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Distribution of Larval Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) in Nearshore Waters of Southeastern Lake Michigan
J. Great Lakes Res. 9(4):517-522 Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res., 1983
DISTRIBUTION OF LARVAL YELLOW PERCH (PERCA FLA VESCENS) IN NEARSHORE WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN LAKE MICHIGAN
Michael Perrone, Jr., Philip J. Schneeberger, and David J. Jude Great Lakes Research Division The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ABSTRACT. Spatial and temporal distribution of larval yellow perch (perea flaveseens) in southeastern Lake Michigan was described from samples collected during 1973-1981 with plankton nets and benthic sleds in water 0.5 to 21 m deep. Yellow perch larvae ~ 7.5 mm total length were numerous from mid-May to early or mid-July. Larvae taken before mid-June hatched from eggs spawned in inland waters, rather than in Lake Michigan. Those larvae appearing early occurred chiefly in shallow water (~ 1.5 mY, whereas larvae caught later were chiefly distributed in deeper water ~ 6 mY· Larval perch abundance was similar at all bottom depths ~ 6 m, was low in surface water during the day, and low near bottom at night. At 0.5- and 1.5-m stations, significantly more larvae were caught at night than during the day. ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Fish management, fish populations, power plants.
INTRODUCTION
and eggs spawned at those depths presumably hatch in early July.
Yellow perch is an abundant and economically important fish in the Great Lakes, but published information on its early life history in those and other lakes is scarce (Forney 1971, Wells 1973 and 1974, Nelson and Cole 1975, Cole 1978). The purpose of this study was to describe the seasonal and depth distributions of larval yellow perch in southeastern Lake Michigan. The work was part of investigations of fish populations near the J. H. Campbell Power Plant near Grand Haven, Michigan, and the D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant near Bridgman, Michigan (Jude et al. 1979, 1981, 1982), where perch were usually the fourthmost abundant species collected each year (19731981), both as larvae and as adults. Yellow perch spawning in southeastern Lake Michigan occurs chiefly at 5- to 10-m bottom depths when water temperatures reach 9 to l2°C (Brazo et al. 1975, Auer 1982, Dorr 1982), normally in late May to early June. Demersal eggs hatch in about 10 to 12 days at 15°C (Scott and Crossman 1973), a typical inshore water temperature in midJune. Some spawning occurs in deeper water, at least to 12 m (Dorr 1982), where water warms to 9 to l2°C in about mid-June. The bottom stratum of deeper waters does not reach 15°C until late June
METHODS Larval yellow perch were collected near two power plants on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan (Fig. 1). At the Cook Plant, we collected larval fish samples along three parallel transects, two of which included single stations where bottom depths were 0.5, 6, 9, and 21 m, while the third included single stations at depths of 0.5 and 6 m. At the Campbell Plant, we collected larvae along two parallel transects, each including single stations at depths of 1.5,3,6,9, 12, and 15 m; additionally, one transect had a single station, and the other had two stations at 0.5 m. On each visit we sampled once in daytime and once at night. Years and frequency of sampling varied. At Cook, we sampled from 1973 through 1980; however, collecting at the 21-m station was not begun until 1975. We sampled once each month, April through September, at all stations. At the Campbell Plant we sampled from 1977 through 1981. Sampling visits occurred twice each month, May through August, and once each in April and September, except that in 1977 we made no collections in April or May and only a single visit in August. 517
PERRONE et
518
i
N
I o I
60 I
I
Kilometers
MILWAUKEE
J. H. Campbell Plant
at.
flowmeter attached to the center opening. About 35 m3 of water were filtered in most tows. At 0.5-m stations, nets were towed by hand with three people towing two nets; at 1.5- and 3-m stations, nets were towed behind a motorboat; and at all deeper stations, nets were towed alongside the University of Michigan's R/V Mysis. Boat tows were at speeds of 3 to 6 kml hr. Bottom samples were collected with a benthic sled (Yocum and Tesar 1980) towed behind a motorboat. For further details of sampling methods see Jude et al. (1979, 1981). We measured larval perch abundance both as density (number of larvae per 1,000 m3 of water sampled) and as the number or proportion of samples that contained larvae. We used the latter measure when most samples contained no perch larvae. We reported mean densities at individual stations as the average of densities over all gear, diel periods, and depth strata. Collections at the Cook Plant in the 8-yr period included about 3,450 samples, which filtered about 98,000 m3 of Lake Michigan water and captured 432 larval yellow perch. Collections at the Campbell Plant in the 5-year period included about 5,500 samples and 197,000 m3 of water; 1,143 larvae were taken.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION FIG. 1. Map of Lake Michigan showing location of study sites, the D. C. Cook Plant (41° 51' N, 86° 34' W) and J. H. Campbell Plant (42" 46' N, 86° 15' W).
At all stations we made horizontal tows of 5-min duration parallel to shore at discrete depth strata in the water column, spaced equally from surface to 0.5 m above bottom. We sampled the 0.5- and 1.5m stations at only one depth stratum (surface), the 3-m stations at two strata, the 6- and 21-m stations at four strata, and the 9-, 12-, and 15-m stations at five strata. As an example of the procedure, at 9-m stations we took samples at strata 0.5, 2.5, 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 m below the surface. We took duplicate samples at O.5-m stations. In addition, at the Campbell Plant we took single bottom (sled) tows at all stations. Tow depths at Cook Plant in 1973 differed slightly from those described above, and data from that year were omitted from analysis of vertical distribution. Samples, except those from bottom, were collected with a conical, 0.5-m diameter nylon plankton net (363-J,L mesh aperture) with a Rigosha
Seasonal and Depth Distribution Ninety-five percent of the yellow perch larvae at Cook and 92% at Campbell were:::;; 7.5 mm total length (TL); the range was 3.8 to 15.0 mm. Based on published data (Mansueti 1964, Wong 1972, Houde 1969), we suspect larger perch evaded sampling gear. Since newly hatched perch larvae are usually 5 to 6 mm long (Auer 1982) and normally grow about 0.5 mm per day (Mansueti 1964), our results pertain only to larvae less than a week old. Yellow perch larvae were numerous from midMay to early or mid-July in most years. Outside that period, they were scarce (:::;; 15/1,000 m 3). Some occurred in April (at 6-m stations at Cook in 1973 and 1978 and at a 0.5-m station at Campbell in 1981) and in August (at 0.5-, 12-, and 15-m stations at Campbell in 1979). Larvae caught before mid-June could not have originated from spawning in Lake Michigan, since perch spawning temperatures were not reached until late Mayor early June, and the eggs need 10 to 12 days to hatch at typical mid-June tempera-
519
LARVAL YELLOW PERCH IN LAKE MICHIGAN tures. Female perch were never in spawning condition .before mid-May (Jude et al. 1979, 1981). As suggested by Wells (1973), Jude et al. (1979), and Dorr (1982), larvae caught in April, May, and early June presumably hatched from eggs spawned in April and May in warmer waters of inland lakes and rivers, and drifted downstream into Lake Michigan. The early, inland-derived larvae may contribute significantly to the Lake Michigan population. Yellow perch numbers probably have been depressed by alewives through competition for food or predation on larvae (Smith 1970, Wells and McLain 1973, Crowder 1980). The main impact of alewives is on the second cohort of larvae, produced in Lake Michigan when both species occur inshore. The early cohort presumably has little interaction with alewives. From mid-May through early June larvae occurred chiefly in water ~ 1.5-m bottom depth, and abundance declined sharply with increasing depth. We took few larvae in this period at depths beyond 3 m at Campbell and none beyond 0.5 mat Cook. Peak abundance reached 844/ 1,000 m 3 in May 1980 at a 1.5-m Campbell station. In mid-and late June we caught larvae at all depths sampled, but relative abundance at offshore (~6 m) versus inshore (~3 m) stations differed among years. Densities were greater inshore in 1978, 1979, and 1980 at both Cook and Campbell, greater offshore in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1981, and similar inshore and offshore in 1974. Peak abundance was 244/1,000 m3 at a 0.5-m Cook station in 1974 and 195/1,000 m3 at a 0.5-m Campbell station in 1979. In July, perch larvae were scarce at depths ~ 3 m at Campbell (highest density at any station during the study was 20/1,000 m 3) and absent from 0.5-m stations at Cook throughout the study; however, they were usually present at both study sites where bottom depths were ~ 6 m. Highest densities in the deeper zones were in 1980 at a 21-m Cook station (100/1,000 m3) and at a 6-m Campbell station (80/ 1,000 m3). Usually, average densities in a given year were similar at all bottom depths ~ 6 m at both the Cook and Campbell plants (Tables I and 2). A seasonal shift of newly hatched larval perch from shallower to deeper water also occurred near Ludington, Michigan, 115 km north of the Campbell Plant on the Lake Michigan shore. There, perch larvae were most numerous in May at 1.5-m stations and in late June at 6- and 9-m stations (Liston et al. 1980). The high density of early occurring larvae in
TABLE 1. A verage number of yellow perch larvae taken per 1,000 m1 of water filtered, by bottom depth and year (data from all stations combined), at D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, southeastern Lake Michigan, 1975-1980. Bottom Depth(m)
Year
1975
1976
1977
1979
1980
25 30 8
8 4 2
24 5 5
12 0 0
20 20 21
0 3 67
1978
June
6 9 21
0 6 2
0 2 3
68 120 13 July
6 9 21
0 2 0
2 2 2
0 0 1
TABLE 2. A verage number of yellow perch larvae taken per 1,000 m 3 of water filtered, by bottom depth and year (data from all stations combined), at J. H. Campbell Power Plant, southeastern Lake Michigan, 1977-1981. Bottom Depth(m)
Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
0 0 2 1
68 43 78 172 55
22 76 36 23 52
0 0 0 2 1
Late June 3 6 9
12 15
7 33 20 18 8
13
2 2 7 I
9 8 5 7 1
I
Early July 3 6 9
12 15
0 2 0 1 0
0 1 20 10
9
2 5 8 13 6
shallow water at Campbell probably occurred because alongshore currents were strongest closest to shore (Liston and Tack 1976). Water in the beach zone was also warmer than offshore in spring at both Cook and Campbell and the higher temperatures may have induced perch larvae to stay in the beach zone once currents brought them there. Densities of perch larvae originating in Lake Michigan were much lower than in some other
520
PERRONE et al. periods at Cook and in 11 of 13 (85%) periods at Campbell. Lower daytime catches at beach stations may have resulted from net avoidance or from a scarcity of perch larvae near the surface in daytime, or both; bottom sled tows at the Campbell Plant produced greater densities in daytime than at night in 9 of 14 monthly sampling periods at 0.5- and 1.5-m stations. At stations ;::: 6-m bottom depth, perch larvae were generally most numerous at sampling strata between 4 and 8 m in daytime catches, whereas abundance was usually greatest at the surface and declined with increasing depth in nighttime catches. At both Cook and Campbell, perch were scarcer in
lakes. In Pigeon Lake, at the Campbell Plant site, densities up to 41,500/ 1,000 m3 were common (Jude et al. 1981), while up to 2,362/1,000 m3 were recorded from Lake Erie (Cole 1978). Diel and Vertical Distribution Samples at 0.5-m stations, which were taken with hand-towed nets, contained perch significantly more often at night than in daytime (chi-square, p <0.01). Among the 28 samples at Cook that contained yellow perch larvae, 79% were collected at night; mean nighttime densities exceeded daytime densities in 15 of 18 (83%) monthly sampling CAMPBELL
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SAMPLING
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SAMPLING DEPTH (m)
FIG. 2. Diel differences in abundance of yellow perch larvae by bottom depth and sampling depth at the D. C. Cook Plant (1975-1980) and J. H. Campbell Plant (1977-1981), southeastern Lake Michigan. Data were summed over years.
LARVAL YELLOW PERCH IN LAKE MICHIGAN catches at the surface during the day than at night and scarcer in catches from the deepest stratum at night than in daytime (Fig. 2). They were rare both day and night at 14- and 20-m strata. We do not know whether the smaller number of perch larvae in daytime surface catches compared with night catches resulted from a daytime migration into deeper water or from a greater degree of net avoidance at the surface during the day. Densities of larval yellow perch on the lake bottom at Campbell, as measured by catches in benthic sleds, were about the same in daytime as at night, and were generally lower than elsewhere in the water column. Nighttime catches at stations with ~ 6-m bottom depths usually exceeded daytime catches. Mean density of larvae from combined depth strata was greater at night in 58% of 136 samples at Campbell and 61 % of 122 samples at Cook. However diel differences in mean abundance at the 6- and 9-m stations at Cook were not significant (ANOVA, log-transformed data, p 0.26). As in our study, perch larvae in West Blue Lake, Manitoba, were rare in catches at the surface in daytime and rare near bottom at night (Ward and Robinson 1974). In contrast, along the western shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, Michigan, abundance did not differ significantly between surface and near-bottom samples, either day or night, and bottom catches with a benthic sled were significantly greater at night than in daytime (Nelson and Cole 1975, Cole 1978, Patterson 1979). The differences in findings in Lakes Michigan and Erie probably relate to differences between the two areas in physical characteristics, e.g., turbidity, that could affect the distribution of larvae and their ability to avoid the net.
=
REFERENCES Auer, N. A, ed. 1982. Identification of larval fishes of the Great Lakes basin with emphasis on the Lake Michigan drainage. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Special Pub. 82-3. Brazo, D. c., Tack, P. I., and Liston, C. R. 1975. Age, growth, and fecundity of yellow perch (Perea flaveseens), in Lake Michigan near Ludington, Michigan. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 104:726-730. Cole, R. A 1978. Larval fish distributions in southwestern Lake Erie near the Monroe Power Plant. EPA-600j 3-78-069. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA Crowder, L. 1980. Alewife, rainbow smelt, and native
521
fishes in Lake Michigan: competition or predation? Env. Bioi. Fish. 5:225-233. Dorr, J. A., III. 1982. Substrate and other environmental factors in the reproduction of the yellow perch (Perea flavescens). Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. Forney, J. L. 1971. Development of dominant year classes in a perch population. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 100:734-749. Houde, E. D. 1969. Sustained swimming ability of larvae of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and yellow perch (Perea flavescens). J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 26: 1647-1659. Jude, D. J., Tesar, F. J., Tomlinson, J. c., Miller, T. J., Thurber, N. J., Godun, G. G., and Dorr III, J. A Inshore Lake Michigan fish populations near the D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant during preoperational years-1973, 1974. Spec. Rep. 71, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. _ _ _ _ , Tin, H. T., Heufelder, G. R., Schneeberger, P. J., Madenjian, C. P., Rutecki, T. L., Mansfield, P. J., Auer, N. A, and Noguchi, G. E. 1981. Adult, juvenile, and larval fish populations in the vicinity of the J. H. Campbell Power Plant, eastern Lake Michigan, 1977-1980. Spec. Rep. 86, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. -,-, Madenjian, C. P., Schneeberger, P. J., Tin, H. T., Mansfield, P. J., Rutecki, T. L., Noguchi, G. E., and Heufelder, G. R. 1982. Adult, juvenile, and larval fish populations in the vicinity of the J. H. Campbell Power Plant, 1981, with special reference to the effectiveness of wedge-wire intake screens in reducing entrainment and impingement of fish. Spec. Rep. 96, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. Liston, C. R., and Tack, P. I. 1976. A study of water currents and temperatures in Lake Michigan adjacent to the James H. Campbell Power Plant at Port Sheldon, Michigan. Unpubl. report, Dept. Fish. Wildl., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI. _ _ _ _ , Brazo, D., Bohr, J., Ligman, R., O'Neal, R., and Peterson, G. 1980. Results of 1978 aquatic research at the Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant on Lake Michigan including entrainment of fish and invertebrates, turbine mortalities, reservoir residence periods of salmonid fishes, netting and hydrocoustic surveys and water currents. 1978 Ann. Rep. to Consumers Power Co., Ludington Project, Vol. 1. Ludington Res. Lab., Dept. Fish. Wildl., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI. Mansueti, A J. 1964. Early development of the yellow perch, Perea flaveseens. Chesapeake Sci. 5:46-66. Nelson, D. D., and Cole, R. A 1975. The distribution and abundance of larval fishes along the western shore of Lake Erie at Monroe, Michigan. Tech. Rep. 32.4. Inst. Water Res., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI.
522
PERRONE et al.
Noble, R. L. 1970. Evaluation of the Miller high-speed sampler for sampling yellow perch and walleye fry. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 27:1033-1044. Patterson, R. L. 1979. Production, mortality, and power plant entrainment of larval yellow perch in western Lake Erie. EPA-600j3-79-o87. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA. Scott, W. B., and Crossman, E. J. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 184. Smith, S. H. 1970. Species interactions of the alewife in the Great Lakes. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 99:754-765. Ward, F. J., and Robinson, G. C. 1974. A review of research on the limnology of West Blue Lake, Manitoba. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:977-1005. Wells, L. 1973. Distribution of fish fry in nearshore waters of southeastern and east-eentral Lake Michigan, May-August 1972. Admin. Rep., Great Lakes Fish. Lab., Ann Arbor, MI. _ _ _ _ , and McLain, A. L. 1973. Lake Michiganman's effects on native fish stocks and other biota. Tech. Rep. 20. Great Lakes Fish. Comm., Ann Arbor, MI.
Wong, B. 1972. Growth, feeding and distribution of yellow perch fry, Percafluviatilisflavescens(Mitchell), during their first summer in West Blue Lake. M.S. Thesis. Univ. Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man. Yocum, W. L., and Tesar, F. J. 1980. Sled for sampling benthic fish larvae. Prog. Fish-Cult. 42: 118-119.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We appreciate the support for this project by the American Electric Power Service Corporation, Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, and Consumers Power Company. We thank John A. Dorr III, Frank Tesar, and especially LaRue Wells for reviewing the manuscript. We also thank the fishery staff of the Great Lakes Research Division for their dedication and perseverance in field and laboratory work. Contribution 358 of the Great Lakes Research Division, The University of Michigan.
DISTRIBUTION OF LARVAL YELLOW PERCH (PERCA FLA VESCENS) IN NEARSHORE WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN LAKE MICHIGAN
Michael Perrone, Jr., Philip J. Schneeberger, and David J. Jude Great Lakes Research Division The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ABSTRACT. Spatial and temporal distribution of larval yellow perch (perea flaveseens) in southeastern Lake Michigan was described from samples collected during 1973-1981 with plankton nets and benthic sleds in water 0.5 to 21 m deep. Yellow perch larvae ~ 7.5 mm total length were numerous from mid-May to early or mid-July. Larvae taken before mid-June hatched from eggs spawned in inland waters, rather than in Lake Michigan. Those larvae appearing early occurred chiefly in shallow water (~ 1.5 mY, whereas larvae caught later were chiefly distributed in deeper water ~ 6 mY· Larval perch abundance was similar at all bottom depths ~ 6 m, was low in surface water during the day, and low near bottom at night. At 0.5- and 1.5-m stations, significantly more larvae were caught at night than during the day. ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Fish management, fish populations, power plants.
INTRODUCTION
and eggs spawned at those depths presumably hatch in early July.
Yellow perch is an abundant and economically important fish in the Great Lakes, but published information on its early life history in those and other lakes is scarce (Forney 1971, Wells 1973 and 1974, Nelson and Cole 1975, Cole 1978). The purpose of this study was to describe the seasonal and depth distributions of larval yellow perch in southeastern Lake Michigan. The work was part of investigations of fish populations near the J. H. Campbell Power Plant near Grand Haven, Michigan, and the D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant near Bridgman, Michigan (Jude et al. 1979, 1981, 1982), where perch were usually the fourthmost abundant species collected each year (19731981), both as larvae and as adults. Yellow perch spawning in southeastern Lake Michigan occurs chiefly at 5- to 10-m bottom depths when water temperatures reach 9 to l2°C (Brazo et al. 1975, Auer 1982, Dorr 1982), normally in late May to early June. Demersal eggs hatch in about 10 to 12 days at 15°C (Scott and Crossman 1973), a typical inshore water temperature in midJune. Some spawning occurs in deeper water, at least to 12 m (Dorr 1982), where water warms to 9 to l2°C in about mid-June. The bottom stratum of deeper waters does not reach 15°C until late June
METHODS Larval yellow perch were collected near two power plants on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan (Fig. 1). At the Cook Plant, we collected larval fish samples along three parallel transects, two of which included single stations where bottom depths were 0.5, 6, 9, and 21 m, while the third included single stations at depths of 0.5 and 6 m. At the Campbell Plant, we collected larvae along two parallel transects, each including single stations at depths of 1.5,3,6,9, 12, and 15 m; additionally, one transect had a single station, and the other had two stations at 0.5 m. On each visit we sampled once in daytime and once at night. Years and frequency of sampling varied. At Cook, we sampled from 1973 through 1980; however, collecting at the 21-m station was not begun until 1975. We sampled once each month, April through September, at all stations. At the Campbell Plant we sampled from 1977 through 1981. Sampling visits occurred twice each month, May through August, and once each in April and September, except that in 1977 we made no collections in April or May and only a single visit in August. 517
PERRONE et
518
i
N
I o I
60 I
I
Kilometers
MILWAUKEE
J. H. Campbell Plant
at.
flowmeter attached to the center opening. About 35 m3 of water were filtered in most tows. At 0.5-m stations, nets were towed by hand with three people towing two nets; at 1.5- and 3-m stations, nets were towed behind a motorboat; and at all deeper stations, nets were towed alongside the University of Michigan's R/V Mysis. Boat tows were at speeds of 3 to 6 kml hr. Bottom samples were collected with a benthic sled (Yocum and Tesar 1980) towed behind a motorboat. For further details of sampling methods see Jude et al. (1979, 1981). We measured larval perch abundance both as density (number of larvae per 1,000 m3 of water sampled) and as the number or proportion of samples that contained larvae. We used the latter measure when most samples contained no perch larvae. We reported mean densities at individual stations as the average of densities over all gear, diel periods, and depth strata. Collections at the Cook Plant in the 8-yr period included about 3,450 samples, which filtered about 98,000 m3 of Lake Michigan water and captured 432 larval yellow perch. Collections at the Campbell Plant in the 5-year period included about 5,500 samples and 197,000 m3 of water; 1,143 larvae were taken.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION FIG. 1. Map of Lake Michigan showing location of study sites, the D. C. Cook Plant (41° 51' N, 86° 34' W) and J. H. Campbell Plant (42" 46' N, 86° 15' W).
At all stations we made horizontal tows of 5-min duration parallel to shore at discrete depth strata in the water column, spaced equally from surface to 0.5 m above bottom. We sampled the 0.5- and 1.5m stations at only one depth stratum (surface), the 3-m stations at two strata, the 6- and 21-m stations at four strata, and the 9-, 12-, and 15-m stations at five strata. As an example of the procedure, at 9-m stations we took samples at strata 0.5, 2.5, 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 m below the surface. We took duplicate samples at O.5-m stations. In addition, at the Campbell Plant we took single bottom (sled) tows at all stations. Tow depths at Cook Plant in 1973 differed slightly from those described above, and data from that year were omitted from analysis of vertical distribution. Samples, except those from bottom, were collected with a conical, 0.5-m diameter nylon plankton net (363-J,L mesh aperture) with a Rigosha
Seasonal and Depth Distribution Ninety-five percent of the yellow perch larvae at Cook and 92% at Campbell were:::;; 7.5 mm total length (TL); the range was 3.8 to 15.0 mm. Based on published data (Mansueti 1964, Wong 1972, Houde 1969), we suspect larger perch evaded sampling gear. Since newly hatched perch larvae are usually 5 to 6 mm long (Auer 1982) and normally grow about 0.5 mm per day (Mansueti 1964), our results pertain only to larvae less than a week old. Yellow perch larvae were numerous from midMay to early or mid-July in most years. Outside that period, they were scarce (:::;; 15/1,000 m 3). Some occurred in April (at 6-m stations at Cook in 1973 and 1978 and at a 0.5-m station at Campbell in 1981) and in August (at 0.5-, 12-, and 15-m stations at Campbell in 1979). Larvae caught before mid-June could not have originated from spawning in Lake Michigan, since perch spawning temperatures were not reached until late Mayor early June, and the eggs need 10 to 12 days to hatch at typical mid-June tempera-
519
LARVAL YELLOW PERCH IN LAKE MICHIGAN tures. Female perch were never in spawning condition .before mid-May (Jude et al. 1979, 1981). As suggested by Wells (1973), Jude et al. (1979), and Dorr (1982), larvae caught in April, May, and early June presumably hatched from eggs spawned in April and May in warmer waters of inland lakes and rivers, and drifted downstream into Lake Michigan. The early, inland-derived larvae may contribute significantly to the Lake Michigan population. Yellow perch numbers probably have been depressed by alewives through competition for food or predation on larvae (Smith 1970, Wells and McLain 1973, Crowder 1980). The main impact of alewives is on the second cohort of larvae, produced in Lake Michigan when both species occur inshore. The early cohort presumably has little interaction with alewives. From mid-May through early June larvae occurred chiefly in water ~ 1.5-m bottom depth, and abundance declined sharply with increasing depth. We took few larvae in this period at depths beyond 3 m at Campbell and none beyond 0.5 mat Cook. Peak abundance reached 844/ 1,000 m 3 in May 1980 at a 1.5-m Campbell station. In mid-and late June we caught larvae at all depths sampled, but relative abundance at offshore (~6 m) versus inshore (~3 m) stations differed among years. Densities were greater inshore in 1978, 1979, and 1980 at both Cook and Campbell, greater offshore in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1981, and similar inshore and offshore in 1974. Peak abundance was 244/1,000 m3 at a 0.5-m Cook station in 1974 and 195/1,000 m3 at a 0.5-m Campbell station in 1979. In July, perch larvae were scarce at depths ~ 3 m at Campbell (highest density at any station during the study was 20/1,000 m 3) and absent from 0.5-m stations at Cook throughout the study; however, they were usually present at both study sites where bottom depths were ~ 6 m. Highest densities in the deeper zones were in 1980 at a 21-m Cook station (100/1,000 m3) and at a 6-m Campbell station (80/ 1,000 m3). Usually, average densities in a given year were similar at all bottom depths ~ 6 m at both the Cook and Campbell plants (Tables I and 2). A seasonal shift of newly hatched larval perch from shallower to deeper water also occurred near Ludington, Michigan, 115 km north of the Campbell Plant on the Lake Michigan shore. There, perch larvae were most numerous in May at 1.5-m stations and in late June at 6- and 9-m stations (Liston et al. 1980). The high density of early occurring larvae in
TABLE 1. A verage number of yellow perch larvae taken per 1,000 m1 of water filtered, by bottom depth and year (data from all stations combined), at D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, southeastern Lake Michigan, 1975-1980. Bottom Depth(m)
Year
1975
1976
1977
1979
1980
25 30 8
8 4 2
24 5 5
12 0 0
20 20 21
0 3 67
1978
June
6 9 21
0 6 2
0 2 3
68 120 13 July
6 9 21
0 2 0
2 2 2
0 0 1
TABLE 2. A verage number of yellow perch larvae taken per 1,000 m 3 of water filtered, by bottom depth and year (data from all stations combined), at J. H. Campbell Power Plant, southeastern Lake Michigan, 1977-1981. Bottom Depth(m)
Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
0 0 2 1
68 43 78 172 55
22 76 36 23 52
0 0 0 2 1
Late June 3 6 9
12 15
7 33 20 18 8
13
2 2 7 I
9 8 5 7 1
I
Early July 3 6 9
12 15
0 2 0 1 0
0 1 20 10
9
2 5 8 13 6
shallow water at Campbell probably occurred because alongshore currents were strongest closest to shore (Liston and Tack 1976). Water in the beach zone was also warmer than offshore in spring at both Cook and Campbell and the higher temperatures may have induced perch larvae to stay in the beach zone once currents brought them there. Densities of perch larvae originating in Lake Michigan were much lower than in some other
520
PERRONE et al. periods at Cook and in 11 of 13 (85%) periods at Campbell. Lower daytime catches at beach stations may have resulted from net avoidance or from a scarcity of perch larvae near the surface in daytime, or both; bottom sled tows at the Campbell Plant produced greater densities in daytime than at night in 9 of 14 monthly sampling periods at 0.5- and 1.5-m stations. At stations ;::: 6-m bottom depth, perch larvae were generally most numerous at sampling strata between 4 and 8 m in daytime catches, whereas abundance was usually greatest at the surface and declined with increasing depth in nighttime catches. At both Cook and Campbell, perch were scarcer in
lakes. In Pigeon Lake, at the Campbell Plant site, densities up to 41,500/ 1,000 m3 were common (Jude et al. 1981), while up to 2,362/1,000 m3 were recorded from Lake Erie (Cole 1978). Diel and Vertical Distribution Samples at 0.5-m stations, which were taken with hand-towed nets, contained perch significantly more often at night than in daytime (chi-square, p <0.01). Among the 28 samples at Cook that contained yellow perch larvae, 79% were collected at night; mean nighttime densities exceeded daytime densities in 15 of 18 (83%) monthly sampling CAMPBELL
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FIG. 2. Diel differences in abundance of yellow perch larvae by bottom depth and sampling depth at the D. C. Cook Plant (1975-1980) and J. H. Campbell Plant (1977-1981), southeastern Lake Michigan. Data were summed over years.
LARVAL YELLOW PERCH IN LAKE MICHIGAN catches at the surface during the day than at night and scarcer in catches from the deepest stratum at night than in daytime (Fig. 2). They were rare both day and night at 14- and 20-m strata. We do not know whether the smaller number of perch larvae in daytime surface catches compared with night catches resulted from a daytime migration into deeper water or from a greater degree of net avoidance at the surface during the day. Densities of larval yellow perch on the lake bottom at Campbell, as measured by catches in benthic sleds, were about the same in daytime as at night, and were generally lower than elsewhere in the water column. Nighttime catches at stations with ~ 6-m bottom depths usually exceeded daytime catches. Mean density of larvae from combined depth strata was greater at night in 58% of 136 samples at Campbell and 61 % of 122 samples at Cook. However diel differences in mean abundance at the 6- and 9-m stations at Cook were not significant (ANOVA, log-transformed data, p 0.26). As in our study, perch larvae in West Blue Lake, Manitoba, were rare in catches at the surface in daytime and rare near bottom at night (Ward and Robinson 1974). In contrast, along the western shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, Michigan, abundance did not differ significantly between surface and near-bottom samples, either day or night, and bottom catches with a benthic sled were significantly greater at night than in daytime (Nelson and Cole 1975, Cole 1978, Patterson 1979). The differences in findings in Lakes Michigan and Erie probably relate to differences between the two areas in physical characteristics, e.g., turbidity, that could affect the distribution of larvae and their ability to avoid the net.
=
REFERENCES Auer, N. A, ed. 1982. Identification of larval fishes of the Great Lakes basin with emphasis on the Lake Michigan drainage. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Special Pub. 82-3. Brazo, D. c., Tack, P. I., and Liston, C. R. 1975. Age, growth, and fecundity of yellow perch (Perea flaveseens), in Lake Michigan near Ludington, Michigan. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 104:726-730. Cole, R. A 1978. Larval fish distributions in southwestern Lake Erie near the Monroe Power Plant. EPA-600j 3-78-069. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA Crowder, L. 1980. Alewife, rainbow smelt, and native
521
fishes in Lake Michigan: competition or predation? Env. Bioi. Fish. 5:225-233. Dorr, J. A., III. 1982. Substrate and other environmental factors in the reproduction of the yellow perch (Perea flavescens). Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. Forney, J. L. 1971. Development of dominant year classes in a perch population. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 100:734-749. Houde, E. D. 1969. Sustained swimming ability of larvae of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and yellow perch (Perea flavescens). J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 26: 1647-1659. Jude, D. J., Tesar, F. J., Tomlinson, J. c., Miller, T. J., Thurber, N. J., Godun, G. G., and Dorr III, J. A Inshore Lake Michigan fish populations near the D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant during preoperational years-1973, 1974. Spec. Rep. 71, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. _ _ _ _ , Tin, H. T., Heufelder, G. R., Schneeberger, P. J., Madenjian, C. P., Rutecki, T. L., Mansfield, P. J., Auer, N. A, and Noguchi, G. E. 1981. Adult, juvenile, and larval fish populations in the vicinity of the J. H. Campbell Power Plant, eastern Lake Michigan, 1977-1980. Spec. Rep. 86, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. -,-, Madenjian, C. P., Schneeberger, P. J., Tin, H. T., Mansfield, P. J., Rutecki, T. L., Noguchi, G. E., and Heufelder, G. R. 1982. Adult, juvenile, and larval fish populations in the vicinity of the J. H. Campbell Power Plant, 1981, with special reference to the effectiveness of wedge-wire intake screens in reducing entrainment and impingement of fish. Spec. Rep. 96, Great Lakes Res. Div., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor, MI. Liston, C. R., and Tack, P. I. 1976. A study of water currents and temperatures in Lake Michigan adjacent to the James H. Campbell Power Plant at Port Sheldon, Michigan. Unpubl. report, Dept. Fish. Wildl., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI. _ _ _ _ , Brazo, D., Bohr, J., Ligman, R., O'Neal, R., and Peterson, G. 1980. Results of 1978 aquatic research at the Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant on Lake Michigan including entrainment of fish and invertebrates, turbine mortalities, reservoir residence periods of salmonid fishes, netting and hydrocoustic surveys and water currents. 1978 Ann. Rep. to Consumers Power Co., Ludington Project, Vol. 1. Ludington Res. Lab., Dept. Fish. Wildl., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI. Mansueti, A J. 1964. Early development of the yellow perch, Perea flaveseens. Chesapeake Sci. 5:46-66. Nelson, D. D., and Cole, R. A 1975. The distribution and abundance of larval fishes along the western shore of Lake Erie at Monroe, Michigan. Tech. Rep. 32.4. Inst. Water Res., Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI.
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Noble, R. L. 1970. Evaluation of the Miller high-speed sampler for sampling yellow perch and walleye fry. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 27:1033-1044. Patterson, R. L. 1979. Production, mortality, and power plant entrainment of larval yellow perch in western Lake Erie. EPA-600j3-79-o87. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA. Scott, W. B., and Crossman, E. J. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 184. Smith, S. H. 1970. Species interactions of the alewife in the Great Lakes. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 99:754-765. Ward, F. J., and Robinson, G. C. 1974. A review of research on the limnology of West Blue Lake, Manitoba. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:977-1005. Wells, L. 1973. Distribution of fish fry in nearshore waters of southeastern and east-eentral Lake Michigan, May-August 1972. Admin. Rep., Great Lakes Fish. Lab., Ann Arbor, MI. _ _ _ _ , and McLain, A. L. 1973. Lake Michiganman's effects on native fish stocks and other biota. Tech. Rep. 20. Great Lakes Fish. Comm., Ann Arbor, MI.
Wong, B. 1972. Growth, feeding and distribution of yellow perch fry, Percafluviatilisflavescens(Mitchell), during their first summer in West Blue Lake. M.S. Thesis. Univ. Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man. Yocum, W. L., and Tesar, F. J. 1980. Sled for sampling benthic fish larvae. Prog. Fish-Cult. 42: 118-119.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We appreciate the support for this project by the American Electric Power Service Corporation, Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, and Consumers Power Company. We thank John A. Dorr III, Frank Tesar, and especially LaRue Wells for reviewing the manuscript. We also thank the fishery staff of the Great Lakes Research Division for their dedication and perseverance in field and laboratory work. Contribution 358 of the Great Lakes Research Division, The University of Michigan.