Space, Time, and Tiny Animals: Spatial patterns of Lake Huron zooplankton from 2010-2017

Session: 29. - Preliminary Results from the 2017 CSMI Intensive Field Year on Lake Huron

Patricia Armenio, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
Nicole Watson, USGS - Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
Timothy O'Brien, USGS, Great Lakes Science Ctr., [email protected]
Jeffrey Schaeffer, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
David Warner, USGS, [email protected]
David Bunnell, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]

Abstract

Lake Huron underwent many ecosystem changes between 2002 and 2006, including declines in the biomass of Chinook salmon, prey fish, cladoceran and cyclopoid copepod zooplankton, and Diporeia spp.  The importance of top-down versus bottom-up processes in driving these changes remains a research focus.  Herein, we evaluated whether the autumnal zooplankton community changed from 2010 to 2017 using whole-water column samples collected throughout Lake Huron, including North Channel, Georgian Bay, and the main basin. Sample locations varied from nearshore to offshore during September and October months. These data serve as a valuable resource for understanding lower trophic level dynamics in lesser studied areas of Lake Huron (i.e., North Channel and Georgian Bay), characterizing the zooplankton communities and biomass throughout the lake, and determining if there were any changes during the years of study. Mysis densities will also be analyzed to provide information on these populations at a scale similar to zooplankton. Zooplankton and Mysis are an important resource for planktivorous fish, which dominate Lake Huron.

1. Keyword
zooplankton

2. Keyword
Lake Huron

3. Keyword
distribution patterns