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Geology topics

James H. Selgeby

Publications and source records attributed to James H. Selgeby.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1995

Abundance indices for determining the status of lake trout restoration in Michigan waters of Lake Superior

Self-sustaining populations of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush have returned to most areas in Lake Superior, but progress toward achieving historic commercial yields has been difficult to measure because of unrecorded losses to predation by sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus and to fisheries. Consequently, we developed restoration targets (catch per effort, CPE; geometric mean number per kilometer of 114-mm stretch-meaure gill net during 1929-1943, when historic yields were sustained) from linear relationships between CPE in commercial and assessment fisheries in Michigan. Target CPEs for lake trout restoration were higher and less variable than the modern CPEs in all areas. Modern CPEs generally increased during the 1970s and early 1980s but declined during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Modern CPEs were highest in western Michigan from the Keweenaw Peninsula to Marquette (71 to 81% of target CPEs), but coefficients of variation (CV,SD/mean) of mean CPEs were 1.4 to 2.4 times greater than target CVs. Around Munising, the modern CPE was lower (41% of the target CPE), whereas the CV was 1.9 times greater than the target CV. Around Grand Marais, the modern CPE was lowest among all areas (17% of the target CPE), but the CV was nearly the same (1.1 times the target CV). In Whitefish Bay, the modern CPE was only 28% of the target CPE and the CV was 9.0 times greater, though the modern period was based on only the years 1979-1982 and 1984-1985. Further progress in restoration in most areas can be achieved only if fishery managers adequately protect existing stocks of wild fish from sea lamprey predation and fishery exploitation.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1994

Declining survival of lake trout stocked during 1963-1986 in U.S. waters of Lake Superior

The average catch per effort (CPE) values for the 1963–1982 year-classes of stocked lake trout Salvelinus namaycush caught at age 7 in gill nets and for the 1976–1986 year-classes caught at ages 2–4 in trawls declined significantly in U.S. waters of Lake Superior. The declines in CPE were not explained by reduced stocking, but rather by significant declines in survival indices of the year-classes of stocked lake trout. Increases in mortality occurred in year-classes before the fish reached ages 2–4, before they were recruited into the sport and commercial fisheries, and before they reached sizes vulnerable to sea lamprey predation. We conclude that declining abundance of stocked lake trout resulted from increased mortality, which may have been caused by competition, predation, or by a combination of these and other factors. Restoration of lake trout in Lake Superior may now depend on prudent management of naturally reproducing stocks rather than on stocking of hatchery-reared fish.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1994

Rainbow smelt - larval lake herring interactions: competitors or casual acquaintances?

We examined the hypothesis that competition for food between rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and larval lake herring (Coregonus artedi) was a cause for the declines of lake herring stocks in Lake Superior. We studied the diet of larval lake herring and of larval, juvenile, and adult rainbow smelt during 1974 in Black Bay, Ontario, where both species were abundant, and in the Apostle Islands Region, Wisconsin, where rainbow smelt was abundant but lake herring was scarce. No evidence of competition for food was found between larval lake herring and rainbow smelt. Spawning and hatching times of the two species were separate enough that most larvae of the two species did not occupy the study areas simultaneously. Juvenile and adult rainbow smelt were found with lake herring larvae, but their diets differed. Therefore, we concluded that rainbow smelt did not compete with lake herring larvae for food and that competition for food between rainbow smelt and lake herring larvae was not the factor that caused lake herring population declines in Lake Superior.

Biological Report↗
USGS1993

Growth-temperature relation for young-of-the-year ruffe

The ruffe ( Gymnocephalus cernuus ) was accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes basin from Eurasia and has established a breeding population in the St. Louis River, a major tributary to western Lake Superior. We captured young-of-the-year ruffe in the St. Louis River; acclimated groups of 90-91 fish to test temperatures of 7, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C; and fed them ad libitum for 42 days at those temperatures. Ruffe grew at all five temperatures, but the optimum temperature for growth was about 21°C. Because the optimum temperature for growth of walleye ( Stizostedion vitreum ), sauger ( Stizoste-dion canadense ), and yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ) is about 22°C, ruffe will probably attempt to share their thermal habitat. A recent survey of the St. Louis River revealed that yellow perch and small forage fish declined sharply as ruffe abundance increased. A similar decline in yellow perch abundance in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie would seriously affect the fisheries in these lakes.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗
USGS1993

Forecasting contributions of lake whitefish year-classes to a Lake Superior commercial fishery from estimates of yearling abundance

We developed a simple linear regression model to forecast year-class contributions of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis to the commercial harvest in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior. We indexed year-class strength from catches of yearling fish in bottom trawl samples. Recruitment of each year-class was measured by its relative abundance in the fishery at age 6. The relation between recruitment to the commercial fishery and year-class strength indices was positive and significant ( r 2 = 0.67, P < 0.01). The model produced reliable estimates of recruitment to the fishery within the range of the regression. Projected recruitment of the 1983&ndash;1987 year-classes to the fishery in 1989-1993 should be sufficient to sustain current levels of harvest through 1993.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Dynamics of a yellow perch population in western Lake Superior

Yellow perch Perca flavescens were sampled annually in 1973&ndash;1988 with bottom trawls in Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior. Biomass averaged l.6 kg/hectare. Fish l&ndash;3 years old made up 64% of the biomass, whereas fish of harvestable size (&ge;4 years old) made up only 31% of the biomass. Year-class strength was variable among years, but a Ricker recruitment function described the relation between year-class strength and parental stock size, Age-specific mortality increased substantially as fish became sexually mature at age 4, perhaps as a result of energy depletion associated with high reproductive and maintenance costs in a suboptimal thermal environment. Yield-per-recruit analysis indicated that most of the age-specific annual mortality was due to natural causes. Natural mortality, rather than limited recruitment or fishing mortality, was the major factor controlling harvestable stock size, Regardless of the size of a year-class produced, natural mortality greatly reduced its abundance prior to maturity and recruitment to the fishable stock. This high mortality, combined with very slow growth, limits the biomass potential of the harvestable stock, and sustainable yields from this population are therefore low.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1993

Food of salmonine predators in Lake Superior, 1981-87

Diets of ten species of Lake Superior salmonines are described. Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) were the primary prey during all seasons and years for inshore lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), brown trout (S. trutta), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and splake (lake trout x brook trout hybrid). Coregonines were the second most-important prey for chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), siscowet trout (S. namaycush siscowet), and splake. Invertebrates were important to rainbow trout (O. mykiss), coho salmon (O. kisutch), and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), especially during the summer. Diets of lake trout from inshore and offshore locations differed markedly. Rainbow smelt were the primary food of inshore lake trout, and coregonines were the main food of offshore lake trout. Chinook salmon and inshore lake trout had the most similar diets because they ate similar proportions of rainbow smelt and coregonines. Salmonines generally ate more rainbow smelt and less coregonines in proportion to the abundance of these prey in the lake. If rainbow smelt populations collapse, the ability of salmonines to convert to a diet based on lake herring (Coregonus artedi) could be important to the stability of predator populations.

Technical Report↗
USGS1992

Ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus : Newly introduced in North America

The Eurasian ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus , was collected from the lower St. Louis River, Lake Superior's westernmost tributary, in late summer 1987. This is the first known occurrence of the ruffe in North America. The likely vector for this species was ballast water of a transoceanic vessel dumped into the international port of Duluth-Superior located on the lower end of the St. Louis River. The ruffe is increasing in abundance and expanding its range into other tributaries and nearshore areas of Lake Superior.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS1991

Distribution, abundance, and biology of the alewife in U.S. waters of Lake Superior

Alewives ( Alosa pseudoharengus ) were first reported in Lake Superior in 1954 and gradually increased in abundance in the late 1950s. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the fish were widespread in the lake but scarce. We determined the more recent abundance and distribution of alewives by cross-contour trawling in the spring in 1978&ndash;1988. Alewives were scarce lake-wide; the mean catch rate was only 23 fish per 100 h of trawling and represented a density of 0.003 kg per hectare in the area swept by the trawls. Fish of six age groups were caught in trawls in spring and gill nets in fall in 1983&ndash;1987. Total annual mortality was 64%, a high natural rate in the absence of fishing. Alewives in Lake Superior were small at the end of their first growing season but later grew faster than those in the other Great Lakes. Fecundity, estimated to be 64,000 eggs (mean total length = 187 mm) was higher than in other freshwater stocks. Zooplankton was the major food of alewives < 100 mm long and Mysis was the main food of larger fish. Exposure to water temperatures below lethal minimums for overwintering fish and for developing eggs limits the success of this species in Lake Superior.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗
USGS1988

Comparative biology of the sculpins of Lake Superior

The slimy sculpin ( Cottus cognatus ), spoonhead sculpin ( Cottus ricei ), and deepwater sculpin ( Myoxocephalus thompsoni ) are abundant fishes in Lake Superior. Slimy and spoonhead sculpins occupy a zone from near shore to depths of 210 m but are generally most abundant in waters 50 to 90 m deep. Deepwater sculpins are found in waters from 15 to 407 m deep and are most abundant at depths greater than 70 m. All three species of sculpins eat mainly burrowing amphipods ( Pontoporeia affinis ) although deepwater sculpins also eat substantial quantities of opossum shrimp ( Mysis relicta ). The three sculpins grow at similar rates. Among the fishes aged, the maximum age of slimy sculpins was 5 years, compared with 6 years for spoonhead sculpins, and 7 years for deepwater sculpins. Indirect evidence indicates that slimy and spoonhead sculpins spawn in the spring, and deepwater sculpins spawn in midwinter.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗
USGS1987

Lake Superior revisited 1984

The Lake Superior fish community has changed substantially since the early 1960s, when control of the sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) became effective. Self-reproducing stocks of lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) have been reestablished in many inshore areas, although they have not yet reached pre-sea lamprey abundance; offshore lake trout are probably at or near pre-sea lamprey abundance. Stocks of lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) appear to have fully recovered; commercial catches are at or above historical levels. Lake herring ( Coregonus artedii ) are recovering rapidly in U.S. waters and are abundant in western Canadian waters. The population of rainbow smelt ( Osmerus mordax ), which declined in the 1970s, is recovering. Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus ) are becoming more abundant as a result of increased stocking in U.S. waters and are reproducing in most suitable tributaries; they have become significant in anglers' creels.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS1982

Decline of lake herring ( Coregonus artedii ) in Lake Superior: an analysis of the Wisconsin herring fishery, 1936-78

Annual harvests of lake herring ( Coregonus artedii ) in American waters of Lake Superior declined from an average of 2 million kg in 1936&ndash;62 to less than 25&ensp;000&ensp;kg in 1978. Analysis of commercial fishing records revealed that the sequential overexploitation of discrete unit stocks caused the collapse of the herring population in Wisconsin waters. In each of six major spawning areas, catch exceeded the productive capacity of the stock and the stock failed. Because stocks in the six areas were exploited sequentially, mostly in groups of two or three simultaneously, the demise of the stocks was not readily apparent until the last two failed in the early 1960s. After the collapse of the last major spawning stock, the fishery dwindled but may have continued to overexploit the remaining small stocks. The residual populations were apparently able only to replace themselves. Some form of density-independent mortality was apparently operating to prevent their recovery during the 1960s and 1970s. Key words : lake herring, overfishing, Lake Superior

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS1978

Predation by rainbow smelt ( Osmerus mordax ) on lake herring ( Coregonus artedii ) in western Lake Superior

The stock of lake herring (Coregonus artedii) in the Apostle Islands (Wisconsin) region of western Lake Superior has diminished severely during the past 30 yr, and predation by rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) on herring larvae has been considered a possible cause of this decline. In contrast, the herring stock in Black Bay, 160 km to the northeast, has remained nearly stable despite the presence of large numbers of smelt and high commercial production of herring. Predator-prey interactions were studied in both areas during 1974. Herring larvae and smelt were about 120 and 3 times as dense, respectively, in Black Bay as in the Apostle Islands region. Substantial predation by smelt on young herring was evident in Black Bay, where 17% of 1195 smelt stomachs examined contained herring larvae. From calculations of the relative densities of the two species, and of the daily ration of the predators, we estimated that smelt consumed 3.3-11% of the herring larvae. Nevertheless, the herring stocks have sustained average historical levels of commercial production. In contrast, no herring larvae were found in the stomachs of 1711 smelt collected in the Apostle Islands region. We conclude that predation by smelt on herring larvae is not the major factor controlling or suppressing herring stocks in either region.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗
USGS1975

Life histories and abundance of crustacean zooplankton in the outlet of Lake Superior, 1971-72

In sampling throughout a year, at about 3-wk intervals, of the crustacean zooplankton discharged from Lake Superior through the St. Marys River, 30 species were collected, including three not previously recorded for the lake: the copepod Cyclops strenuus , and the cladocerans Alona costata and Alonella acutirostris . Five copepods, Cyclops bicuspidatus thomasi , Diaptomus ashlandi , D . sicilis , Limnocalanus macrurus , and Senecella calanoides were present in the plankton throughout the year while three other copepods, Diaptomus minutus , Epischura lacustris , and Mesocyclops edax , along with all cladocerans, were present only during summer and fall. Five species of copepods, Diaptomus sicilis , D . minutus , Limnocalanus macrurus , Senecella calanoides , and Epischura lacustris produced a single generation annually; three other copepods and all cladocerans produced two or more generations. All species breed 1–3 mo later in Lake Superior than in lakes Michigan and Erie.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗
USGS1974

Invertebrate macrobenthos of Lake Oahe, 1968-69

The benthos in Lake Oahe, as determined from about 450 bottom samples collected during the open water season in 1968 and 1969, was dominated by oligochaetes and chironomids; Caenis (Ephemeroptera) and Chaoborus (Diptera) were occasionally abundant. Total benthos was estimated at 3,600 organisms/mA? with an ash-free dry weight of about 2.2 g/mA? (about 33 kg/hectare dry weight). Estimated biomass was 1.3 g/mA? (about 18.5 kg/hectare dry weight) and depths of 0.5-10 m and 3.5 g/mA? (about 52.5 kg/hectare dry weight) at greater depths.

Technical Paper↗
USGS1974

Physical and chemical characteristics of Lake Oahe, 1968-69

The physical and chemical characteristics presented provide a description of Lake Oahe and establish bases for certain characteristics which may alter as the reservoir ages. Water temperatures were strongly influenced by wind-driven currents and water depth. The duration of thermal stratification varied from about 3 wk in the upstream portion of the reservoir to about 15 wk near the dam in 1968 and from unstratified upstream to about 15 wk downstream in 1969. Dissolved oxygen was usually near saturation, although it fell to 30% in 1968 and 43% in 1969. Nitrate nitrogen and soluble phosphorous were present on all sampling dates in 1969. Silica levels may have become limiting for diatoms in late summer, 1969.

Technical Paper↗