Spatial patterns of rainbow smelt energetic condition in Lakes Huron and Erie in 2017: Evidence for Lake Huron resource limitation

Details

• Journal Title:
  Journal of Great Lakes Research
• Personal Author:
  Dai, Qihong ; Bunnell, David B. ; Diana, James S. ; Pothoven, Steven A. ; Eaton, Lauren ; O'Brien, Timothy P. ; Kraus, Richard T.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; GLERL (Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory)
• Description:
  Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a key planktivore and prey fish in Lake Huron. Given the declining offshore productivity in the lake since the early 2000s, we described the energy content of rainbow smelt in 2017 across five different regions (North Channel, Georgian Bay, Saginaw Bay, northern main basin, southern main basin) where phytoplankton and zooplankton productivity likely varied. To increase contrast across the productivity gradient, rainbow smelt energy content was also estimated from western Lake Erie. Within the North Channel where large fish (≥90 mm, total length) were sampled most frequently, mean energy density (kJ/g wet weight) varied seasonally: 4.29 in April (month of spawning), 3.86 in June, 3.99 in July, and up to 4.35 in September. Energy density of rainbow smelt from higher productivity western Lake Erie was 37% (large fish ≥90 mm) to 60% higher (small fish <90 mm) than that of fish from Lake Huron. Within Lake Huron, energy density of rainbow smelt from North Channel was slightly higher than those from other regions; rainbow smelt from Georgian Bay generally had the lowest energy density. Across regions, including western Lake Erie, energy density increased with chlorophyll a concentration. Compared with Lake Huron studies prior to 2004, when oligotrophication had not yet accelerated, energy density of rainbow smelt in 2017 was up to 31% lower. The decline in rainbow smelt energy density is likely the result of declining primary and secondary pelagic production and increased resource limitation for planktivorous fish.
• Source:
  Journal of Great Lakes Research, 45(4), 830-839
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2019.06.001
• ISSN:
  0380-1330
• Format:
  pdf
• Publisher:
  Elsevier BV
• Document Type:
  Journal Article-Accepted Manuscript
• Rights Information:
  Accepted Manuscript
• Rights Statement:
  The NOAA IR provides access to this content under the authority of the government's retained license to distribute publications and data resulting from federal funding. While users may legally access this content, the copyright owners retain rights that govern the reproduction, redistribution, and re-use of this work. The user is solely responsible for complying with applicable copyright law.
• Compliance:
  Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e71a4b3e29861f6691aa43c91a9ffbac5c621b6c03998d918b652c4566ae825781925a34502b8ae800ddeee8d7b32940bf8b55099cc613ec052f9536d58bbe34
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/68350/noaa_68350_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.46 MB ]