Understanding and comparing historic and contemporary habitat use and distributions of coregonines (Gap Analysis, Box 2) has been deemed essential to inform all boxes of the Great Lakes coregonine restoration framework; there are dependencies between planning boxes...
Lake Erie
Resolving taxonomy of the cisco (Coregonus) species complex in the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Nipigon
The manager endorsed Coregonine Restoration Framework (CRF) identified a need for reviewing and updating the taxonomy of ciscoes, and this task was assigned to the first of four science teams established in the Planning Phase of the CRF. The ‘Resolve cisco taxonomy’...
Implementation of Coregonine population viability analysis within the Coregonine restoration framework – Year 2
Implementation of a gap analysis: comparing historical and contemporary coregonine habitat use in the Great Lakes
Our Gap Analysis team has multiple proposals in progress related to implementation of our Gap Analysis methodology for Great Lakes coregonines. We are proud to report that we have completed our objectives related to this project proposal (Year 2, FY23, Appendix 1)....
How many cisco should be stocked, and at what life stage?
Historically, members of the coregonine complex (Coregonus spp.) were the most abundant and ecologically important fish species in the Great Lakes (especially the cisco C. artedi), but anthropogenic influences caused nearly all populations to collapse by the 1970s....
Susceptibility and clearance of Aeromonas salmonicida (furunculosis) in Coregonus artedi (lake herring)
Aquaflor® (florfenicol) and Terramycin®200 for Fish (oxytetracycline) are approved medications in the United States for delivery with feed to control mortality in salmonids due to furunculosis associated with Aeromonas salmonicida. The purpose of this study was to...
Developing a Great Lakes-wide database of coregonine stocking
This dataset is the result of coordinated efforts to compile data associated with stocking events for whitefishes and ciscoes (members of the Coregoninae subfamily) of Great Lakes origin. The dataset includes more than 4,700 records associated with coregonine...
Development of a genetic map for cisco and bloater
We constructed a linkage map for cisco (Coregonus artedi), an economically and culturally important fish in the Great Lakes and across North America, which previously lacked a high-density haploid linkage map. We used diploid and haploid cisco from northern Lake Huron...
Redesigning nearshore and offshore fish community protocols to incorporate new species identification approaches and determine optimal sampling strategies
The objective of this work was to begin the process of describing Lake Superior larval ciscoe population dynamics at the species level, something which was not possible prior to 2019 (Ackiss et al. 2020) and use this information to develop standard collection...
Contemporary habitat selection and survival of cisco in Lake Erie
This project addressed impediments to the rehabilitation of Cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Lake Erie through the application of acoustic telemetry to develop novel data on habitat use and survival of experimentally stocked fish. We tagged Cisco at the Tunison Laboratory...
Genetic diversity among Great Lakes cisco species: exploring taxonomic and population boundaries
Ciscoes (Coregonus artedi, hoyi, kiyi, zenithicus, and nigripinnis) once formed a diverse species flock in the Great Lakes. While several taxa appear to have been extirpated, those that remain are an important part of the Great Lakes food web. Deepwater forms (C....
Are there differences in larval and juvenile gene expression between hatchery and wild coregonids?
Management agencies are investigating best practices for coregonid (C. artedi and C. hoyi) culture, stocking, and broodstock development. However, before large scale production can begin, decisions about the sources of broodstock, culture practices, and stocking rates...
Building molecular tools for coregonine species identification
The larval phase of Coregonus spp. represent a bottleneck in year class strength that is not well understood in extant populations and could present an impediment for coregonine restoration efforts in the Great Lakes. The use of species-specific DNA sequences to...
Spatio-statistical modeling and field validation of coregonine spawning and nursery locations for the Great Lakes, including connecting channels and major tributaries
This research builds on the spawning habitat inventory work [GLRI: Inventory and assessment of coregonine spawning locations in lakes Erie and Ontario, including connecting channels] by using data gleaned from the previous study to develop descriptive and predictive...
Inventory and assessment of coregonine spawning locations in lakes Erie and Ontario, including connecting channels
This project involved two phases. First, to identify locations of key habitats for coregonines in lakes Erie and Ontario and their respective connecting channels, we conducted a literature review of historical spawning, nursery, and adult habitat sites where...
