Lake Herring (Coregonus artedi) and Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) Diets in Western Lake Superior

doi:10.1016/S0380-1330(04)70401-3

Journal of Great Lakes Research

Volume 30, Supplement 1, 2004, Pages 407-413

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0380-1330(04)70401-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

We describe the diets of lake herring (Coregonus artedi) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in western Lake Superior during the summers of 1996 and 1997. Both species consumed predominantly (> 71% by number) zooplankton, showing a preference for larger taxa. Diet overlap between the two species was low (Schoener's index = 0.42). Mysis was most important in rainbow smelt diets, whereas Diaptomus sicilis was most important in lake herring diets. Rainbow smelt selected larger taxa, and larger individuals within a taxon when compared to lake herring, although rainbow smelt tended to be smaller fish. Fish diets have changed relative to previous studies and may be reflecting changes in the zooplankton community. Continued changes in the fish and zooplankton community will alter predatorprey and energetic pathways, ultimately affecting growth and production of the ecosystem.

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Cited by (24)

Seasonal variability of invertebrate prey diet and selectivity of the dominant forage fishes in Lake Huron
2022, Food Webs
Citation Excerpt :
First, they selected for the larger-bodied and energetically dense Mysis and are more likely to encounter this opossum shrimp during daytime when both are near the bottom of the lake (Appenzeller and Leggett, 1995; O'Malley et al., 2018; Parker Stetter et al., 2006). Likewise, Johnson et al. (2004) found that Mysis was important to rainbow smelt and it generally preferred larger taxa in Lake Superior during 1996–1997. The second highest selected prey was Bythotrephes, which from an energetics perspective is one of the least beneficial prey.
Predators can shift their diets and even selectivity in response to changing environmental conditions. Since the early 2000s, Lake Huron experienced major food-web shifts that have caused changes in the prey availability and quality for consumers at multiple trophic levels. Previous studies have reported declining energetic condition for key planktivorous fishes, such as bloater (Coregonus hoyi) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), which play a key role in supporting commercially and recreationally important piscivorous fishes. To improve understanding of how changes in the invertebrate prey community have influenced foraging by rainbow smelt and bloater, we processed diets and calculated selectivity along two transects in Lake Huron during 2012. Diet proportions for both species varied seasonally and consisted of mostly calanoid copepods during spring and summer, specifically Leptodiaptomus sicilis and diaptomid copepodites, and Daphnia galeata mendotae in autumn. Bloater selectivity varied primarily by season and transect with Limnocalanus macrurus or Mysis diluviana as the most preferred prey during spring, Chironomidae pupae or L. sicilis during summer, and Chironomidae pupae or Mysis during autumn. Rainbow smelt selectivity was consistent across seasons and transects with Mysis being the species most commonly selected and Bythotrephes longimanus the second most. Both fish species selected for relatively large invertebrate prey, but declining densities of Mysis and the benthic amphipod Diporeia have caused fish to consume smaller prey with much lower energy density. Our results illustrate how food-web changes underlie the reduced energetic condition of bloater and rainbow smelt, which ultimately reduces the growth potential for recreationally and commercially important piscivorous fish.
Incorporation of non-native species in the diets of cisco (Coregonus artedi) from eastern Lake Ontario
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research
Cisco Coregonus artedi was once an important native fish in Lake Ontario; however, after multiple population crashes, the cisco stock has yet to recover to historic abundances. Rehabilitation of cisco in Lake Ontario is a fish community management objective, but the extent to which recent non-native species and pelagic food web changes have influenced cisco is not well understood. We described cisco diets in contemporary Lake Ontario following the addition and spread of non-native zooplankton species. We collected 618 cisco and processed 178 for full diet analysis in eastern Lake Ontario using mid-water trawls and bottom-set gill nets from 2016 to 2020. We found that Lake Ontario cisco were mostly zooplanktivorous, and non-native zooplankton dominated their diet during July and September. Cisco smaller than 300 mm had a more diverse diet including both native and non-native zooplankton, while cisco larger than 300 mm fed almost exclusively on non-native predatory cladocerans Bythotrephes longimanus and Cercopagis pengoi (98.9% consumed prey dry mass). We also found fish eggs, presumed to be of coregonine origin in 75% of non-empty December-collected cisco diets, suggesting eggs subsidize cisco diets when available. Juvenile round goby Neogobius melanostomus, alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax were found in 2% of all analyzed non-empty stomachs. Lake Ontario cisco diet appears to be more similar to zooplanktivorous Lake Superior cisco than Lake Michigan where piscivory is prevalent. Lake Ontario cisco diets reflected zooplankton community changes indicating that non-native predatory cladocerans are now an important energy source supporting this native species.
Genetic versus demographic stock structure of rainbow smelt in a large fragmented lake
2020, Journal of Great Lakes Research
Identification of fish stocks plays an important role in fisheries management, but stock identification often depends on the techniques used and the management goals as much as on actual population structure. Historically, stocks were identified by place of capture, population demography and morphology, but genetic stock identification has become a standard approach. Here, we evaluate the stock structure of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in three basins of Lake Champlain separated by causeways using genotype data from six microsatellite loci and 26 years of demographic data. No genetic differences among rainbow smelt from the different basins were evident, which suggests that gene flow occurs among basins. However, length, age, and catch-per-unit-effort of rainbow smelt suggests asynchronous population dynamics in the different basins, and thus each basin may hold populations that are at least partially isolated from one another. Consequently, we conclude that while rainbow smelt in Lake Champlain consist of at least three demographic stocks they may form only a single genetic stock. Our results concur with other studies that suggest care should be taken when only a single method of stock identification is used.
Retention of morphological and ecological traits of Lake Superior cisco Coregonus artedi after translocation into inland lakes
2018, Journal of Great Lakes Research
Citation Excerpt :
Lake Superior has a relatively intact assemblage of native ciscoes with C. artedi, C. hoyi, C. kiyi, and C. zenithicus still extant (Eshenroder et al., 2016). Lake Superior C. artedi are pelagic planktivores (Johnson et al., 2004; Gamble et al., 2011; Isaac et al., 2012) while C. hoyi, C. kiyi, and C. zenithicus dominate deep-water habitats (Eshenroder et al., 2016). While most inland lakes in Minnesota have one morphotype (planktivorous C. artedi with large numbers of gill rakers; Eddy and Underhill, 1974), sparsely rakered C. zenithicus is occasionally found sympatrically with C. artedi, as is another highly rakered, planktivorous form, C. nipigon (Etnier et al., 2003).
Introductions of Coregonus artedi from Lake Superior into several inland lakes in Minnesota in the 1920s and 1930s constituted a natural experiment of how phenotypic plasticity and adaptation can shape cisco diversity. Genetic data were consistent with a Lake Superior origin for the introduced populations, which resembled contemporary Lake Superior cisco in possessing large, elongated bodies and short fins, and in maturing at older ages. Native inland cisco had smaller, deeper bodies, longer fins, and matured at younger ages. Introduced populations also retained the Lake Superior characteristic of inhabiting the upper portion of the water column and showed a high degree of planktivory. However, introduced cisco exhibited small but measurable shifts in body shape and fin lengths toward native inland forms. These morphological shifts were possibly associated with greater benthivory after translocation. Assuming that native inland populations were well adapted to inland lakes and that selective pressures on native and introduced populations were similar, these results indicated that substantial further phenotypic, behavioral, and life history change is required before the introduced populations become similarly adapted to their new environments. The findings suggest that anthropogenic environmental alterations such as climate change and eutrophication might occur at a faster pace than adaptive evolutionary responses. In addition, translocated Great Lakes coregonines could possibly maintain traits exhibited in their source lake, and may not fully restore ecological functions of extirpated populations.
Summer diet analysis of the invasive rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba
2012, Journal of Great Lakes Research
Citation Excerpt :
As with other zooplanktivorous, non-indigenous fishes, decreased density and species richness of the prey community, and dominance of small zooplankton species can occur in a matter of decades after smelt invade (Wells, 1970, Mills et al., 1995; Amundsen et al., 2009). These alterations in zooplankton communities are more obvious where smelt populations have been established for a long period of time, such as in the Great Lakes, and have far-reaching impacts on the energetic pathways and food web structure of invaded lakes (Johnson et al., 2004). Currently, there is no published literature on diets of rainbow smelt in Lake Winnipeg.
Invasive species can have both negative and positive impacts on the trophic structure of aquatic systems. Rainbow smelt were first observed in Lake Winnipeg during late 1990 and their impact on upper and lower trophic levels is unclear. To begin to understand the impact of this invasive species in this large, shallow lake, dietary composition of smelt was described. During mid-summer 2008 and 2009, we simultaneously quantified the stomach contents of smelt and characterized the zooplankton community in the North Basin of Lake Winnipeg. Zooplankton and rainbow smelt (total length: 70–130 mm) were collected from ten stations in 2008 and six in 2009 on the M.V. Namao. The relative abundance of four zooplankton prey types (copepods, Daphnia spp., Eubosmina coregoni and Bosmina longirostris) was determined from the zooplankton samples and the smelt stomach contents. Using electivity indices, we found that rainbow smelt preferred Daphnia spp., as well as larger individuals of Daphnia spp., in both years. Preference for larger Daphnia spp. is likely due to conspicuousness (size, movement patterns) and slow swimming speeds relative to the other prey types. With detailed knowledge of the trophic linkage between rainbow smelt and the zooplankton community, we can begin to quantify the effects of invasive rainbow smelt on the food web structure of the lake.
Seasonal consumption of Hemimysis anomala by fish in Southeastern Lake Ontario, 2009-2010
2012, Journal of Great Lakes Research
We investigated the seasonal occurrence of Hemimysis anomala in the diets of fish that prey on macroinvertebrates at two sites with established Hemimysis populations east of Oswego, NY, during 2009–2010. In 2009, we examined 320 stomachs from 10 species and found Hemimysis only in alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rockbass (Ambloplites rupestris), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens). Of those species, alewife consumed Hemimysis most frequently and it represented a greater proportion of their diets. During 2009, the dry weight composition of Hemimysis in alewife diets varied seasonally between < 1% in June, 5% in July, 98.5% in August, and 18.8% in September. In contrast, we examined 667 stomachs from 15 species in 2010 and observed Hemimysis in only one alewife and two rockbass stomachs. For alewife from September 2009, we found no relationship between predator size and the number of Hemimysis consumed, or between the presence of Hemimysis in fish diets and the presence of other diet taxa or diet diversity. Fish diets collected as bycatch from other assessments revealed large numbers of Hemimysis in fishes that had not previously been observed consuming Hemimysis in Lake Ontario, including cisco (Coregonus artedi) and white perch (Morone americana). Our results indicate Hemimysis consumption by nearshore fish can be high, but that it is variable across seasons and years, and may be most prevalent in fish that feed up in the water column, at or near dark, and have the ability to consume swift moving prey like Mysis diluviana or small fish.

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^†: Current address: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Lake Erie Fisheries Station, RR #2, 320 Milo Road, Wheatley, Ontario N0P 2P0.

^‡: Current address: Red Lake Department of Natural Resources, Hwy 1 N, Red Lake, Minnesota 56671.

^§: Current address: United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries Division, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056.

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Journal of Great Lakes Research

Abstract

References (20)

Spatial patterns in assemblage structures of pelagic forage fish and zooplankton in western Lake Superior

J. Great Lakes Res.

Size-specific fish avoidance of the spined crustacean Bythotrephes: field support for laboratory predictions

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Fish community changes in Lake Superior, 1970–2000

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Growth changes of the bloater (Coregonus hoyi) of the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior

Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc.

Food and habitat partitioning between rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) young of the year

Trans. Amer. Fish Soc.

A stable isotope evaluation of the structure and spatial heterogeneity of a Lake Superior food web

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Ecological energetics of rainbow smelt in the Laurentian Great Lakes: an interlake comparison

Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc.

Cited by (24)

Seasonal variability of invertebrate prey diet and selectivity of the dominant forage fishes in Lake Huron

Incorporation of non-native species in the diets of cisco (Coregonus artedi) from eastern Lake Ontario

Genetic versus demographic stock structure of rainbow smelt in a large fragmented lake

Retention of morphological and ecological traits of Lake Superior cisco Coregonus artedi after translocation into inland lakes

Summer diet analysis of the invasive rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba

Seasonal consumption of Hemimysis anomala by fish in Southeastern Lake Ontario, 2009-2010