Larval lake whitefish distribution in the open waters of Green Bay,Lake Michigan |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311, USA;2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Green Bay Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, 2661 Scott Tower Drive, New Franken, WI 54229, USA;3. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries Management, 110 S Neenah Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, USA;1. School of Natural Resources & Environment, Lake Superior State University, 650 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783, USA;2. Center for Freshwater Research and Education, Lake Superior State University, 650 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783, USA;1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington, Ontario L7R 4A6, Canada;2. US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Ontario Biological Station, 17 Lake St., Oswego, NY 13126, United States;3. US Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 11649 Leetown Rd, Kearneysville, WV 25430, United States;4. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762-9690, United States;5. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI 49855, United States;1. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Department of Biology, 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456, USA;2. Finger Lakes Institute, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA;3. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Department of Environmental Biology, Syracuse, NY, USA;1. Department of Biology, University of Vermont, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA;2. Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, University of Vermont, 3 College Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA;3. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Superior Biological Station, 2800 Lake Shore Drive East, Ashland, WI 54806, USA;1. Natural Resources Department, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, 2428 Shunk Rd, Sault Ste. Marie, MI Resources 49783, USA;2. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station, 96 Grant Street, Charlevoix, MI 49720, USA;3. Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;4. Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, 7500 Odawa Circle, Harbor Springs, MI 49740, USA |
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| Abstract: | Most lake whitefish populations within Lake Michigan are experiencing widespread population declines due to low levels of recruitment. However, the stock within Green Bay is flourishing, and various assessment tools suggest consistent recruitment to the juvenile stage each year. The distribution of offshore and drifting lake whitefish larvae were last described in the 1970s, prior to the resurgence of the southern Green Bay stock and prior to increasing knowledge of adult spawning behavior. We conducted a Green Bay wide survey of lake whitefish larvae over three years to provide an update of larval abundance and distribution and to discern influential biotic and abiotic factors that correlate to larval densities. In contrast with historical studies, our sampling illustrated high densities of larvae in both offshore and nearshore environments. Offshore expansion may be a factor in the population increase, but long term survival effects are still unknown. This study also provides the first documentation of larvae within the southern end of the bay below Chambers Island, WI and near re-colonized rivers. Average overall densities were relatively consistent each year, ranging between 29.5 and 49.6 per 1000 m3. Lake whitefish larvae were patchy in distribution and were associated with warmer and more productive waters at small spatial scales. Larval lake whitefish appear to be distributed widely throughout the entirety of Green Bay during the drift life stage, and we discuss our results in light of re-established river spawning and the overall increase in abundance. |
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| Keywords: | Larval ecology Early life history Lake Michigan Lake whitefish Icthyoplankton |
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