Lake Ontario

Turmoil in Lake Ontario
November 21, 2003
By J. Michael Kelly
Staff writer

Although he's been studying it intensively for 32 years, Bob O'Gorman lately
feels like he knows less than ever about Lake Ontario.

"I've never seen such a period of instability in the lake," he said.

O'Gorman, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Field
Station in Oswego, said the lake's food chain is in ferment from top to
bottom. Here are some examples: Near the low end of the food web, diporeia,
the shrimp-like creatures that fed Lake Ontario forage fish for eons, have
virtually disappeared from the water column in the past decade.

The decline of diporeia means that the alewives and other small fish that
subsisted on them now have to get their calories elsewhere, most likely from
another tiny critter called the mysis, or possum shrimp.

Rainbow smelt, once one of the two or three most numerous forage species in
the lake, now are so scarce that Geological Survey trawlers can barely
collect enough for study purposes. O'Gorman suspects the smelt swoon is tied
to the shortage of diporeia.

With smelt all but absent, alewives are the only significant remaining
source of food for the lake's world-famous chinook and coho salmon. Ontario
alewives also appear to be stressed. Although the sardine-size fish had
back-to-back successful hatches in 2001 and 2002, O'Gorman frets that 40
percent of all alewives in the lake are now age 5 or older.

"Those fish are going to start dropping out of the picture pretty soon," he
said.

Meanwhile, O'Gorman noted, the alewives collected by USGS trawlers last
spring "were in the poorest physical condition of any we've seen since we
began checking them in 1978." Alewives gathered in a follow-up autumn
netting were more robust. O'Gorman thinks alewife numbers dropped sharply
between the two surveys, leaving more food for the surviving fish.

With smelt rare and alewives skinnier than usual, there are early
indications that Ontario salmon may be slenderizing, themselves. At an even
33 pounds, the grand-prize chinook salmon taken in the 2003 Lake Ontario
Counties Fall Salmon and Trout Derby was the smallest winner in the
contest's eight-year history.

What's going on?

O'Gorman suspects the turmoil in the Ontario fishery eventually will be
traced to the exotic species that have invaded the entire Great Lakes
system.

Specifically, he thinks it is no coincidence that the dramatic changes he's
seeing have taken place since zebra mussels and then quagga mussels migrated
from Europe to this side of the Atlantic.

Both species hitchhiked to North American in the ballast tanks of cargo
ships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Zebra mussels and quaggas are filter feeders that compete with larval fish
and other small organisms for a finite food supply of plankton. While
"zeebs" are confined mainly to hard-bottomed, near-shore environs, quaggas
thrive throughout Lake Ontario.

"They're just creeping out deeper and deeper, as if a doggone carpet was
being rolled out from the shores," O'Gorman said.

Diporeia used to be thick as fleas in the areas now dominated by quaggas.
One theory holds that the mussels have simply crowded the inch-long possum
shrimp out of their old habitats.

"There are a few deep-water areas where diporeia persist," said O'Gorman.
"Why, we don't know. Frankly, we're scratching our heads."

With the future of diporeia in doubt, researchers here and in Canada have
stepped up their studies of mysis.

Several weeks ago, a Geological Survey vessel netted thousands of bait fish
in order to analyze their stomach contents. Basically, they want to know
what alewives, smelt and sculpins are eating in place of diporeia, and if
they're getting enough of it.

A similar gut-check in 2002 produced a puzzling result.

"In that study, we found that the numbers of mysis were down in alewife
stomachs, but were not significantly lower in the stomachs of smelt or
sculpin," said O'Gorman. "Once again, we were left to wonder why. Could it
be that mysis are for some reason less accessible to alewives than to smelt
and sculpins? At this point, we just don't know."

Along with such unanswered questions, researchers must deal with a new
ecological wild card.

Two years ago, the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed
that a small, perch-like fish called the round goby had shown up in Lake
Ontario.

The finger-length, European-native gobies are prolific breeders that thrive
just about anywhere.

"This spring we found them in the lake out to 450 feet deep," said O'Gorman.

Gobies are expected to compete with bottom-dwelling sculpins for habitat.
Along with zebra mussels, gobies eat the eggs and fry of other small species
of fish.

The goby's taste for shellfish worries health officials because mussels take
up chemical contaminants from lake sediments. If gobies ingest mussels, and
game fish eat gobies, there's just one more step to the creatures at the top
of the food chain - you and me.

Click Here to read the article in the Post Standard.

--
James Ehlers

Outdoors Magazine
www.outdoorsmagazine.net

this is an interesting piece......the Great Lakes have undergone considerable
biological shuffling since man started his imprint upon things. One we anglers
tend to overlook is the introduction of Pacific Salmonids to the picture. Way
more fun to catch than, say, Zebra mussels, but an invasive species
nonetheless. Now, the radical way to return Ontario or the other Great Lakes to
their "original" status is to eliminate human habitation along the shoreline to
a huge degree, end all motor transportation across these lakes, physically
remove all non-native species and hope for the best. Anyone out there think
this will happen soon??
Tom

Tom,
Not likely. Lake Champlain is facing similar issues. Non-native is an
interesting concept. At point in history do we decide is the demarcation
point between native and non? Playing the devil's advocate, brown trout are
non-native. Apple trees are non-native. Do we eradicate apple trees from
the landscape and brown trout from our lakes and streams? I definitely do
not know the answer to this one, and I spend an awful amount of time
thinking about it when I am fishing and hunting. Geez, most of us are not
native.

Definitely one of greatest challenges of this generation. Our progress has
caught us looking ahead.

--
James Ehlers

Outdoors Magazine
www.outdoorsmagazine.net



"Tom Littleton" wrote in message
...
this is an interesting piece......the Great Lakes have undergone
considerable
biological shuffling since man started his imprint upon things. One we
anglers
tend to overlook is the introduction of Pacific Salmonids to the picture.
Way
more fun to catch than, say, Zebra mussels, but an invasive species
nonetheless. Now, the radical way to return Ontario or the other Great
Lakes to
their "original" status is to eliminate human habitation along the
shoreline to
a huge degree, end all motor transportation across these lakes, physically
remove all non-native species and hope for the best. Anyone out there
think
this will happen soon??
Tom

Jim E asks:
At point in history do we decide is the demarcation
point between native and non?

exactly my point

Tom

Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Turmoil in Lake Ontario
November 21, 2003
By J. Michael Kelly
Staff writer
...

For the record, J. Michael Kelly is a staff writer for
The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York not Outdoors Magazine.

Posting that entire article here is a copyright violation.
Posting it here without proper attribution is plagiarism.

Just what kind of sleazeball outfit are you running up
there anyway, Ehlers ?

http://tinyurl.com/x2u0

--
Ken Fortenberry

Mr. Fortenberry,
I encourage you to read the entire post again where you will find the proper
attribution.

I encourage you to control your dislike for me, at least here in ROFF, as it
leads to you making foolish statements. If you want to send me hate mail
.... Feel free: but let's keep this one on
topic. Do you have anything constructive to add to the issue of Great Lakes
exotics? It is an important issue for Lake Champlain, as well, and any
insight you can offer would be appreciated.

Are you available for copyright and trademark counsel? I did not realize
you were an expert in the field. We might be able to utilize your services
on future publishing projects.

--
James Ehlers

Outdoors Magazine
www.outdoorsmagazine.net



"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
.com...
Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Turmoil in Lake Ontario
November 21, 2003
By J. Michael Kelly
Staff writer
...

For the record, J. Michael Kelly is a staff writer for
The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York not Outdoors Magazine.

Posting that entire article here is a copyright violation.
Posting it here without proper attribution is plagiarism.

Just what kind of sleazeball outfit are you running up
there anyway, Ehlers ?

http://tinyurl.com/x2u0

--
Ken Fortenberry

Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Mr. Fortenberry,
I encourage you to read the entire post again where you will find the proper
attribution.

There was only this:

Click Here to read the article in the Post Standard.

That line was not proper attribution. You obviously did a cut and paste
from a source that did give attribution in the form of a link, but what
you posted here was text only. You dropped the URL, you friggin' moron.
You can Click Here until your ****in' finger falls off and there will
be no attribution.


If you want to send me hate mail
... Feel free: ...

I have no reason to correspond with you, but speaking of email, QUIT
sending it to me ! I don't need your fruitcake ramblings in my email.

... We might be able to utilize your services
on future publishing projects.

In your dreams, you stupid whackjob.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Mr. Fortenberry,
I believe it is you that continues this ... and as long as you continue to
send me hate-filled notes I will continue to respond, simply because you
need to understand that you cannot push people around with your disgusting
behavior.

A simple search on your name in Google groups tells me this is normal for
you. Besides, Mr. Fortenberry what would you be doing right now if you did
not have people like me to attack and debase? Are you that lonely? If you
are a Christian, I offer you the Prayer of St. Francis. I offer it,
regardless.

--
James Ehlers

Outdoors Magazine
www.outdoorsmagazine.net





"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
.com...
Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Mr. Fortenberry,
I encourage you to read the entire post again where you will find the
proper
attribution.

There was only this:

Click Here to read the article in the Post Standard.

That line was not proper attribution. You obviously did a cut and paste
from a source that did give attribution in the form of a link, but what
you posted here was text only. You dropped the URL, you friggin' moron.
You can Click Here until your ****in' finger falls off and there will
be no attribution.


If you want to send me hate mail
... Feel free: ...

I have no reason to correspond with you, but speaking of email, QUIT
sending it to me ! I don't need your fruitcake ramblings in my email.

... We might be able to utilize your services
on future publishing projects.

In your dreams, you stupid whackjob.

--
Ken Fortenberry

From the article:





O'Gorman suspects the turmoil in the Ontario fishery eventually will be
traced to the exotic species that have invaded the entire Great Lakes
system.

Interesting....the introduction of nonindigenous species is adversely affecting
other nonindigenous species.
Alewives, rainbows, and the Pacific salmon (Chinook and Coho) were all
introduced into the Great Lakes. Curious that the article seems to make no
mention of this.

Mr. Fortenberry,
I believe it is you that continues this ... and as long as you continue to
send me hate-filled notes I will continue to respond, simply because you
need to understand that you cannot push people around with your disgusting
behavior.

A simple search on your name in Google groups tells me this is normal for
you. Besides, Mr. Fortenberry what would you be doing right now if you did
not have people like me to attack and debase? Are you that lonely? If you
are a Christian, I offer you the Prayer of St. Francis. I offer it,
regardless.

--
James Ehlers

Outdoors Magazine
www.outdoorsmagazine.net



"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
.com...
Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Mr. Fortenberry,
I encourage you to read the entire post again where you will find the
proper
attribution.

There was only this:

Click Here to read the article in the Post Standard.

That line was not proper attribution. You obviously did a cut and paste
from a source that did give attribution in the form of a link, but what
you posted here was text only. You dropped the URL, you friggin' moron.
You can Click Here until your ****in' finger falls off and there will
be no attribution.


If you want to send me hate mail
... Feel free: ...

I have no reason to correspond with you, but speaking of email, QUIT
sending it to me ! I don't need your fruitcake ramblings in my email.

... We might be able to utilize your services
on future publishing projects.

In your dreams, you stupid whackjob.

--
Ken Fortenberry