Predicting physical and geomorphic habitat associated with historical lake whitefish and cisco spawning locations in Lakes Erie and Ontario |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;2. University of Toledo, Department of Environmental Sciences, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43606, USA;3. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Hammond Bay Biological Station, 11188 Ray Road, Millersburg, MI 49759, USA;4. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA;5. U.S Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Ontario Biological Station, 17 Lake Street, Oswego, NY 13126, USA;6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lower Great Lakes FWCO, 1101 Casey Rd, Basom, NY 14013, USA;1. Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;2. University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA;3. Fedwriters at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA;1. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 7316 State 371 NW, Walker, MN 56484, USA;2. U. S. Department of Agriculture / Wildlife Services / National Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi Field Station, Scales Building Rm. 101, 2745 West Line Road, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA;3. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Alpena Fisheries Research Station, 160 E. Fletcher St. Alpena, MI 49707, USA;4. Cornell Biological Field Station, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Bridgeport, NY 13030, USA;5. U. S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA;1. University of Windsor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, Windsor, Ontario, Canada;2. McMaster University, W. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;1. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Great Lakes Science Center, 17 Lake St, Oswego, NY, USA;2. USGS, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, USA;3. USGS, Great Lakes Science Center, 3075 Gracie Road, Cortland, NY, USA;4. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Cape Vincent Fisheries Station, 541 East Broadway St., Cape Vincent, NY, USA;5. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Northeast Fishery Center, Lamar, PA, USA;6. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, MI, USA;7. Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (NDMNRF), White Lake Fish Culture Station, 25900 Highway 7, Sharbot Lake, ON, Canada;8. University of Windsor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, Windsor, ON, Canada;9. USFWS, Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, 6623 Turner Road, Elmira, MI, USA;10. USFWS, Green Bay Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, 2661 Scott Tower Drive, New Franken, WI, USA;11. NDMNRF, Fish Culture Section, Peterborough, ON, Canada |
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| Abstract: | The Great Lakes basin was historically populated by multiple, coevolved coregonine species, but much of that diversity has been lost. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, both lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) occurred in high numbers before habitat degradation, overfishing, invasive species, and other factors caused significant declines. There is growing interest in restoring these populations, and suggested actions include restoration of critical habitats such as spawning habitat. Unfortunately, our current understanding of lake whitefish and cisco spawning habitat characteristics and locations in these lakes is limited. To highlight areas of potential importance for conservation and restoration, we used random forest models and data on historical spawning locations to predict lake whitefish and cisco spawning habitats based on hypothesized key factors including wind fetch, ice cover duration, distance from 1st and 6th order tributaries, and lake bottom substrate. Our model accurately predicted spawning habitat locations for 71% and 54% of cases for lake whitefish and cisco, respectively. Fetch was the most important variable in the lake whitefish model, with spawning habitats being most likely to occur in regions of low to moderate fetch. Cisco spawning habitats were most likely to occur in areas of relatively low fetch near a 1st order stream. We used these models to predict spawning habitat locations for both species across Lakes Erie, Ontario, and St. Clair. Our results improve our understanding of lake whitefish and cisco spawning habitat characteristics and will aid in the spatial prioritization of actions to restore these native fishes. |
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| Keywords: | Lake whitefish Cisco Great Lakes Random forest Restoration |
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