discovered that large numbers of lake whitefish were spawning on an organic ooze substrate in the heated area. To determine the survival of eggs spawned on the ooze substrate in one of the heated areas , and also on the major spawning grounds (a rock and sand shoal), fertilized lake whitefish eggs were incubated in situ in enclosed trays in these areas and at control sites located in the portion of the lake not influenced by the power plants. The effects of substrate type, water temperature, and siltation on egg survival and their relation to the heated water discharge areas are discussed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s313-s323 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Taylor ◽  
Martin A. Smale ◽  
Mark H. Freeberg

Comparisons of lifetime average per capita reproductive rates (R0) between stocks of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Lake Michigan found higher estimates of R0 for rapidly growing exploited stocks than for a commercially unexploited stock. Earlier maturation was the prime cause of this increase. Exploited stocks, however, were dependent on fewer age-classes for reproduction and had a greater potential for instability due to annual variation in recruitment. Overwinter whitefish egg survival in Grand Traverse Bay was nearly fourfold higher during a cold winter with prevalent ice than during the preceding mild, ice-free winter. However, the higher densities of larvae produced during the cold winter experienced greater mortality, with starvation the likely cause. Factors found to influence a stock–recruitment relationship developed for year-classes from 1958 to 1980 included spawning biomass, winter severity (ice-cover), and spring temperatures. Periods of abnormally high and low whitefish catch corresponded to periods in which cold or warm winters were more frequent, respectively. Harvest strategies that dampen naturally caused fluctuations in the spawning stock are recommended.


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 294-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy M. Whitehouse ◽  
Chance S. McDougall ◽  
Daniel I. Stefanovic ◽  
Douglas R. Boreham ◽  
Christopher M. Somers ◽  
...  

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Healey ◽  
C. W. Nicol

We found no significant differences in slope or intercept for the regression of loge fecundity on loge fork length among samples of whitefish from four lakes near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The equation describing the relationship between fecundity and fork length for these populations was:[Formula: see text]Five other populations for which length–fecundity relationships could be calculated had length exponents ranging from 3.20 to 4.38, suggesting a nonlinear relationship between weight and fecundity. Six of the nine populations as well as four others for which limited data were available all had similar relative fecundities. Fish from Buck Lake in Alberta and from Lake Erie had high relative fecundities while fish from Great Slave Lake had low relative fecundity.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 396-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilda Lei Ching

As a result of experimental infections in chicks, diplostomula found in the retina of chinook salmon from the Nechako River were identified as Diplostomum (Diplostomum) baeri bucculentum. Eyeflukes in other salmonids were considered to be the same species based on similar measurements and site in the eyes. These eyeflukes varied in prevalence and mean intensity in seven salmonid species surveyed in nine localities in 1979–1981. The following fish were sampled: rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), 505; mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), 334; lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), 32; Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), 66; lake trout (S. namaycush), 13; kokanee or sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), 323; and chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), 164. Eyeflukes had prevalences ranging from 84 to 100% in six lakes, 64% in the river, 53% in one reservoir site, and a prevalence of 15% in the other reservoir site. Mountain and lake whitefishes had high mean intensities while kokanee had low mean intensities. Correlation of increased intensity with increased fish size was significant for 6 of 27 samples. Four samples of lake whitefish, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout, and chinook salmon showed significant asymmetry when numbers of diplostomula were compared between eyes. More of the heavily infected fish showed asymmetry than did the lightly infected fish.


1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Loch

Adult lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) from Clearwater Lake and second generation adults of offspring from Clearwater whitefish transplanted to Lyons Lake were compared with respect to morphometric and meristic characters and isozymes of L-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). Feeding habits and abundance of pelagic and benthic foods were compared in the two lakes.Gill raker number, lateral line scale count, and interorbital width remained constant between parental and offspring populations. Gill raker length was the main character found to differ between the populations. This was found to be related to the percentage and type of benthic food eaten. Abrasion of the gill rakers is offered as an explanation for the differences in gill raker length. Differences were found in various other meristic and morphological characters, as well as in electrophoretic phenotype frequencies of isozymes of GPDH.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1860-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude DesLandes ◽  
Sylvie Guénette ◽  
Yves Prairie ◽  
Réjean Fortin ◽  
Dominique Roy ◽  
...  

Catches per unit of effort (CPUE) with experimental gill nets, recruitment, growth, and condition were monitored between 1977 and 1992 to evaluate the impact of impoundment on the main fish species of La Grande 2, Opinaca, and Caniapiscau reservoirs and the Boyd–Sakami diversion. CPUE and recruitment of northern pike (Esox lucius) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) increased markedly at most stations after impoundment and decreased at the end of the series. The lake whitefish and cisco (Coregonus artedii) showed their most striking rise in CPUE at two bay stations of La Grande 2 and Opinaca reservoirs. CPUE and recruitment of the longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) (Caniapiscau) showed a general decrease following impoundment. CPUE for the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) also decreased at several stations; however, the two most southerly stations in La Grande 2 reservoir and the Boyd–Sakami station showed high CPUE during the series. Concentration–redistribution phenomena explain part of the observed variations in CPUE. Correlation analyses showed that walleyes and white suckers were attracted to the warmer, more turbid stations, and that the high primary and secondary productivity of bay stations attracted the coregonines. Growth and condition of the main species increased during variable time intervals after impoundment and decreased at the end of the series.


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