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Life history and ecological characteristics of humper and lean ecotypes of lake trout stocked in Lake Erie

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Abstract

Through combined effects of over-exploitation and predation by invasive non-native sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus (Linneaus 1958), the lake trout Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum 1972) population in Lake Erie collapsed and was considered extirpated by 1950; annual stocking occurred in 1969 to bolster and maintain this population as natural recruitment ceased. While various hatchery strains of lean ecotype lake trout remain the focus of Lake Erie’s stocking, between 2004 and 2011 a humper-like ecotype was stocked to aid re-establishment efforts. We assessed ecotype performance via adult fish collected during the summer-stratified period (2004–2017) and evaluated if life history and ecological characteristics varied between stocked ecotypes. Ecotype-specific differences in survival, length-at-age, accumulation of weight with length, and diet were observed. Lean lake trout grew faster (length-at-age) and matured at larger sizes than the humper ecotype. Humper lake trout exhibited higher sea lamprey wounding and lower survival rates than lean lake trout. Humpers also consumed more benthic prey fish than lean lake trout, suggesting this ecotype may exhibit a more benthic orientation than leans. Our study represents the first evaluation of how a non-lean ecotype lake trout performs outside their native ecosystem and provides fishery managers with valuable information relevant to re-establishing lake trout populations in the Great Lakes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Einhouse, M. Hansen, B. Lantry, an anonymous reviewer, and members of the Lake Erie Coldwater Task Group for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript. Sampling and data collection were conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U. S. Geological Survey Lake Erie Biological Station, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Lake Erie Unit, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Lake Erie Unit. Additional support was provided by the Federal Aid in Sport Fishing Restoration Act, Project F-61-R and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. All Great Lakes Science Center sampling and handling of fish during research are carried out in accordance with guidelines for the care and use of fishes by the American Fisheries Society (http://fisheries.org/docs/wp/Guidelines-for-Use-of-Fishes.pdf). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the United States Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tennessee Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, U.S. Geological Survey, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN, 38505, USA

    Mark W. Rogers

  2. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Dunkirk, NY, 14048, USA

    James L. Markham

  3. Lake Erie Management Unit, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Port Dover, ON, NOA 1NO, Canada

    Tom MacDougall

  4. Lake Erie Research Unit, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Fairview, PA, 16415, USA

    Charles Murray

  5. Lake Erie Biological Station, U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Sandusky, OH, 44870, USA

    Christopher S. Vandergoot

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Rogers, M.W., Markham, J.L., MacDougall, T. et al. Life history and ecological characteristics of humper and lean ecotypes of lake trout stocked in Lake Erie. Hydrobiologia 840, 363–377 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-03986-4

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