To return to the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference website, go to http://www.midwestfw.org/ The following schedule and room names are subject to change (as of February 1, 2017). Please check back for updates.
Presenters: Presenters for technical presentations are either the primary author (the first name listed in the abstract), or are indicated with an asterisk next to their name. Please note: the conference schedule is hosted by Sched.org which allows you to search within the schedule, and filter the schedule to show sessions only occurring on a certain date or within a track. You can also build your own schedule by creating a free account with Sched.org by selecting "SIGN UP" in the top right corner.
AUTHORS: Kevin Keeler, Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit University of Toledo; Jason Fischer, University of Toledo; Jason Ross, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Jason Barnucz, Fisheries & Oceans Canada; Michael Thomas, Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Zachary Fyke, Michigan State University; Tim O'Brien, U.S. Geological Survey-Great Lakes Science Center, Edward Roseman, U.S. Geological Survey-Great Lakes Science Center
ABSTRACT: Understanding the role of a newly introduced species in an ecosystem is an often complex issue, typically involving several years of studies to determine any detrimental impact to native species. The Laurentian Great Lakes has been a prime location for species invasion in the previous century. Diet analysis is one of several tools that provide a snapshot into potential prey and/or predators of these non-native species and competition with native species. The Tubenose Goby (Proterorhinus similunaris) was introduced into the Great Lakes from the Ponto-Caspian in the early 1990’s. Despite its invasion occurring concomitantly with Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), Tubenose Goby populations have remained low with minimal range expansion. Not surprisingly, a smaller population has meant little information exists regarding their diets and growth in the Great Lakes making it difficult to gauge its impact, if any, on the foodweb. During U.S. Geological Survey monitoring of nearshore fishes in the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS), beach seine collections occurred during summer 2014 within the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. Age, growth, and diet data from Tubenose Goby was collected from the surveys within the SCDRS. CPUE was highest in the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River (16.4/haul) and at Gross Ile in the Detroit River (3.5/haul). For both rivers, total length ranged from 12 mm to 63 mm and was exponentially related to preserved weight. An otolith increment analysis indicated ages ranged from 0 to 6 years. Otolith length was positively linearly related to fish length, but fish length explained only 75% of the variability in age. Tubenose Goby diets consisted of a variety of benthic invertebrates and zooplankton accounting for a majority of food items by weight. Information presented builds upon the limited collection amount of Tubenose Goby data within the Great Lakes region.
