2012 Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Coordination Meeting Ramada Plaza Ojibway Hotel 240 W
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2012 GREAT LAKES LAKE STURGEON COORDINATION MEETING RAMADA PLAZA OJIBWAY HOTEL 240 W. PORTAGE AVE. SAULT STE MARIE, MI 49783 Poster Abstracts The Importance of Intake Bar Spacing for Protecting Sturgeon at Hydropower Projects Steve Amaral ‐ Alden Research Laboratory, Inc., Holden, MA Description: Narrow bar spacings (less than or equal to 2 inches) have been installed at many hydro project intakes to reduce entrainment of fish through turbines and, when combined with angled structures, to guide them to downstream bypasses. The ability of narrow bar spacings to prevent entrainment is dependent on fish size and behavior and approach velocities. Even when fish are small enough to pass through a given bar spacing, many fish will actively avoid entrainment through intake racks as long as approach velocities are low enough for them to escape. Additionally, the relatively small size (less than 8 inches in length) of most fish that are entrained at hydro projects (with and without narrow bar spacing) usually results in high turbine survival rates. Therefore, determining appropriate bar spacings for any species or life stage should include estimation of physical and behavioral exclusion associated with proposed intake modifications, as well as estimates of turbine passage survival for fish that are entrained. These parameters can be estimated using existing data describing bar rack exclusion efficiencies and theoretical models developed for predicting turbine passage survival. When combined with the proportion of fish expected to pass over spillways for the expected river flows during a migration season, the bar rack exclusion and turbine survival estimates can be used to calculate total downstream passage survival for several bar spacings and a range of fish lengths in order to assess relative effectiveness. A dataset developed for shortnose sturgeon at a hydro project in the Northeast will be presented to demonstrate how such an analysis can be used for determining appropriate bar spacings for effectively protecting sturgeon species at any project. A/OFRC Sturgeon Research Curtis Avery ‐ Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Center (A/OFRC), North Bay, ON Description: First Nations throughout Ontario have significant knowledge of and cultural ties to Lake Sturgeon, particularly those First Nations whose territorial boundaries border the Great Lakes basin. Of the 38 First Nations that make up the UOI, 25 border the Great Lakes basin (mainly Lake Huron and Lake Superior) and 4 border watersheds that support Lake Sturgeon populations. Since 1999, the A/OFRC has partnered with 12 of these First Nations to complete a total of 45 Lake Sturgeon research projects within the Great Lakes basin. These projects varied from spring spawning assessments, to open water netting, telemetry tagging and monitoring, critical habitat classification, and traditional ecological knowledge studies. In northeastern Lake Superior, the A/OFRC has worked in partnership with 3 First Nations, provincial and federal government agencies, and universities to gather traditional ecological knowledge and design scientific research projects that combine netting, radio telemetry, and habitat assessments on three spawning tributaries (Pic River, White River, and Michipicoten River). Results from these studies have identified and assessed critical habitat, estimated population abundance and characteristics, monitored movement patterns and environmental cues, and engaged communities in monitoring Lake Sturgeon populations within their traditional territories. This poster hopes to visualize such projects completed by the A/OFRC throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Environmental and Family Effects on Lake Sturgeon Eggs and Larval Mortality and Growth in a Streamside Facility Nathan Barton1, John Bauman1, Kim Scribner1, and Edward Baker2 1Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI Description: Production hatcheries typically focus on numbers of fish produced rather than fish quality, including genetic diversity. Family effects on egg and larval mortality and growth rates can influence diversity and size of hatchery‐reared fish. Rearing fish in a streamside rearing facility (SRF) introduces fish during early life stages to a wider range of environmental conditions, (i.e., temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity) than would be experienced in a traditional hatchery setting. Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) gametes were collected throughout the spawning period from spawning adults (total N=41) in the Black Lake, MI population over a four year period (2009 – 2012). Gametes were fertilized using half‐sib crosses and were reared at ambient temperatures using filtered river water. Egg mortality was recorded daily, allowing for estimates of the timing and causes of mortality. Digital photos of larvae (N=25/family) were taken at hatch and once each week for three weeks post‐hatch. Image analysis software was used to measure body size and yolk sac area (YSA). Temperature was recorded hourly during egg incubation and larval rearing. Egg mortalities were highest during the first two trimesters of development. Larvae reared in colder temperatures were larger at hatch and had smaller YSA, than eggs reared in warmer temperatures. Peaks in egg mortality were temperature‐dependent and varied significantly among families. Family and temperature‐dependent differences in body size were also observed through the three week post‐hatch period, demonstrating important genetic and environmental effects on allocation of yolk resources to phenotypes that likely have important consequences for survival. Post hatch dispersal of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) larvae in relation to substrate in an artificial stream John Bauman ‐ Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Description: Knowledge of the effects of environment and genotype on behavior during early ontogenetic stages of many fish species including lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is generally lacking. Data are particularly important at a time when human activities are fundamentally altering habitats and seasonal and diel physical and biotic stream features. We conducted our experiment to quantify larval lake sturgeon dispersal distance and stream substrate preference using three day post‐hatch larvae from different females (N=2) whose eggs were incubated at different temperatures (10oC and 18oC) simulating stream conditions during early and late spawning and incubation periods in the Black River, MI. Data revealed that three day post‐hatch larvae exhibited considerable variability in dispersal distance as a function of family (genotype), temperature experienced during previous (embryonic) ontogenetic stages, and environmental ‘grain’. Larval dispersal distances three days post hatch varied as a function of the juxtaposition of substrate to location of egg hatch. Larval lake sturgeon dispersed to and settled exclusively in gravel substrate. Larval dispersal distance also varied as a function of family and egg incubation temperatures reflecting differences in offspring body size and levels of endogenous yolk reserves (yolk sac area) at hatch. Expression of plasticity in larval dispersal behavior may be particularly important to individual survival and population levels of recruitment contingent upon the location, size, and degree of fragmentation of suitable (gravel) habitats between adult spawning and larval rearing areas. Effects of prophylactic pathogen abatement treatments on larval lake sturgeon survival in stream‐side facilities John Bauman ‐ Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Description: Stream‐side facilities for lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) utilize a natal water source exposing larvae to natural temperature fluctuations as well as chemical attributes believed to be associated with imprinting. However, stream‐side rearing also increases exposure of larvae to microbial communities which include potential fish pathogens. We quantified rates of larval survival in multiple production families and from larvae captured during evening stream drift assessments based on exposure to two prophylactic treatments (hydrogen peroxide and salt) for 30 days following the initiation of exogenous feeding. The use of hydrogen peroxide reduced mortality while salt had no significant effect on survival. Prophylactic treatments may help managers to reach stocking goals for lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes. The Role of Resource Managers in Education & Outreach Planning: Implications for successful fisheries projects Mary Bohling – Michigan Sea Grant, Michigan State University Extension, Lincoln Park, MI Elizabeth LaPorte ‐ Michigan Sea Grant, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Description: Successful projects require careful planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. However, public outreach and education, though often overlooked, can be equally important elements of successful projects when used to extend and enhance natural resources projects. A number of natural resource managers have developed multi‐disciplinary teams that include scientists as well as outreach and education professionals who provide information about Michigan’s coastal Great Lakes areas to residents, schools and others through workshops, public events, presentations, publications, websites, displays and targeted communications. Science‐based outreach tools can greatly enhance and extend research efforts and help key audiences, including potential