PERSPECTIVE Dynamics of the Lake Michigan food web, 1970–2000

• Main Authors: Charles P. Madenjian, Gary L. Fahnenstiel, Thomas H. Johengen, Thomas F. Nalepa, Henry A. V, Guy W. Fleischer, Philip J. Schneeberger, Darren M. Benjamin, Emily B. Smith, James R. Bence, Edward S. Rutherford, Dennis S. Lavis, Dale M. Robertson, David J. Jude, Mark P. Ebener
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Burbot; Lota lota; lota
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.521.2328; http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/2002/20020015.pdf

tors responsible for these changes. Control of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) populations in Lake Michigan, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, had profound effects on the food web. Recoveries of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and burbot (Lota lota) populations, as well as the buildup of salmonine popu-lations, were attributable, at least in part, to sea lamprey control. Based on our analyses, predation by salmonines was primarily responsible for the reduction in alewife abundance during the 1970s and early 1980s. In turn, the decrease in alewife abundance likely contributed to recoveries of deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and burbot populations during the 1970s and 1980s. Decrease in the abundance of all three domi-nant benthic macroinvertebrate groups, including Diporeia, oligochaetes, and sphaeriids, during the 1980s in nearshore waters ( £ 50 m deep) of Lake Michigan, was attributable to a decrease in primary production linked to a decline in phosphorus loadings. Continued decrease in Diporeia abundance during the 1990s was associated with the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion, but specific mechanisms for zebra mussels affecting Diporeia abundance remain un-identified. 753Résumé: On trouvera ici une étude des changements dans le réseau alimentaire du lac Michigan de 1970 à 2000 et des facteurs qui en sont responsables. Le contrôle des populations de la grande lamproie marine (Petromyzon marinus) et du gaspareau (Alosa pseudoharengus), qui a débuté dans les années 1950 et 1960, a eu un impact considérable sur