Return of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus Clupeaformis) to Historical Lake Michigan Spawning Tributaries

Return of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus Clupeaformis) to Historical Lake Michigan Spawning Tributaries

Lake Whitefish once spawned in the many tributaries of the Green Bay of Lake Michigan until the early 1900’s. Recently it has been found that Lake Whitefish are returning to some of these historical spawning sites. While Lake Whitefish have been observed in a few of these historical spawning tributaries, there are many that have not been studied. The objective of this study was to determine: 1) if Lake Whitefish are spawning in the Cedar, Ford and Escanaba Rivers, 2) if the water quality differs between the Cedar, Ford and Escanaba Rivers and 3) if water quality and habitat parameters are similar among all seven tributaries . Larval drift nets were set in each experimental river to collect larval fish. Habitat and water quality parameters were taken from each river and compared. Results showed Lake Whitefish were present in the Escanaba and Ford Rivers but were not present in Cedar River. Hardness and alkalinity differed among the Cedar, Ford and Escanaba Rivers, CO2 concentrations were found to be higher in the reference tributaries than the experimental tributaries. However, all water quality parameters fell within normal ranges for the Great Lakes area. This suggests that another factor may be contributing to why Lake Whitefish are returning to historic spawning tributaries, such as the increasing population of Lake Whitefish in Green Bay.

Hafeman, Kyle

Biology

Lake Superior State University

2015

Dr. Kevin Kapuscinski

Copyright: Kyle Hafeman all rights reserved. LSSU use only.

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S20220509003