Assessing the competitive impacts of invasive round goby on lake whitefish in northern Lake Michigan

Session: Poster Session

Connor Kowalke, Central Michigan University, [email protected]
Donald Uzarski, Central Michigan University, IGLR, CMUBS, and Department of Biology, [email protected]

Abstract

Round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) are an invasive perciform species originating from the Caspian Sea region in Eastern Europe whose presence has been recorded in the Laurentian Great Lakes as early as 1990. Lake whitefish are an important game fish in the Great Lakes region. Round gobies and lake whitefish have both been shown to prey on benthic macroinvertebrates. Following the methods of the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Project, two sample wetlands on Beaver Island, MI, were fyke net fished to examine fish communities between these locations. These data were used to assess whether round gobies pose a notable competitive impact on young-of-year whitefish. Both round gobies and lake whitefish were captured at both sampling locations along the eastern side of Beaver Island, MI. Upon further analysis of round goby gut content, both benthic macroinvertebrates and evidence of larval fish were found. Based on the previous knowledge of the round goby’s generalist predator feeding habits and prior diet studies conducted on lake whitefish, round gobies may pose a serious threat to the lake whitefish fishery in northern Lake Michigan.