Characterizing the ecological niche of invasive round goby in inland lakes

Session: 60. - Seeing Below the Surface: Quantifying the Underwater Environment with Image Analysis

Suresh Sethi, Cornell University, [email protected]
Jesse Lepak, NY Sea Grant, [email protected]
Aaron Rice, Cornell University, [email protected]
Kara Andres, Cornell University, [email protected]
Elizabeth Duskey, Cornell University, [email protected]
Bobbi Estabrooks, Cornell University, [email protected]
Kimberly Fitzpatrick, Cornell University, [email protected]
Ellen George, Cornell University, [email protected]
Ben Marcy-Quay, Cornell University, [email protected]
Kelly Perkins, Cornell University, [email protected]
Matthew Paufve, Cornell University, [email protected]
Annie Scofield, Cornell University, [email protected]

Abstract

Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) entered the Great Lakes in the early 1990s via ballast water.  Since that time, they have spread across the Great Lakes proper and are now moving inland through tributary and canal systems.  Once introduced, round goby have potential for rapid population growth.  Understanding about their ecological niche is needed to forecast trophic impacts from this invader.  Studies from the Great Lakes indicate that round goby can impact resident fish species through resource competition and direct egg depredation.  However, they may also facilitate an energy pathway as consumers of invasive Dreissenid mussels and as subsequent prey for game fish.  The extent to which these trophic impacts occur in smaller inland waterbodies along the round goby invasion path is largely unknown. Here, we present results from a summer and winter survey to characterize round goby habitat use and distribution in Cayuga Lake in the Lake Ontario watershed using a combination of benthic video and hierarchical statistical models which control for imperfect fish detection.  Results indicate that round goby reach high localized densities, however, their ecological niche in deep inland waterbodies such as Cayuga Lake may be narrower than previously believed and seasonally dependent.  

1. Keyword
invasive species

4. Additional Keyword
trophic impacts

5. Additional Keyword
vidoegraphy