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, suresh.sethi@cornell.edu
Jesse Lepak, NY Sea Grant, jml78@cornell.edu
Aaron Rice, Cornell University, arice@cornell.edu
Kara Andres, Cornell University, kja68@cornell.edu
Elizabeth Duskey, Cornell University, epd48@cornell.edu
Bobbi Estabrooks, Cornell University, bje37@cornell.edu
Kimberly Fitzpatrick, Cornell University, kbf53@cornell.edu
Ellen George, Cornell University, emg239@cornell.edu
Ben Marcy-Quay, Cornell University, bm455@cornell.edu
Kelly Perkins, Cornell University, kap277@cornell.edu
Matthew Paufve, Cornell University, mp863@cornell.edu
Annie Scofield, Cornell University, as2895@cornell.edu

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