Habitat Suitability Assessment for Bigheaded Carp using 3D Water Quality Data from Lake Michigan

Session: 02a. - Status and Management of Invasive Carps in the Great Lakes

Peter Alsip, University of Michigan, [email protected]
Hongyan Zhang, CIGLR, University of Michigan, [email protected]
Mark Rowe, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, [email protected]
Doran Mason, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, [email protected]
Ed Rutherford, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, [email protected]
Catherine Riseng, University of Michigan, SEAS, [email protected]
Zhenming Su, Michigan DNR, Institute for Fisheries Research, [email protected]

Abstract

As Bighead and Silver Carp [bigheaded carp (BHC)] arrive at Lake Michigan’s doorstep, questions remain as to whether there is enough food to support these highly invasive planktivorous fishes in the Great Lakes. Previous studies suggest that suitable BHC habitat is limited to a few productive, nearshore areas, but these studies have not considered the breadth of BHC’s diet and only evaluated surface waters. We re-evaluated BHC habitat quality in Lake Michigan by incorporating additional food items (zooplankton and detritus) that would be available to BHC throughout the volume of the lake. We modeled BHC growth rate potential using prey (phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus) and temperature outputs from a 3-dimensional water quality model. Our results indicate that suitable habitat is dynamic in space and time, reflecting variability in Lake Michigan’s thermal structure and prey availability. Our results also indicate that the flexible diet of BHC and availability of subsurface prey increases the amount of suitable habitat several fold relative to diets limited to surface phytoplankton. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the entire volume of potential prey resources in Lake Michigan that BHC may exploit and should inform current and future risk assessments of these fishes in Great Lakes waters.

1. Keyword
carp

2. Keyword
bioenergetics

3. Keyword
invasive species

4. Additional Keyword
bigheaded carp

5. Additional Keyword
risk assessment

6. Additional Keyword
Lake Michigan