Impact Of Northern Pike Spawning Marsh Operation On Water Quality

Author : Nathan Stott
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (138 download)

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Download or read book Hydrodynamics of Lake Erie Wetlands written by Nathan Stott and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wetland restoration has been at the forefront of Lake Erie restoration activities with many goals including improving water quality and improving ecological function. I aimed to provide information on an indicator species (Northern Pike) to inform restoration activities and predict the suitability of use of newfound wetland habitats by the species. An initial question was to determine if Northern Pike would find and use these newfound habitats; I addressed this by assessing site fidelity using acoustic telemetry. I found that significant spawning site fidelity exists; therefore, a lag effect may be required to quantify use in newly constructed wetlands. I then assessed environmental correlates that correspond to year class strength in Northern Pike. High, stable, water levels were found to be the best indicators of strong year classes. Lastly, I identified fine scale spawning habitat use and found that when present, flooded inundated terrestrial grass was the preferred spawning substrate. When not present, Northern Pike will spawn on other vegetation, although at much lower density. Additionally, there is extensive overlap between the depth of spawning and the magnitude of negative seiches (water draw down due to wind) that occurs during the incubation period. This could indicate a large mortality rate of the vegetation-attached eggs due to desiccation. Future restoration projects should take into account seiche dynamics in the design of the wetland to improve reproductive potential of Northern Pike. Additionally, restored/constructed wetlands in close proximity to established Northern Pike populations would be more likely to have immediate use than more remote locations.