Drummond Island Research Articles

Habitat selection by lake trout at reefs near Drummond Island, Lake Huron: An evaluation of physical characteristics used for spawning

Continued dependence on stocking of hatchery-reared lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in the Laurentian Great Lakes indicates recruitment bottlenecks still exist between spawning and the juvenile life stage (age-1). Possible impediments include poor habitat quality and an inability of hatchery-origin adults to select substrates that support successful incubation. Understanding of characteristics of suitable lake trout spawning habitat is limited but has centered on the cobble-contour framework, which identifies sloped reefs with cobble substrate and deep interstices to entrain eggs as spawning habitat. A novel sampling design based on acoustic-telemetry detections was used to evaluate relative importance of cobble-contour habitat characteristics (substrate size, homogeneity, interstitial depth, and slope) for predicting egg presence on two spawning reefs in northern Lake Huron. Fixed effect logistic regression models were used to relate egg presence to all possible combinations of measured physical characteristics. Physical characteristics of sites with naturally spawned eggs present varied, and no single best model predicted egg presence. Model selection and multi-model inference revealed slope to be the only informative predictor. Substrate size, homogeneity, and interstitial depth were not important. Embryo survival-to-hatch was also compared among sampling sites using in situ habitat bioassays seeded with hatchery fertilized embryos. No difference in embryo survival was observed between sites where naturally spawned eggs were present vs. absent. Over half of sites evaluated exceeded 75% survival. Naturally spawned eggs were observed at 25 of 57 sites. We suspect other characteristics such as interstitial flow could be helpful for predicting selection of lake trout spawning habitats.

The Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Drummond Island, Michigan, With an Assessment of Lake Assemblage Biomass

The Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Drummond Island, Michigan, With an Assessment of Lake Assemblage Biomass

Improving Genetic Status Despite Fragmentation and Small Effective Population Size in Hill's Thistle (Cirsium hillii)

Small, fragmented populations are at greater risk of extirpation due to reduced genetic diversity from inbreeding and genetic drift. These processes ultimately decrease individual fitness and reduce the ability of a population to adapt. Hill's thistle (Cirsium hillii) is classified as a threatened species throughout much of its range, primarily due to the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat. This study addresses the impact of population size and isolation on the genetic diversity of Hill's thistle. We used microsatellite markers to genotype plants collected from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in 2001, and from the Lower Peninsula and Drummond Island in 2012, in order to assess genetic differentiation across time and space, as well as to investigate rates of inbreeding in isolated and nonisolated populations. Genetic differentiation between the sample sites in the mainland population of Hill's thistle increased significantly between 2001 and 2012, indicative of increased fragmentation and isolation of the sample sites. However, the 2012 population exhibited lower inbreeding and no difference in heterozygosity or allelic diversity compared to 2001, suggesting the population is stable, or growing, in spite of isolation. Conversely, the population on Drummond Island displayed higher levels of inbreeding and lower number of effective alleles and heterozygosity compared to the mainland, typical of a small, isolated population. Our results indicate that the mainland population of Hill's thistle is persisting but should continue to be monitored demographically due to ongoing habitat loss.

Visual Metrics for the Maxton Plains Alvars in Michigan, USA

Planners, designers, environmentalists, concerned citizens, and government officials are interested in the management and preservation of small rare and unique ecological environments. Scholars have discovered that land-use and visual quality metrics often co-vary together and that various land-uses reside on a continuum scale from high respondent preference (biospheric land-uses) to low respondent preference (noospheric land-uses). This study assessed and documented the visual metrics for the Maxton Plains alvar/alvar grassland plant communities found on Drummond Island, Michigan, USA. These unique, small, and rare landscape types are not usually studied by large-scale visual quality mapping efforts which assess urban areas, woodlands, water, farmland, pastureland, and prairies. The visual metrics were assessed using two versions of predictive visual quality assessment models. Results from 60 field photographs reveal that the visual metrics assessment for the Maxton Plains alvars/alvar grasslands have a moderate visual preference, consistent visual quality scores: ranging from the low to middle 50s with the first equation and high 40s to low 50s with the second equation. Compared to many landscape and land-uses, these environments have scores that indicate a moderate visual preference and appreciation. Scores beyond±2.5 of the mean would indicate a significant (p≤0.05) perceivable drift from the existing conditions. The visual metrics provide a numerical framework for managing the spatial contents within and adjacent to the alvars. Landscape features such as buildings, invasive woodlands, agriculture, and pavement would all decrease the visual quality beyond the ± 2.5 score range.

Evidence of spawning by lake trout Salvelinus namaycush on substrates at the base of large boulders in northern Lake Huron

Identification of lake trout spawning sites has focused on cobble substrates associated with bathymetric relief (e.g., ‘contour’ or ‘slope’ along reefs), but this ‘model’ may be narrow in scope. Previous telemetry work conducted near Drummond Island, USA, Lake Huron, identified egg presence in substrates at the base of large boulders (>1 m diameter); however, the extent of this phenomenon was unknown. Telemetry data paired with multi-beam bathymetry identified a 0.63 km2 area used by lake trout characterized by low bathymetric relief and numerous (~269) large boulders (>1 m diameter) with small-diameter substrates at their bases. Diver surveys revealed egg presence at all 40 boulders surveyed, exclusively associated with clean gravel-cobble (0.6–42 cm) substrates in undercut areas beneath overhanging edges of boulders and in narrow spaces between adjacent boulders. Egg presence was not associated with boulder or substrate physical characteristics which highlighted the possible importance of interstitial currents. Successful incubation in these habitats was inferred by capture of free embryos and post-embryos the following spring using traps and an electrofishing ROV although at lower densities than at popular spawning habitats nearby (1–3 km away). Free embryos and post-embryos were also caught where eggs were not observed the previous fall including unexpectedly on top of boulders which suggested that post-hatch stages may move more than previously thought. Extensive use of boulder-associated habitats for spawning, egg incubation, and early growth suggested this undescribed habitat type may provide an unanticipated contribution to total available lake trout spawning habitat and recruitment in the Great Lakes.

Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Siricidae Collected in Baited Funnel Traps on Drummond Island, Chippewa County, Michigan

Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Siricidae Collected in Baited Funnel Traps on Drummond Island, Chippewa County, Michigan

Reconsidering the Chronology: Carbonized Food Residue, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Dates, and Compositional Analysis of a Curated Collection from the Upper Great Lakes

Recent reexamination of pottery, copper objects, and glass trade beads using modern analytic methods has amended the occupational history of the Cloudman site (20CH6), once interpreted as an early “Contact” period site in Michigan. The original chronology of the site, located on northern Michigan's Drummond Island in Lake Huron, was based on an apparent association of Iroquoian pottery with European-made trade goods relatively dated to circa AD 1630. Current advances in archaeological dating methods have revealed new insights into the poorly understood settlement patterns and social interactions of various Upper Great Lakes groups between AD 1300 and 1700. Accelerator mass spectrometry dating of carbonized food residue collected from late Late Woodland and Ontario Iroquoian pottery vessels suggests some contemporaneous use of both styles and the culmination of occupation by pottery-making groups by AD 1500. Elemental analysis of glass beads indicates that the recovered trade items were likely manufactured post–AD 1650. Likewise, compositional analysis of copper-base metal artifacts clarifies how such objects were made and used over time at the site. The results demonstrate how the application of modern analytic methods to curated collections can lead to significant reinterpretation, ultimately enhancing understandings of regional chronologies, social relationships, and population movements.

Fine‐scale acoustic telemetry reveals unexpected lake trout,Salvelinus namaycush, spawning habitats in northern Lake Huron, North America

AbstractPrevious studies of lake trout,Salvelinus namaycush, spawning habitat in the Laurentian Great Lakes have used time‐ and labour‐intensive survey methods and have focused on areas with historic observations of spawning aggregations and on habitats prejudged by researchers to be suitable for spawning. As an alternative, we used fine‐scale acoustic telemetry to locate, describe and compare lake trout spawning habitats. Adult lake trout were implanted with acoustic transmitters and tracked during five consecutive spawning seasons in a 19–27 km2region of the Drummond Island Refuge, Lake Huron, using theVEMCOPositioning System. Acoustic telemetry revealed discrete areas of aggregation on at least five reefs in the study area, subsequently confirmed by divers to contain deposited eggs. Notably, several identified spawning sites would likely not have been discovered using traditional methods because either they were too small and obscure to stand out on a bathymetric map or because they did not conform to the conceptual model of spawning habitat held by many biologists. Our most unique observation was egg deposition in gravel and rubble substrates located at the base of and beneath overhanging edges of large boulders. Spawning sites typically comprised <10% of the reef area and were used consistently over the 5‐year study. Evaluation of habitat selection from the perspective of fish behaviour through use of acoustic transmitters offers potential to expand current conceptual models of critical spawning habitat.

Movement patterns and spatial segregation of two populations of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush in Lake Huron

Abstract Movement ecology is an important component of life history and population dynamics, and consequently its understanding can inform successful fishery management decision-making. While lake trout populations in Lake Huron have shown signs of recovery from near extinction in recent years, knowledge of their movement behavior remains incomplete. We used acoustic telemetry to describe and compare movement patterns of two Lake Huron lake trout populations: Drummond Island and Thunder Bay. Both populations showed high spawning site fidelity, with no evidence of co-mingling during non-spawning season. Detections between spawning periods were mainly limited to receivers within 100 km of spawning locations, and suggested that the two populations likely remained segregated throughout the year. Drummond Island fish, which spawn inside the Drummond Island Refuge, primarily dispersed east into Canadian waters of Lake Huron, with 79–92% of fish being detected annually on receivers outside the refuge. In contrast, Thunder Bay fish tended to disperse south towards Saginaw Bay. Large proportions (i.e., > 80%) of both populations were available to fisheries outside the management zone containing their spawning location. Thunder Bay fish moved relatively quickly to overwinter habitat after spawning, and tended to repeat the same post-spawning movement behavior each year. The consistent, predictable movement of both populations across management zones highlights the importance of understanding population dynamics to effective management of Lake Huron lake trout.

Management of double-crested cormorants to improve sport fi sheries in Michigan: three case studies

Impacts of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) to fi sheries have been documented, but evaluation of the process and outcomes of cormorant management to reduce impacts on fiis lacking. We provide a synthesis of adaptive management of double-crested cormorants in the Les Cheneaux Islands (LCI), Brevoort Lake, and Drummond Island, Michigan from 2004 to 2007. The LCI management focused on reducing numbers of nesting cormorants in the region as a means of improving the yellow perch (Perca fl avescens) population and fi shery. At Brevoort Lake and Drummond Island, management focused on lethal and nonlethal harassment of spring migrating cormorants to reduce their foraging on spawning walleye (Sander vitreus) and yellow perch and to improve those fi sheries and increase fi sh populations. At each location, management efforts reduced cormorant foraging, and fi shery data indicated increased abundance of sport fi sh species. The 3 locations combined provided evidence for the underlying hypotheses that cormorants can infl uence mortality of local sport fi sh populations and that short-term management goals have been met. Continuation of adaptive management and monitoring programs will determine whether the improvement of targeted sport fi sheries through cormorant management is sustainable.

Novel species and expanded distribution of ellipsoidal multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes.

Multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes (MMPs) are a peculiar group of magnetotactic bacteria, each comprising approximately 10-100 cells of the same phylotype. Two morphotypes of MMP have been identified, including several species of globally distributed spherical mulberry-like MMPs (s-MMPs), and two species of ellipsoidal pineapple-like MMPs (e-MMPs) from China (Qingdao and Rongcheng cities). We recently collected e-MMPs from Mediterranean Sea sediments (Six-Fours-les-Plages) and Drummond Island, in the South China Sea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MMPs from Six-Fours-les-Plages and the previously reported e-MMP Candidatus Magnetananas rongchenensis have 98.5% sequence identity and are the same species, while the MMPs from Drummond Island appear to be a novel species, having > 7.1% sequence divergence from the most closely related e-MMP, Candidatus Magnetananas tsingtaoensis. Identification of the novel species expands the distribution of e-MMPs to Tropical Zone. Comparison of nine physical and chemical parameters revealed that sand grain size and the content of inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium and nitrite) in the sediments from Rongcheng City and Six-Fours-les-Plages were similar, and lower than found for sediments from the other two sampling sites. The results of the study reveal broad diversity and wide distribution of e-MMPs.

Lake trout in northern Lake Huron spawn on submerged drumlins

Recent observations of spawning lake trout Salvelinus namaycush near Drummond Island in northern Lake Huron indicate that lake trout use drumlins, landforms created in subglacial environments by the action of ice sheets, as a primary spawning habitat. From these observations, we generated a hypothesis that may in part explain locations chosen by lake trout for spawning. Most salmonines spawn in streams where they rely on streamflows to sort and clean sediments to create good spawning habitat. Flows sufficient to sort larger sediment sizes are generally lacking in lakes, but some glacial bedforms contain large pockets of sorted sediments that can provide the interstitial spaces necessary for lake trout egg incubation, particularly if these bedforms are situated such that lake currents can penetrate these sediments. We hypothesize that sediment inclusions from glacial scavenging and sediment sorting that occurred during the creation of bedforms such as drumlins, end moraines, and eskers create suitable conditions for lake trout egg incubation, particularly where these bedforms interact with lake currents to remove fine sediments. Further, these bedforms may provide high-quality lake trout spawning habitat at many locations in the Great Lakes and may be especially important along the southern edge of the range of the species. A better understanding of the role of glacially-derived bedforms in the creation of lake trout spawning habitat may help develop powerful predictors of lake trout spawning locations, provide insight into the evolution of unique spawning behaviors by lake trout, and aid in lake trout restoration in the Great Lakes.

New insight into the spawning behavior of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, from a recovering population in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Spawning behavior of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, is poorly understood, relative to stream-dwelling salmonines. Underwater video records of spawning in a recovering population from the Drummond Island Refuge (Lake Huron) represent the first reported direct observations of lake trout spawning in the Laurentian Great Lakes. These observations provide new insight into lake trout spawning behavior and expand the current conceptual model. Lake trout spawning consisted of at least four distinct behaviors: hovering, traveling, sinking, and gamete release. Hovering is a new courtship behavior that has not been previously described. The apparent concentration of hovering near the margin of the spawning grounds suggests that courtship and mate selection might be isolated from the spawning act (i.e., traveling, sinking, and gamete release). Moreover, we interpret jockeying for position displayed by males during traveling as a unique form of male-male competition that likely evolved in concert with the switch from redd-building to itinerant spawning in lake trout. Unlike previous models, which suggested that intra-sexual competition and mate selection do not occur in lake trout, our model includes both and is therefore consistent with evolutionary theory, given that the sex ratio on spawning grounds is skewed heavily towards males. The model presented in this paper is intended as a working hypothesis, and further revision may become necessary as we gain a more complete understanding of lake trout spawning behavior.

Evaluation of harassment of migrating double-crested cormorants to limit depredation on selected sport fisheries in Michigan

Diverse management techniques have been used to mitigate conflicts between humans and double-crested cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus) including harassment methods supplemented by lethal take. In this study we evaluated impacts of programs to harass spring migrating cormorants on the walleye ( Sander vitreus) fishery in Brevoort Lake and the yellow perch ( Perca flavescens) and walleye fisheries at Drummond Island. Cormorant foraging declined significantly ( p < 0.05) at both locations subsequent to initiation of harassment programs. Overall harassment deterred 90% of cormorant foraging attempts while taking less than 6% lethally on average at each site. Yellow perch were a predominate prey item in number and biomass at both locations. Walleye made up a small proportion of the diet at both locations. However, both walleye and yellow perch abundance increased significantly ( p < 0.05) at Drummond Island. Walleye abundance at age 3 increased to record levels in 2008 following 3 years of cormorant management at Brevoort Lake. The estimated cormorant consumption of age-1 walleye in the absence of management at Brevoort Lake during 2005 would account for 55% of the record 2006 age-1 walleye population. These results support the hypothesis that cormorant predation on spawning aggregations of sportfish was a significant mortality factor and cormorant management reduced sportfish mortality and increased abundance at both locations. Continuation of harassment programs and fishery assessments will determine whether improvement of targeted sport fisheries through control of spring migrating cormorants is sustainable.

Lake Trout Population Dynamics at Drummond Island Refuge in Lake Huron: Implications for Future Rehabilitation

AbstractThe Drummond Island Refuge (DIR) was established in 1985 as part of the rehabilitation effort for lake trout Salvelinus namaycush in Lake Huron. Since then, several strains of hatchery‐reared lake trout have been stocked annually at the DIR. An intensive lampricide treatment of the St. Marys River during 1998–2001 was expected to lower the abundance of sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus within the DIR by 2000. We conducted annual gill‐net surveys during spring and fall to evaluate the performance of each of the strains of lake trout as well as that of the entire lake trout population (all strains pooled) in the DIR during 1991–2005. The criteria to evaluate performance included the proportion of “wild” fish within the population, spawner density, adult survival, growth, maturity, and wounding rate by sea lampreys. Wild lake trout did not recruit to the adult population to any detectable degree. During 1991–2005, the average density of spawning lake trout appeared to be marginally sufficient to initiate a self‐sustaining population. Survival of the Seneca Lake (SEN) strain of lake trout was significantly higher than that of the Superior–Marquette (SUP) strain, in part because of the higher sea‐lamprey‐induced mortality suffered by the SUP strain. However, other factors were also involved. Apparently SUP fish were more vulnerable to fishing conducted in waters near the refuge boundaries than SEN fish. The St. Marys River treatment appeared to be effective in reducing the sea lamprey wounding rate on SEN fish. We recommend that the stocking of SEN lake trout in the DIR, control of sea lampreys in the St. Marys River, and reduction of commercial fishery effort in waters near the DIR be maintained.

"Prairie Grouse", &lt;em&gt;Tympanuchus cupido&lt;/em&gt; × &lt;em&gt;phasianellus&lt;/em&gt;, Hybridization on Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Greater Prairie Chickens started their range expansion from Wisconsin about 1900. They reached Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by 1925 and completed colonization of Manitoulin Island by 1945. In the fall of 1932, an irruption of Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse from the Hudson Bay Lowlands occurred. Residents of Manitoulin distinguished the two species and reported the presence of “square-tails” and “sharp-tails” in the winter of 1932-1933. There is no specimen evidence or verbal reports that Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse reached Michigan during that irruption. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse were in the northern peninsula of Michigan by 1930. In 1941, Michigan Department of Natural Resources made a planting of 37 Prairie Sharptailed Grouse on Drummond Island. Thence they spread east and the first lek was found at the west end of Manitoulin Island in 1952. By 1960, these birds had virtually colonized the whole island. Development of a hybrid index from the morphology of specimens of skins and skeletons from Manitoulin indicated that more than 50% of all birds in the 1960s were hybrids. In Michigan, less than 1% of the birds necropsied or checked in hunters’ bags were hybrid. It seems likely that ethological isolation broke down on Manitoulin Island. The booming display of the Prairie Chicken and the tail rattling display of the Sharp-tailed Grouse can be broken down into their component parts. They appear to be homologous to five discrete displays of the Spruce Grouse, grouped in different patterns in each of the two lek species. There was little hybridization between Prairie Sharptailed Grouse and Prairie Chickens that had lived sympatrically for thousands of years. Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse had probably never lived sympatrically with Prairie Chickens and the evolution of the perception of species distinctions may not have evolved to the point where hybridization was restricted to a rare event.

Black Bear, Ursus americanus, movements and home ranges on Drummond Island, Michigan

Black Bear, Ursus americanus, movements and home ranges on Drummond Island, Michigan

NEW WORLD SPECIES OF CHLORITA, NOTUS, AND FORCIPATA (RHYNCHOTA: HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE: TYPHLOCYBINAE) WITH A NEW TRIBE FORCIPATINI

AbstractChlorita nearctica is described from the Yukon Territory and is the first member of its genus found in the New World. A synopsis is presented to the Old World species of Chlorita Fieber, 1866 (Typhlocybinae, tribe Empoascini). A new typhlocybine tribe Forcipatini is created for Forcipata DeLong &amp; Caldwell, 1936 and Notus Fieber, 1866. A synopsis of the genus Notus is presented, with Curta as a subgenus containing only the type species. Notus isolatus sp.nov. is described from Drummond Island, Michigan, in Lake Huron and from Quebec. A synopsis of the genus Forcipata DeLong &amp; Caldwell is presented; all species belong to a single subgenus. Five new species are described: F. forficula from Florida, F. ips from Alaska and Yukon, F. montana from the mountains of British Columbia and Montana, and F. unica and F. xlix from Wisconsin. The New World species of the forcipatine genera are keyed.

Hypocrisy on the Great Lakes Frontier: The Use of Whiskey by the Michigan Department of Indian Affairs

By the 1820s it was obvious to everyone who was familiar with the Indians of the upper Great Lakes that all of them were in a state of serious social and numerical decline. There were several reasons for this decline: introduced European diseases (especially smallpox), disruption of the sustainable subsistence way of life by the introduction of an unsustainable market economy (the fur trade), and the resulting destruction by overhunting of the fur and food animals on which the Indians depended. There was another factor at work in the disintegra tion of the Indians, however, and both federal and Michigan Indian Department officials knew what it was: whiskey. On 7 July 1826 Thomas L. McKenney, United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, having seen first-hand at Drummond Island the effect whiskey had on the Ottawa Indians there, remarked that in their original state the Indians of the Great Lakes were truly noble savages, but with the arrival of European and American traders

The End of an Era: British-Indian Relations in the Great Lakes Region after the War of 1812

On Christmas Eve 1814 Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent and brought the War of 1812 to its official close. The treaty did not accurately reflect the situation that existed in the upper Great Lakes where Indian warriors backed by British agents and traders still held sway. In the postwar years, Americans identified the British-Indian connection as a major obstacle to the establishment of United States hegemony in the Great Lakes area, and even feared the revival of a British-backed Indian confederacy such as Tecumseh and the Prophet had developed. American agents and officials testified to the enduring strength of the British-Indian alliance and complained vociferously about the intrigues of British agents among the tribes. British records, however, tell a different story. Even though old connections and mutual interests survived, the Treaty of Ghent sounded the death knell of the British Indian alliance and the end of the threat to American expansionism. Britons and Indians came to realize that the days were over when their combined might had controlled the Great Lakes and held the keys to the continent. As Britain looked elsewhere for power and prosperity, the United States gradually translated its nominal hegemony into reality and the Indians developed alternative strategies of survival through migration or cultural adaptation. Americans claimed that the councils which the British held with the Indians at Drummond Island and elsewhere served as occasions to reinforce Indian allegiance to the Crown and to fuel Indian hostility against the United States. In fact, the proceedings of those councils reflected the Indians' despair in the face of new realities and