Seasonal thermal ecology of adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Huron and Lake Erie

Tyler B Peat; Todd A Hayden; Lee F G Gutowsky; Christopher S Vandergoot; David G Fielder; Charles P Madenjian; Karen J Murchie; John M Dettmers; Charles C Krueger; Steven J Cooke

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.08.009

Seasonal thermal ecology of adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Huron and Lake Erie

J Therm Biol. 2015 Oct:53:98-106. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.08.009. Epub 2015 Aug 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6. Electronic address: tyler.peat@carleton.ca.
² Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6; Michigan State University, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, 1405 South Harrison Road, 115 Manly Miles Building, East Lansing, MI 48823-5243, USA.
³ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6.
⁴ Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sandusky Fish Research Unit, 305 E. Shoreline Drive, Sandusky, OH 44870, USA.
⁵ Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 160 East Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI 49707, USA.
⁶ U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
⁷ Biology Department, College of The Bahamas, Northern Bahamas Campus, Freeport, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas.
⁸ Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 2100 Commonwealth Boulevard, Suite 100, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
⁹ Michigan State University, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, 1405 South Harrison Road, 115 Manly Miles Building, East Lansing, MI 48823-5243, USA.
¹⁰ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6; Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6.

PMID: 26590461
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.08.009

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize thermal patterns and generate occupancy models for adult walleye from lakes Erie and Huron with internally implanted biologgers coupled with a telemetry study to assess the effects of sex, fish size, diel periods, and lake. Sex, size, and diel periods had no effect on thermal occupancy of adult walleye in either lake. Thermal occupancy differed between lakes and seasons. Walleye from Lake Erie generally experienced higher temperatures throughout the spring and summer months than did walleye in Lake Huron, due to limnological differences between the lakes. Tagged walleye that remained in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron (i.e., adjacent to the release location), as opposed to those migrating to the main basin of Lake Huron, experienced higher temperatures, and thus accumulated more thermal units (the amount of temperature units amassed over time) throughout the year. Walleye that migrated toward the southern end of Lake Huron occupied higher temperatures than those that moved toward the north. Consequently, walleye that emigrated from Saginaw Bay experienced thermal environments that were more favorable for growth as they spent more time within their thermal optimas than those that remained in Saginaw Bay. Results presented in this paper provide information on the thermal experience of wild fish in a large lake, and could be used to refine sex- and lake-specific bioenergetics models of walleye in the Great Lakes to enable the testing of ecological hypotheses.

Keywords: Accumulated thermal units (ATUs); Behavioral thermoregulation; Biologging; Great Lakes; Temperature.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological
Animal Migration*
Animals
Body Temperature
Lakes
Perches / physiology*
Seasons
Temperature*