1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Active Sampling Gear Surface Trawl Bottom Trawl Ichthyoplankton Net Larval Seine Pulled through water Slower moving water, eddies Surface and Bottom Trawls Tow 10-15 minutes with boat, with flow Ichthyoplankton net Tow midwater with boat Set overnight Larval seine wadeable walk // to shore 10 meter section

6. Sampling Effort Year201020112012 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

7. Drift Net

8. Ichthyoplankton Net

9. Larval Seine

10. Light Trap

11. YOY and Larval fish Catch by Gear Year201020112012 Sampling GearNo. of Fish CPU Fish/set No. of Fish CPU Fish/set No. of Fish CPU Fish/set Drift Net00 322.13120.22 Ichthyoplankton Net 00 181.2920.09 Larval SeineN/A 55419.7900 Light Trap252.27 510.62 N/A Minnow Trap00N/A Surface TrawlN/A 1*0.2 N/A Bottom Trawl8*0.53 00 N/A * All YOY fish (other collections are a combination of larval fish and YOY)

12. Family (# species)201020112012 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

13. 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

14. Species/FamilyMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugust Brook Silverside 594 Sucker Family 232 Rock Bass 1 417 Largemouth Bass 3 Smallmouth Bass 323 Alewife 13811 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

15. 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

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