Geology topics

Jeffrey G. Miner

Publications and source records attributed to Jeffrey G. Miner.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2023

Assessing potential spawning locations of Silver Chub in Lake Erie

Objective Silver Chub Macrhybopsis storeriana , a predominately riverine species throughout its native range, exists within Lake Erie as the only known lake population. Its population declined in the 1950s and never fully recovered. Canada has listed Silver Chub in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River as endangered and has initiated a recovery plan that recognized the identification of spawning areas as a critical component to inform Silver Chub's recovery potential. Methods We investigated potential spawning locations of Silver Chub using capture records, otolith microchemistry, and daily age analysis. Lapillus otolith Sr:Ca ratios from 27 age-0 Silver Chub were used to identify potential spawning areas. Daily ages estimated from lapilli were used to calculate hatch dates, which then were compared with capture data of adults and river flows to further inform potential spawning areas. Result The Detroit River (and its nearshore area) was all but ruled out as a potential spawning location. The Maumee, Portage, and Sandusky rivers or their nearshore areas were all possible spawning locations. Projected hatch dates spanned the end of May through the end of June and occurred across a wide range of flows, although some peaks in hatch dates corresponded to flow peaks, indicating recruitment is potentially enhanced by high flows. Conclusion Silver Chub spawning period and hypothesized spawning rivers or lacustuaries overlap those of invasive Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella , creating a need to jointly consider Grass Carp control efforts with conservation of Silver Chub when assessing management alternatives. Further research on spawning guild and the use of rivers themselves or nearshore areas influenced by rivers as spawning areas are required to maximize potential for conservation and recovery of Silver Chub.

Lake Erie↗

USGS2021

Identifying sources and year classes contributing to invasive grass carp in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Relative contributions of aquaculture-origin and naturally-reproduced grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ) in the Laurentian Great Lakes have been unknown. We assessed occurrence and distribution of aquaculture-origin and wild grass carp in the Great Lakes using ploidy and otolith stable oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) data. We inferred natal river and dispersal from natal location for wild grass carp using otolith microchemistry and estimated ages of wild and aquaculture-origin fish to infer years in which natural reproduction and introductions occurred. Otolith δ 18 O indicated that the Great Lakes contain a mixture of wild grass carp and both diploid and triploid, aquaculture-origin grass carp. Eighty-eight percent of wild fish (n = 49 of 56) were caught in the Lake Erie basin. Otolith microchemistry indicated that most wild grass carp likely originated in the Sandusky or Maumee rivers where spawning has previously been confirmed, but results suggested recruitment from at least one other Great Lakes tributary may have occurred. Three fish showed evidence of movement between their inferred natal river in western Lake Erie and capture locations in other lakes in the Great Lakes basin. Age estimates indicated that multiple year classes of wild grass carp are present in the Lake Erie basin, recruitment to adulthood has occurred, and introductions of aquaculture-origin fish have happened over multiple years. Knowledge of sources contributing to grass carp in the Great Lakes basin will be useful for informing efforts to prevent further introductions and spread and to develop strategies to contain and control natural recruitment.

Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario↗

USGS2021

Towards improving an Area of Concern: Main-channel habitat rehabilitation priorities for the Maumee River

The Maumee River watershed in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin has been impacted by decades of pollution and habitat modification due to human settlement and development. As such, the lower 35 km of the Maumee River and several smaller adjacent watersheds comprising over 2000 km 2 were designated the Maumee Area of Concern (AOC) under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987. As part of pre-rehabilitation assessments in the Maumee AOC, we assessed fish and invertebrate communities in river km 24–11 of the Maumee River to identify: 1) areas that exhibit the highest biodiversity, 2) habitat characteristics associated with high biodiversity areas, 3) areas in need of protection from further degradation, and 4) areas that could feasibly be rehabilitated to increase biodiversity. Based on benthic trawl data, shallow water habitats surrounding large island complexes had the highest fish diversity and catch per unit effort (CPUE). Electrofishing displayed similar fish diversity and CPUE patterns across habitat types early in the study but yielded no discernable fish diversity or CPUE patterns towards the end of our study. Although highly variable among study sites, macroinvertebrate density was greatest in shallow water habitats <2.5 m and around large island complexes. Our results provide valuable baseline data that could act as a foundation for developing rehabilitation strategies in the lower Maumee River and for assessing the effectiveness of future aquatic habitat rehabilitation projects. In addition to increasing in-channel habitat, watershed-scale improvements of water quality might be necessary to ensure rehabilitation strategies are successful.

Ohio↗

USGS2013

First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin

We use aging techniques, ploidy analysis, and otolith microchemistry to assess whether four grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella captured from the Sandusky River, Ohio were the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin. All four fish were of age 1 +. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that these fish were not aquaculture-reared and that they were most likely the result of successful reproduction in the Sandusky River. First, at least two of the fish were diploid; diploid grass carp cannot legally be released in the Great Lakes Basin. Second, strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratios were elevated in all four grass carp from the Sandusky River, with elevated Sr:Ca ratios throughout the otolith transect, compared to grass carp from Missouri and Arkansas ponds. This reflects the high Sr:Ca ratio of the Sandusky River, and indicates that these fish lived in a high-strontium environment throughout their entire lives. Third, Sandusky River fish were higher in Sr:Ca ratio variability than fish from ponds, reflecting the high but spatially and temporally variable strontium concentrations of southwestern Lake Erie tributaries, and not the stable environment of pond aquaculture. Fourth, Sr:Ca ratios in the grass carp from the Sandusky River were lower in their 2011 growth increment (a high water year) than the 2012 growth increment (a low water year), reflecting the observed inverse relationship between discharge and strontium concentration in these rivers. We conclude that these four grass carp captured from the Sandusky River are most likely the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin.

Ohio↗