Comparison of otolith microchemistry between juvenile steelhead cohabitant resident fish species

Grant: # 1552

Grant Amount: $119,268.13

Board Decision Year: 2015

Central Michigan University - Department of Biology and Institute for Great Lakes Research (Mt. Pleasant)

Department of Biology and Institute for Great Lakes Research

Pangle, Kevin ([email protected]) 989-774-3185

2015 Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Fish Populations: Ecological and Biological Research to Inform Management - Ecological and biological fisheries research to inform management

Project Details

Fish populations in the Great Lakes are comprised of different stocks that originate from distinct natal locations. Effective management of such populations requires an explicit consideration for how stocks (i.e., locations) differentially contribute individual fish. Salmon and trout, which are comprised of mixed-stock populations that include stocked and naturally produced fish, are economically and ecologically important to the Lake Michigan community and its watershed, representing millions of dollars in value to the region. It can be helpful for managers to understand the natal origins of naturally produced fish populations, but it is not feasible to capture and mark large numbers of fish in each tributary. Instead, this project examined the use of otolith microchemistry to identify the origin of salmon captured in the Lake Michigan basin.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that otolith trace elemental signatures of mottled sculpin, slimy sculpin, and juvenile coho salmon were predictive of those of juvenile steelhead across many streams within the Lake Michigan basin. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to generate otolith trace elemental signatures for each individual fish. Then, researchers developed correlations between juvenile steelhead elemental signatures and the elemental signatures of the other species. They found that some parts of the elemental signatures were significantly correlated across species, suggesting that applications of otolith chemistry data may extend beyond the species from which the data is collected.

Documents

Final Report	View - GLFT_Project_2015.1552_Final_Report_8-13-17.pdf
Land cover influences on juvenile Rainbow Trout diet composition and condition in Lake Michigan tributaries	View - Brumm_et_al_2019_EFF.pdf
Same habitat, different species: otolith microchemistry relationships between migratory and resident species support interspecific natal source classification	View - Prichard_et_al_2018_EBF.pdf
Otolith-Chemistry-Based Discrimination of Wild- and Hatchery-Origin Steelhead across the Lake Michigan Basin	View - Watson_et_al_2018_NAJFM.pdf