Changes in the Multispecies, Winter Angling Fishery of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, 1961–83: Invasion by Rainbow Smelt,Osmerus mordax, and the Roles of Intra- and Interspecific Interactions

Abstract

Winter creel surveys revealed major changes in the abundance of five fish species (lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, lake herring, Coregonus artedii, yellow perch, Perca flavescens, and rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax) in Lake Simcoe (1961–83). Variations in abundance were in part caused by intra- and interspecific factors. Catches in alternate years for both lake herring and rainbow smelt were inversely correlated, suggesting negative interactions between their young-of-the-year and yearlings. Similarly an inverse relation between parental stock size and recruitment explained a significant component of the catch variation of lake herring and yellow perch. Natural recruitment of lake trout declined during the 1950s (associated with eutrophication effects), and in the early 1960s, rainbow smelt invaded the fake. Lake whitefish abundance declined in the early 1970s as smelt abundance increased; the decline in whitefish recruitment was probably caused by interaction between smelt and whitefish young-of-the-year. Catches of yellow perch were positively correlated with rainbow smelt and negatively correlated with lake whitefish. Lake herring also increased when lake whitefish density was low. Increased abundance of lake trout after 1975 (due to stocking) appears to have resulted in lower densities of lake herring, rainbow smelt, and yellow perch and the reestablishment of lake whitefish recruitment at a low level. These results suggest that a large predator (lake trout) can have a major influence on the structure of a fish community, by direct and indirect effects.