Larval Fish of the Lower Niagara River Betsy Trometer, Dimitry Gorsky, Shana Chapman and Eric Snyder USFWS Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office

Niagara River Fish Community Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – Lake Trout and Lake Sturgeon - since 2010 Our interest in Lower Niagara River – Remnant sturgeon population – Large number of lake trout in river in fall likely spawning May spawn in river, but not confirmed Recent surveys identified 60 species Support concurrent studies

Objective Describe the composition and distribution of larval fish in the lower Niagara River. Sampled in 2010, 2011 and 2012 In 2012, focused sampling for Lake Trout Lake Ontario Niagara Falls Lewiston Ft. Niagara Ontario, Canada Whirlpool Art Park Devil’s hole Peggy’s Eddy Stella Niagara Niagara Falls Niagara-on-the- lake

Passive Sampling Gear Drift net Light Trap Minnow Trap Stationary Overnight sets - approx. 24 hrs Light trap floats at surface Minnow trap and drift nets on bottom Set in slow moving water

Active Sampling Gear Surface Trawl Bottom Trawl Ichthyoplankton Net Larval Seine Pulled through water Slower moving water, eddies Surface and Bottom Trawls Tow minutes with boat, with flow Ichthyoplankton net Tow midwater with boat Set overnight Larval seine wadeable walk // to shore 10 meter section

Sampling Effort Year Sampling GearSampling Dates No. of Sets Sampling Dates No. of Sets Sampling Dates No. of Sets Drift Net5/1954/27-6/14153/7-5/945 Ichthyoplankton Net5/2026/13-8/19143/13-4/2623 Larval SeineN/A 6/30-8/11284/256 Light Trap7/2, 8/13115/17-8/582N/A Minnow Trap6/11, 7/26N/A Surface TrawlN/A 6/15, 9/25N/A Bottom Trawl6/8, 7/16, 8/24 156/156N/A

Drift Net

Ichthyoplankton Net

Larval Seine

Light Trap

YOY and Larval fish Catch by Gear Year Sampling GearNo. of Fish CPU Fish/set No. of Fish CPU Fish/set No. of Fish CPU Fish/set Drift Net Ichthyoplankton Net Larval SeineN/A Light Trap N/A Minnow Trap00N/A Surface TrawlN/A 1*0.2 N/A Bottom Trawl8* N/A * All YOY fish (other collections are a combination of larval fish and YOY)

Family (# species) Silverside (1) 63 Sucker (3) 233 Sunfish (3)1743 Herring (1)140 Minnow (5)206 Pike (1)1 Killifish (1)1 Goby (1)1323 Bullhead & Catfish (1) 1 Gar (1) 1 Smelt (1) 2 Perch (2)6 Trout and Salmon (2)*2719 Unknown 12 Major Taxonomic Groups

Gear Selectivity Gear Famiily/Spp Drift net Ichthyoplankton net Larval seine Light Trap Surface Trawl Bottom Trawl Brook silverside XX Sucker Family XXX Rock Bass XXX X Largemouth Bass XX Smallmouth Bass XX Alewife XX X Minnow Species XX Bluntnose Minnow X Common Carp X Common Shiner X Emerald ShinerX XX Hornyhead Chub X Northern Pike X Banded Killifish X Round Goby XXXX Brown Bullhead X Longnose GarX Rainbow SmeltXX Darter spp. XX Yellow Perch X Lake TroutXXX

Species/FamilyMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugust Brook Silverside 594 Sucker Family 232 Rock Bass Largemouth Bass 3 Smallmouth Bass 323 Alewife Minnow species 761 Bluntnose Minnow 1 Common Carp 1 Common Shiner 4 Emerald Shiner3 512 Esocidae 1 Banded Killifish 1 Round Goby 315 Brown Bullhead 1 Longnose Gar 1 Rainbow Smelt1 1 Darter spp. 2 1 Yellow Perch 3 Lake Trout (1 Coregonid)*8627 Catch by Month

Conclusions 24 species were identified Larval seine collected most species All gear had some limitations Lake trout larval and eggs collected were confirmed with genetic analysis Confirmed lake trout spawn along Art Park shoreline and upstream of Devil’s Hole

Sampling Gear Drift net Larval Seine Surface Trawl Light Trap Minnow Trap Bottom Trawl Ichthyoplankton Net X X X X