Cattail Chronicles Issues Affecting the Surface Waters of Lake County Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Jerry Nordstrom, Interim Director Volume 22, Issue 1 Spring 2013 We love our lakes yet degrade them—what explains the paradox? by Darby Nelson, author of For Love of Lakes Inside this issue: We love our lakes yet we not only allow, but his entire lot width. Had he known of Chara‘s participate in their deterioration. What explains three important roles in maintaining lake clarity SPOTLIGHTING WILDLIFE: 2 this paradox? I could not reconcile the and health, I expect he would have behaved GIZZARD SHAD inconsistency in my mind and set out on a lake differently. Chara provides protective habitat (Dorosoma cepedianum) journey to seek understanding. That journey for game fish sac fry, aquatic invertebrates, led me to write a book, For Love of Lakes, to micro-crustacea such as water fleas, and myriad LOVE OUR LAKES 3 share my discoveries with others. others—all critical to the food chain. Chara (CONTINUED) The Environmental Protection Agency‘s stabilizes bottom sediments, preventing wind (EPA‘s) National Lake Assessment revealed and wave action from stirring sediment SPOTLIGHTING 4 that 43 percent of our nation‘s lakes and 80 particles into the water column, reducing water WATERSHED percent of our urban lakes fail to meet water clarity. It also keeps phosphorus in the ORGANIZATIONS: quality standards. Stressors on our lakes sediments, preventing its release into the water 9 LAKES include: poor lakeshore habitat, inadequate column to feed blue-green algae, turning lakes physical habitat complexity, excessive amounts into pea soup. You would not enjoy swimming CONTINUED 5 of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen, in Chara. But, by removing just enough for SPOTLIGHTING among many others. We know what drives the boating and swimming purposes, leaving the WATERSHED stressors: eutrophication, erosion, pollution, rest alone, Chara can continue to produce the ORGANIZATIONS: exotic species invasions, and removal of shore benefits of a healthy, clear water lake. One LAKE ISSUES: 6 vegetation and native plant communities. cannot claim to love a lake if he knowingly AQUATIC TRANSPORT Ironically, nearly all are directly linked to hauls away its Chara. BILL WHY YOU SHOULD human actions. CARE I also learned that we perceive lakes differently I began my exploration believing that people do than we perceive terrestrial systems. Walk LAKE ISSUES: 7 not purposely damage lakes, but may do so through a forest and you will quickly see STOP REPEATING inadvertently because of lack of understanding diverse life forms and how all is HISTORY! of lake ecology. Paddling the shore of a interconnected. Go to a lake and you see Minnesota lake, my wife and I discovered a aquatic plants, shore birds, maybe crayfish or situation where that had apparently happened. frogs, and the lake surface itself. But, 99 CAN YOU NAME THIS 8 A lot owner had massively removed Chara, an percent of a lake lies hidden beneath that LAKE? alga the size of a wild blueberry bush, across surface. We are visual creatures, so our Continued on page 3 For information contact: Population Health Environmental Services 847- 377- 8030 http://health.lakecountyil.gov/Population/LMU Cattail Chronicles Identification: Spotlighting Wildlife: American Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) By: Gerard Urbanozo gizzard shad that helps it to digest food in its muscular gizzard; this is where the fish got its Gizzard shad are native to central and eastern name. United States mainly in warm low gradient rivers and streams as well as reservoirs, lakes and Fishermen on the Fox Chain O‘ Lakes have ponds. Shad are filter feeders; they prefer warm been seeing large schools of shad swimming in nutrient rich waters. Their range is temperature the shallow weedy bays. While they are rarely limited. Die offs usually occur when the water caught with the traditional hook and line, most temperature drops below 37oF. Shad can extend anglers inadvertently snag shad with their hook their range during a string of warm years; the or lure while targeting game fish. Gizzard shad A deep bodied fish Illinois DNR collected its first sample of gizzard provide an abundant food source for bass and that is laterally shad in the Fox Chain O‘ Lakes in 2007. These walleye, but they may compete with bluegill, compressed (nearly shad migrated up the Fox River over fish ladders crappies and other young of the year game-fish flat when lying on and dams in order to make it to the Chain. Lakes for food. Shad have rapid growth rates, often their side). The that receive flood waters from the Des Plaines growing to 5.5 inches in length during their River can also have them. first year. This provides a smaller window of dorsal fin has 10 to opportunity for bass and walleyes which are 12 rays and the last The gizzard shad is a deep bodied fish that is gape limited and can only feed effectively on one extends back laterally compressed (nearly flat when lying on shad up to 6‖. The lakes and rivers in southern towards a deeply their side). The dorsal fin has 10 to 12 rays and states have an over abundance of adult shad forked tail. The the last one extends back towards a deeply forked measuring 8‖ or larger due to lack of predators. tail. The gizzard shad has silvery blue-green to Fortunately, the Chain has a healthy population gizzard shad has gray coloration on its back and the sides are of muskies, which are capable of feeding on silvery blue-green to silvery with no lateral line. The mouth is small, adult shad. Muskies have benefited from this gray coloration on with the lower jaw slightly shorter than the upper new food source which is not only abundant but its back and the jaw. The mouth does not extend back past the it‘s easier for them to catch than bluegills and sides are silvery gizzard shad‘s large eyes. Like most shad, perch. The less energy a fish spends chasing its juveniles and young adults have a dark spot prey the more energy it saves on growing. with no lateral line. behind the gill plate. This spot is faint or disappears completely in larger, older fish. The ―Muskie appears to have gained belly tapers to a point where the scales fold over between 1 and 2 pounds per fish since forming a saw like appearance. gizzard shad showed up. Males are about 1 pound heavier and females Go Green While most shad live for 3-5 years, some have are about 2 pounds heavier for older Go Paperless been documented to live past 10 years. They mature fish. A 45" female musky in reach maturity in 2-3 years and females can 2006 weighed about 27.7 pounds and Sign up to produce 40,000 to 450,000 eggs. Spawning takes a 45" female in 2012 weighed about place during the middle of spring to early summer 29.9 pound‖ —Frank Jakubicek, receive an and usually occurs in the evening. The preferred IDNR electronic version spawning temperature is between 60oF and 70oF. of Cattail Male and female shad congregate along the Gizzard shad can alter the size and density shallow sandy or gravel areas where eggs are structure of a fishery. They may stunt the Chronicles: released and fertilized. Once the eggs hatch they bluegill population through common food Send us an e-mail are on their own since there is no parental care competition or by reducing the predation requesting the from the parents. The success of the shad fry pressure which allows for higher recruitment environmentally correlates with the abundance of zooplankton which leads to stunted population. Bass may friendly version of along with stable water level and warmer Cattail Chronicles grow larger due to having more food available temperatures. Drastic changes in water level for them to eat but their fry may have to [email protected] or give us a call (847) and temperature can decrease the survival rate of compete for food. At this point it is hard to 377-8030. the fry. Once they reach the juvenile stage, they predict what the overall outcome of the gizzard grow rapidly by feeding mostly on phytoplankton shad will be on the fishery. At least for now, it and zooplankton. At this stage they develop a gives fishermen hope that the shad will help gizzard and begin filter feeding for food. produce record size game fish in the Fox Chain Sediment and sand are also ingested by the O‘ Lakes in the near future. Page 2 Volume 22, Issue 1 Lake Issues: We love our lakes yet degrade them—what explains the paradox? Continued from page 1 Increases erosion, Increases phosphorus entering the lake, perception of lakes is incomplete. That Increases sediment entering the lake, matters! Perception is the mother of behavior. Reduces fish habitat, I also learned we have innate habits of mind Reduces basking sites for turtles, that prevent us from doing right by lakes. In Increases bird predation on fish, and my travels for the book, I came on a person Reduces dragonfly presence. clearing a lake shore of fallen, partly submerged, woody tree limbs. A second The lake pays the price for such destructive person with soil and water conservation landscaping. So do other property owners and credentials acknowledged that removal of our grandkids. such material was against DNR advice to leave reasonable amounts of such material in Last summer I had the chance to give talks to For Love of Lakes weaves a the lake. She then launched into a tirade about For Love of Lakes lake advocates in many places, including tapestry of history, science, how stupid the DNR‘s ideas were on this Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.