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Introduced salmonines (Oncorhynchus spp. and Salmo spp.) are important components of recreational fisheries in the Great Lakes. These fishes were stocked heavily following the fishery collapse of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) due to sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) predation and commercial overharvest. While salmonine introductions occurred in all five of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior is less productive than the lower Great Lakes restricting most introduced salmonines to a small percentage of available habitat. This suggests the potential for high resource overlap between salmonines, yet little information has been published related to the trophic ecology of introduced salmonines in Lake Superior. Furthermore, hybrid splake (S. namaycush × S. fontinalis) are also stocked by various state agencies while little information on their trophic ecology exists. To address uncertainties associated with introduced salmonines, we assessed the diet composition and isotopic niche overlap of fish collected from two south shore ports of Lake Superior. Introduced salmonines consumed similar prey items including rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), coregonines, and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in varying amounts, with a notable percentage of diet comprising terrestrial invertebrates. These results are further supported by stable isotope analysis which indicated high isotopic niche overlap among introduced salmonines suggesting a mixed diet attributed to benthic, pelagic, and terrestrial sources. Our characterization of the salmonine community provides important information that will inform fisheries research and management in Lake Superior.

The above article from the Ecology of Freshwater Fish, published online on 20 December 2019 in Wiley Online Library (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eff.12527), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor‐in‐Chief; the symposium editor, Phaedra Budy; and the author, Troy Zorn. The retraction has been made due to a mistake in the classification (accessible vs. landlocked) of one of the survey locations in Table 1, which affected the accuracy of other analyses in the article.

Management of Michigan's fisheries relies extensively on hatchery fish. Hatchery production in Michigan includes splake, a fertile hybrid produced artificially by crossing lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) and brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) that are stocked in near-shore waters of the Great Lakes. Splake seldom occur naturally because brook trout and lake trout are typically reproductively isolated in space and time. Because some splake are fertile, concerns have been raised over splake stocking based on observations of fish of intermediate phenotype in brook trout and lake trout spawning areas. The overall goal of this project was to determine whether splake are present on brook trout and lake trout spawning habitats. We analyzed 10 microsatellite loci to genotype putative splake collected from two brook trout spawning tributaries to Lake Superior, known hatchery splake, and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lake trout and brook trout hatchery strains used in the splake program. Identification of fish of intermediate phenotype as F1 hybrids or either parental species in the two brook trout streams was based on species-specific genotypic differences resolved using Bayesian model-based clustering. Four hybrids were identified among the 15 putative splake from the two brook trout streams. Collections were made at several lake trout spawning reefs to quantify the number and reproductive status of splake, revealing that approximately 56% of captured splake were sexually mature. Results from spawning areas of both parental species confirm that splake were present and may pose a threat to the genetic integrity of spawning populations where they occur.

The sustainability of freshwater fisheries is increasingly affected by climate warming, habitat alteration, invasive species and other drivers of global change. The State of Michigan, USA, contains ecologically, socioeconomically valuable coldwater stream salmonid fisheries that are highly susceptible to these ecological alterations. Thus, there is a need for future management approaches that promote resilient stream ecosystems that absorb change amidst disturbances. Fisheries professionals in Michigan are responding to this need by designing a comprehensive management plan for stream brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations. To assist in developing such a plan, we used stream-specific regression models to forecast thermal habitat suitability in streams throughout Michigan from 2006 to 2056 under different predicted climate change scenarios. As baseflow index (i.e., relative groundwater input) increased, stream thermal sensitivity (i.e., relative susceptibility to temperature change) decreased. Thus, the magnitude of temperature warming and frequency of thermal habitat degradation were lowest in streams with the highest baseflow indices. Thermal habitats were most suitable in rainbow trout streams as this species has a wider temperature range for growth (12.0–22.5 °C) compared to brook charr (11.0–20.5 °C) and brown trout (12.0–20.0 °C). Our study promotes resilience-based salmonid management by providing a methodology for stream temperature and thermal habitat suitability prediction. Fisheries professionals can use this approach to protect coldwater habitats and drivers of stream cooling and ultimately conserve resilient salmonid populations amidst global change.

Withdrawal of water from streams and groundwater is increasing in Midwestern North America and is a potential threat to coldwater fishes. We examined the effects of summer water withdrawals on brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis populations and water warming rates by diverting 50–90% of summer baseflow from a 602-m treatment zone (TZ) in a groundwater-influenced Michigan stream during 1991–1998. We compared density of brook trout in fall, and spring-to-fall growth and survival of brook trout, between the TZ and an adjacent reference zone (RZ) whose flows were not altered. Flow reductions had no significant effects on the density of brook trout in fall or spring-to-fall survival of brook trout. However, spring-to-fall growth of brook trout in the TZ declined significantly when 75% flow reductions occurred. Cold upstream temperatures and the relatively short study reach kept thermal habitat conditions excellent for brook trout in the TZ throughout the dewatering experiments. These findings suggest that brook trout can tolerate some seasonal loss of physical habitat if temperature conditions remain suitable. In summer 1999, we experimentally assessed the influence of flow reduction on the warming rate through the TZ by diverting from 0% to 90% of flow around the TZ in 3- or 4-day trials on a randomised schedule. Average daily temperature increased exponentially as stream flows declined from normal summer levels. Our findings suggest the risk of trout habitat loss from dewatering is potentially large and proportional to the magnitude of withdrawal, especially as thermal conditions approach critical levels for trout.

The effectiveness of stocking hatchery-reared Walleyes Sander vitreus to supplement native populations in large, open systems like the Great Lakes has not been thoroughly evaluated. I quantified recent contributions of stocked Walleye fingerlings to populations in Little Bay de Noc (LBDN) and Big Bay de Noc (BBDN) in northern Green Bay, Lake Michigan. Oxytetracycline-marked Walleye fingerlings were stocked in June, and late summer gill-net and night-time boat electrofishing surveys were used to index Walleye year-class abundance and collect juvenile Walleyes for hatchery mark evaluation. For the 2004–2009 year-classes, 76% of the age-0 to age-3 Walleyes examined from LBDN were of wild origin and 62% in BBDN were naturally reproduced fish. Survey catch rates of juvenile Walleyes were similar for stocked and nonstocked year-classes. Assessment catch rates of age-1 and age-2 Walleyes differed significantly by location, with average catch rates in LBDN often being ten times higher than those in BBDN. ...

We evaluated the effects of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (migratory Rainbow Trout) introduction on the population dynamics of resident Brown Trout Salmo trutta from 1995 to 2008 in a small, low-gradient trout stream. Data on Brown Trout population density, survival, and growth were collected from the treatment section in Hunt Creek, Michigan, where adult steelhead were stocked each spring during 1998–2003, as well as from two reference stream reaches. The presence of steelhead had no apparent effect on the density of age-0 Brown Trout, but the mean density of all age-1 and older (age-1+) Brown Trout year-classes that interacted with juvenile steelhead of the same age was 46% lower than the density of age-1+ year-classes that did not interact with juvenile steelhead of the same age. No differences in density of age-1+ Brown Trout were detected in reference sections between the periods of steelhead presence or absence in the treatment section. Lower annual survival rates for year-classes of age-0 B...

Excess sand bedload can significantly degrade salmonid habitat and populations. Successful use of sediment traps to restore habitat and salmonid populations on two Michigan streams in the early 1980s led to application of traps at well over 100 coldwater streams in Michigan and rivers throughout the USA within a decade. Unfortunately, little quantitative evaluation has occurred other than anecdotal observations for some traps. We conducted a broad-scale survey of 65 Michigan stream reaches with sediment traps by collecting data along transects upstream and downstream of the traps to assess downstream changes in substrate composition, channel depth, and channel stability in response to sediment traps. We found that recent applications of sediment traps (usually as stand-alone instream habitat treatments) had no significant effect on substrate, thalweg depth, or bank stability conditions in the reaches studied. Using reach-based estimates of specific stream power at the 10% annual exceedence flow, ...

Fish egg sizes vary intra-specifically among stocks and individuals, and such variation may reflect a combination of maternal and environmental influences. As egg size variation has important implications for individual and population recruitment success, it is useful to quantify egg-size variation and identify potential factors underlying such variation. We evaluated 1) within-stock maternal influences on egg size and 2) the relative elucidatory power of maternal effects versus stock in explaining inter-individual mean egg size based on eggs collected during 2007–2008 from five walleye Sander vitreus stocks in the North American Laurentian Great Lakes region. We used both linear regression models and classification and regression trees (CART) to describe egg-size variation. Egg size tended to increase with female length and for some stocks was greatest for intermediate maternal ages. However, maternal influences on egg size were relatively low and variable between years. In contrast, stock had a stronger effect; walleye egg-size variation was greater among stocks than within stocks. After controlling for the influence of maternal age and length, we found that egg size was relatively small for fish spawning in Maumee and Sandusky Rivers (western Lake Erie), intermediate in Oneida Lake and Tittabawassee River (Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron), and relatively large in Van Buren Bay (eastern Lake Erie) and Little Bay de Noc (northern Green Bay, Lake Michigan). Such inter-stock differences in maternal influence adjusted egg size appeared to be negatively associated with a system's productivity; suggesting a potential adaptive response of egg size to early life habitat conditions.

Summary 1. Fisheries models generally are based on the concept that strong density dependence exists in fish populations. Nonetheless, there are few examples of long-term density dependence in fish populations. 2. Using an information theoretical approach (AIC) with regression analyses, we examined the explanatory power of density dependence, flow and water temperature on the per capita rate of change and growth (annual mean total length) for the whole population, adults, 1+ and young-of-the-year (YOY) brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Hunt Creek, Michigan, USA, between 1951 and 2001. This time series represents one of the longest quantitative population data sets for fishes. 3. Our analysis included four data sets: (i) Pooled (1951–2001), (ii) Fished (1951–65), (iii) Unfished (1966–2001) and (iv) Temperature (1982–2001). 4. Principle component analyses of winter flow data identified a gradient between years with high mean daily winter flows, high daily maximum and minimum flows and frequent high flow events, and years with an opposite set of flow characteristics. Flows were lower during the Fished Period than during the Unfished Period. Winter temperature analyses elucidated a gradient between warm mean, warm minimum and maximum daily stream temperatures and a high number of minimum daily temperatures >6.1 °C, and years with the opposite characteristics. Summer temperature analyses contrasted years with warm summer stream temperatures vs years with cool summer stream temperatures. 5. Both YOY and adult densities varied several-fold during the study. Regression analysis did not detect a significant linear or nonlinear stock–recruitment relationship. AIC analysis indicated that density dependence was present in 15 of 16 cases (four population segments × four data sets) for both per capita rate of increase (wi values 0.46–1.00) and growth data (wi values 0.28–0.99). The almost ubiquitous presence of density dependence in both population and growth data is concordant with results from other trout populations and other studies in Michigan.

We developed user-friendly fish habitat suitability tools (plots) for fishery managers in Michigan; these tools are based on driving habitat variables and fish population estimates for several hundred stream sites throughout the state. We generated contour plots to show patterns in fish biomass for over 60 common species (and for 120 species grouped at the family level) in relation to axes of catchment area and low-flow yield (90% exceedance flow divided by catchment area) and also in relation to axes of mean and weekly range of July temperatures. The plots showed distinct patterns in fish habitat suitability at each level of biological organization studied and were useful for quantitatively comparing river sites. We demonstrate how these plots can be used to support stream management, and we provide examples pertaining to resource assessment, trout stocking, angling regulations, chemical reclamation of marginal trout streams, indicator species, instream flow protection, and habitat restoration. ...

Coolwater streams, which are intermediate in character between coldwater “trout” streams and more diverse warmwater streams, occur widely in temperate regions but are poorly understood. We used modeled water temperature data and fish assemblage samples from 371 stream sites in Michigan and Wisconsin to define, describe, and map coolwater streams and their fish assemblages. We defined coolwater streams as ones having summer water temperatures suitable for both coldwater and warmwater species and used the observed distributions of the 99 fish species at our sites to identify coolwater thermal boundaries. Coolwater streams had June-through-August mean water temperatures of 17.0–20.5°C, July mean temperatures of 17.5–21.0°C, and maximum daily mean temperatures of 20.7–24.6°C. We delineated two subclasses of coolwater streams: “cold transition” (having July mean water temperatures of 17.5–19.5°C) and “warm transition” (having July mean temperatures of 19.5–21.0°C). Fish assemblages in coolwater stream...

We used microsatellite DNA markers to test whether fragmentation of the Trent River (Ontario, Canada) has reduced genetic diversity and increased genetic differentiation among populations of river redhorse ( Moxostoma carinatum ) and shorthead redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum). Allelic richness of both species was significantly greater along the free-flowing Muskegon River (Michigan, USA) than along the fragmented Trent River. Contrary to expectations, there was no evidence of a fragment length effect on genetic diversity, recent population bottlenecks, or increased relatedness among individuals in fragmented populations. High levels of linkage disequilibrium indicate extinction–recolonization population dynamics along the Trent River. For both species, pairwise FSTtests identified weak but statistically significant population differentiation. In the Trent River, differentiation was significantly greater for river redhorse than for shorthead redhorse and, for both species, greater than in the Muskegon River. Moderate fragmentation effects likely reflect the permeability of the dam-lock system to redhorse movement. Differences between species indicate that as a result of smaller effective population sizes, habitat specialists and species at the periphery of their geographic range are more sensitive to river fragmentation.

Traditionally, fish habitat requirements have been described from local-scale environmental variables. However, recent studies have shown that studying landscape-scale processes improves our understanding of what drives species assemblages and distribution patterns across the landscape. Our goal was to learn more about constraints on the distribution of Michigan stream fish by examining landscape-scale habitat variables. We used classification trees and landscape-scale habitat variables to create and validate presence-absence models and relative abundance models for Michigan stream fishes. We developed 93 presence-absence models that on average were 72% correct in making predictions for an independent data set, and we developed 46 relative abundance models that were 76% correct in making predictions for independent data. The models were used to create statewide predictive distribution and abundance maps that have the potential to be used for a variety of conservation and scientific purposes.

The ability to describe regional patterns in trout density would be useful for biologists concerned with population status across large regions as well as managers of rivers at the local scale. Noting the importance of flow conditions at the time of emergence to trout year-class strength in Michigan streams and the influence of age-0 trout abundance on subsequent abundance of older age-classes, we assessed the potential for regional synchrony in the population dynamics of brown trout Salmo trutta and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis among Michigan rivers. We used correlation analyses to look for regional synchrony in May stream discharge (approximating the time of brown trout fry emergence) and fall trout density among many Michigan trout streams. We found a high degree of synchrony in average May discharge among streams, particularly those in the northern portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. There were significant correlations in the long-term densities of brown trout and brook trout year-cla...

Understanding the influences of local and regional processes on the dynamics of self-sustaining trout populations would help fishery biologists better manage trout populations and protect rivers supporting trout. We explored hypotheses behind long-term temporal variation in density, growth, and survival of brown trout Salmo trutta and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis using data collected over several decades on Michigan's Au Sable River. Regression models developed for these species emphasized the influence of year-class strength on older age-classes, year-class strength being positively related to spawner abundance for both species and negatively related to high spring streamflow conditions for brown trout. Age-class density was also positively associated with high levels of large woody debris (LWD) in streams. Annual growth increments of brown trout and brook trout were often negatively related to increased age-class density and LWD and positively affected by elevated total phosphorus levels, ...

Both site- and landscape-scale processes play important roles in the biological communities of rivers. Understanding the influences of these processes on fish abundance can help direct management and research efforts toward appropriate habitat variables and scales. We used multiple linear regression analysis of a regional fish and habitat database to determine the feasibility of using geographical information systems (GIS)–derived landscape-scale habitat variables to explain the spatial variation in the density of five sport fish species (Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, steelhead O. mykiss, brown trout Salmo trutta, brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, and white sucker Catostomus commersonii) in the rivers of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. We compared these models with those developed using site-scale variables traditionally measured in the field. Landscape-scale riverine habitat variables obtained through GIS analysis and modeling of catchment characteristics accounted for 18–69% of the vari...

We examined the distribution and abundance patterns of 69 fish species that commonly occur in the rivers of Michigan's lower peninsula to develop a simple, empirically based model for describing fish assemblages. We used cluster analysis to group fishes that shared similar abundance patterns at 226 stream sites. The 17 clusters we identified explained about 39% of the variation in species abundances among the stream sites, providing a reasonable, albeit simplified, picture of general associations of fishes in lower Michigan streams. Known ecological differences among species and further analyses suggested that a measure of cluster abundance should not be used to predict the abundances of its constituent species. We selected catchment area (CA) and low-flow yield (LFY; 90% exceedence flow divided by catchment area) as axes for plotting fish distributions and rivers because these variables link catchment-scale features of the landscape to multiple, site-scale characteristics of stream habitat (e.g....

We used the behavioral carrying capacity (BCC) technique to test the assumption of the instream flow incremental methodology (IFIM) that a positive linear relation exists between available fish habitat (weighted usable area, WUA) and fish biomass for populations of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu at carrying capacity. The BCC experiments were performed at various streamflows, and WUA was measured at each flow. In each BCC experiment, a section of a stream was overstocked with juvenile smallmouth bass, excess fish were trapped as they emigrated, and the remaining resident fish were collected after a 10-d period. We did not find a positive relation between WUA and BCC, and we found a negative relation between stream discharge and BCC. High BCC values recorded during low-flow experiments resulted from less upstream and downstream movement by juvenile smallmouth bass. Such behavioral changes may prevent smallmouth bass populations from being limited by habitat availability during low flows. The ...