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Predicting Lake Trout Spawning Areas in Yellowstone Lake As a Part of the Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Preservation Program in Yellowstone National Park

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Predicting Lake Trout Spawning Areas in Yellowstone Lake As a Part of the Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Preservation Program in Yellowstone National Park Predicting lake trout spawning areas in Yellowstone Lake as a part of the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout preservation program in Yellowstone National Park Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit Contract Number: UWY25-J1580030633 Report prepared for the: National Park Service Yellowstone National Park Prepared by: Patricia E. Bigelow Wayne A. Hubert U.S. Geological Survey Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Wyoming Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3166 August 2008 i Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ..................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ ix Executive Summary ............................................................................................... xi Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Goal, hypotheses, and objectives ........................................................................ 8 Goal ................................................................................................................. 8 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 8 Study Area .......................................................................................................... 9 Physical characteristics ................................................................................... 9 Biotic characteristics ..................................................................................... 13 Lake trout ...................................................................................................... 19 References ......................................................................................................... 26 Physical habitat features at suspected lake trout spawning sites in Yellowstone Lake....................................................................................................................... 33 Methods ............................................................................................................ 39 Underwater videography ............................................................................... 39 View substrate at suspected spawning areas ................................................. 40 Delineate boundaries of known spawning sites ............................................ 43 Final parameterization of spawning habitat criteria at suspected sites ......... 44 Results ............................................................................................................... 46 Parameterization of spawning habitat criteria ............................................... 47 Discussion ......................................................................................................... 48 Boundaries of known spawning sites ............................................................ 48 Final parameterization of spawning habitat criteria...................................... 49 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 50 References ......................................................................................................... 51 Development of a lake trout spawning habitat model .......................................... 54 using ArcGIS capabilities ..................................................................................... 54 ii Lake trout spawning habitat .......................................................................... 55 Methods ............................................................................................................ 59 Results ............................................................................................................... 61 Discussion ......................................................................................................... 62 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 65 References ......................................................................................................... 66 Appendix A ........................................................................................................... 69 Use of a simple underwater video system combined with GPS and GIS to map underwater spawning habitat in a lacustrine environment .................................... 69 Methods ............................................................................................................ 71 Data extraction .............................................................................................. 76 Results and Discussion ..................................................................................... 76 Difficulties encountered ................................................................................ 77 Management Applications and Conclusion ...................................................... 79 References ......................................................................................................... 81 Appendix B ........................................................................................................... 88 iii List of Tables Table 2-1. Classification scheme of site potential based on the presence of presence of rubble, cobble, boulders, bedrock, or thermal structures and amount of interstitial space infilling. ................................................................................. 82 Table 2-2. Parameters calculated for polygons of suitable lake trout spawning substrate at suspected lake trout spawning areas in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. ................................................................ 83 Table 2-3. Substrate found at snapshots taken at three known spawning areas in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, using underwater videography. ............................ 84 Table 2-4. Habitat polygons developed for each spawning area. ........................ 85 Table 3-1. Percent of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming for each of several constructed data layers: depth, slope, erosive/transition zones, distance to refuge, and fetch and results from a recombination of these layers to form an initial Habitat Suitability Index model. ........................................................................... 86 Table A-1. Parts used in construction of tow sled. .............................................. 87 Figure 1-1. Ecosystem shift diagram showing hysteresis effect. The ecosystem can exist in the upper stable state, withstanding a large increase in conditions (F2) before any change is felt. However, once the state has been shifted to the lower stable state, conditions must decrease well below the level of F2 to F1 before the original stable state can be regained, if it can be regained at all (Scheffer et al. 2001). .................................................................................................................... 90 iv List of Figures Figure 1-1. Ecosystem shift diagram showing hysteresis effect. ......................... 90 Figure 1-2. Yellowstone Lake, located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming ............................................................................................................................... 91 Figure 1-3. Example of an anastomosing tubular structure from the floor of Yellowstone Lake, 2004 ....................................................................................... 92 Figure 1-4. Number, effort (in 100 m of gillnet set 1 night), and catch per unit effort for lake trout removed from Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1994 through 2004. ............................................................................. 93 Figure 1-5. Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, with suspected lake trout spawning areas marked by a red asterisk. ............................................................................. 94 Figure 1-6. Number (bars) and mean total length (mm, line) of mature lake trout removed from Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming during spawning season, 1996-2004. ............................................................................... 95 Figure 2-1. Three known spawning areas in Yellowstone Lake, all located in the West Thumb area of the Lake. .............................................................................. 96 Figure 2-2. Catch per unit effort of gravid lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, 2004..................................................................................................... 97 Figure 2-3. Catch of lake trout at known spawning areas, near Carrington Island, West Thumb geyser basin, and Solution Creek, by year, from 1996 through 2004, Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. .............................................................................. 98 v Figure 2-4. Lake trout have been documented spawning in substrates found at either end of Carrington Island, located in the northeastern portion of the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. ............................................................. 99 Figure 2-5. Underwater video camera with lasers and light. Lasers are set a ... 100 known distance apart with the camera positioned in the center. This allows direct
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