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Evidence for predatory control of the invasive round goby

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Abstract

We coupled bioenergetics modeling with bottom trawl survey results to evaluate the capacity of piscivorous fish in eastern Lake Erie to exert predatory control of the invading population of round goby Neogobius melanostomus. In the offshore (>20 m deep) waters of eastern Lake Erie, burbot Lota lota is a native top predator, feeding on a suite of prey fishes. The round goby invaded eastern Lake Erie during the late 1990s, and round goby population size increased dramatically during 1999–2004. According to annual bottom trawl survey results, round goby abundance in offshore waters peaked in 2004, but then declined during 2004–2008. Coincidentally, round goby became an important component of burbot diet beginning in 2003. Using bottom trawling and gill netting, we estimated adult burbot abundance and age structure in eastern Lake Erie during 2007. Diet composition and energy density of eastern Lake Erie burbot were also determined during 2007. This information, along with estimates of burbot growth, burbot mortality, burbot water temperature regime, and energy densities of prey fish from the literature, were incorporated into a bioenergetics model application to estimate annual consumption of round goby by the adult burbot population. Results indicated that the adult burbot population in eastern Lake Erie annually consumed 1,361 metric tons of round goby. Based on the results of bottom trawling, we estimated the biomass of yearling and older round goby in offshore waters eastern Lake Erie during 2007–2008 to be 2,232 metric tons. Thus, the adult burbot population was feeding on round goby at an annual rate equal to 61% of the estimated round goby standing stock. We concluded that the burbot population had high potential to exert predatory control on round goby in offshore waters of eastern Lake Erie.

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Acknowledgments

This study would not have been possible without the support of the Lake Erie Coldwater Task Group, including A. Cook, J. Fitzsimons, J. Francis, K. Kayle, T. MacDougall, J. Markham, C. Murray, F. Neave, J. Slade, and E. Trometer. We thank the technicians and crew of the USGS R/V Musky II and the OMNR R/V Erie Explorer. D. Benion, D. Greenwood, K. Oldenburg, J. Holuszko, R. Stickel, and G. Ives provided technical assistance. P. Kocovsky, J. Savino, and D. Yule reviewed earlier versions of this manuscript. This article is Contribution 1613 of the U. S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA

    Charles P. Madenjian

  2. US Geological Survey, Sandusky, OH, 44870, USA

    Martin A. Stapanian

  3. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Port Dover, ON, N0A 1N0, Canada

    Larry D. Witzel & Heather L. Whitford

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

    Donald W. Einhouse

  5. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Muskegon, MI, 49441, USA

    Steven A. Pothoven

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  1. Charles P. Madenjian
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Correspondence to Charles P. Madenjian.

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Madenjian, C.P., Stapanian, M.A., Witzel, L.D. et al. Evidence for predatory control of the invasive round goby. Biol Invasions 13, 987–1002 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9884-7

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