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The Influence of Ice Cover on the Coupling between Lake Erie Larval Walleye and their Prey

Huddleston, Amara Lynn
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532082401065932

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology.
Due to climate warming, winters have become warmer and shorter among years. Winter condition can alter the physiochemical environment, which can alter biological communities. For example, warm winters characterized by low ice cover may drive ecological conditions in the spring. Winter conditions are hypothesized to influence the timing of population dynamics and community structure in the spring. Changes in timing and community structure at one trophic level will affect energy transfer through the rest of the food web. Thus, I explore how ice cover in western basin Lake Erie affects the timing and community structure of zooplankton, a key link in energy transfer through aquatic food webs, and how changes in the zooplankton community affects larval walleye (Sander vitreus), an economically important fish species. I used six recent years (2011-2016) of data, during which February-March ice cover varied, to test (1) whether winter conditions had latent effects on zooplankton communities and (2) whether winter conditions influenced larval walleye success through effects on prey availability. Survival at the larval stage in walleye is heavily influenced by food availability; thus, it is critical to understand the prey community of these larval fish and how the community may shift with warming winters. Warm winters can have latent effects on zooplankton communities, causing the timing of spring population increases to shift earlier and the taxonomic structure of the community to shift to small-bodied species. This investigation (Chapter 1) demonstrated that, while timing of spring increases in zooplankton biomass varied among years, timing was not correlated with winter ice cover. While the timing of zooplankton did not shift with warmer winters, the structure of the zooplankton community did. This suggests that ice cover mediates the composition of the zooplankton prey community available for larval walleye. Walleye recruitment in Lake Erie, which shows a positive relationship with winter ice cover, has been consistently low since 2003, except following the extremely cold winter of 2015. There are several hypotheses about the mechanisms that drive this correlation between ice cover and recruitment success in walleye; I addresses the hypothesis that ice cover affects the availability of prey (zooplankton) for larvae. My findings (Chapter 2) show that preferred zooplankton taxa (cyclopoids and small cladocerans) are available in low abundances when larval walleye are feeding, despite winter ice cover. However, I found that small cladocerans are more abundant following winters with high ice cover, suggesting the availability of a specific prey type may be crucial for walleye recruitment success. My results highlight the importance of understanding the effects of winter condition on aquatic communities. In particular, this research revealed how ice cover shifts the taxonomic structure of the zooplankton community and the implications of this shift on an economically important sport fish. My results suggest that the global decline in lake ice cover could have major implications for aquatic food webs, including negative implications for highly valued fisheries. Successful management of fisheries during a time of rapidly changing winter conditions will benefit from further understanding how winter affects recruitment success.
Elizabeth Marschall (Advisor)
James Hood (Advisor)
Stuart Ludsin (Committee Member)
88 p.
Ecology; Freshwater Ecology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Huddleston, A. L. (2018). The Influence of Ice Cover on the Coupling between Lake Erie Larval Walleye and their Prey [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532082401065932

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Huddleston, Amara. The Influence of Ice Cover on the Coupling between Lake Erie Larval Walleye and their Prey. 2018. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532082401065932.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Huddleston, Amara. "The Influence of Ice Cover on the Coupling between Lake Erie Larval Walleye and their Prey." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532082401065932

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1532082401065932
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.