Distribution, density, and growth of young-of-the-year fishes in Mitchell Bay, Lake St. Clair

Abstract

Thirty-eight taxa of young-of-the-year fishes were collected with a beach seine and plankton nets in Mitchell Bay, a shallow, densely vegetated embayment on Lake St. Clair, from April to October, 1983, 1984, and 1990. The ecosystem of the bay and adjacent land has been altered by agricultural, industrial, and recreational development for more than a century. Although taxa were numerous, most species were rare or uncommon in collections. The assemblage of larval fish consisted primarily of brook silverside (Labidesthes sicculus), pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum). Many species were distributed in or near submerged macrophytes at the shore. The species most abundant were pumpkinseed, which reached peak density (11 931 young of the year/100 m3) in late June 1990, and brook silverside (1363 young of the year/100 m3) in late June 1984.