Preliminary biotic and abiotic habitat assessment and comparison of East and West Branches of the Maple River for the reintroduction of Arctic grayling in Michigan

• Main Author: Cogut, Gregory
• Other Authors: Schrank, Amy, Ann Arbor
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: ARCTIC GRAYLING; THYMALLUS; MACROINVERTEBRA; Natural Resources and Environment; Science; Arctic; Arctic grayling; Thymallus arcticus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/143550

Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands The Arctic Grayling Thymallus arcticus is a member of the Salmonid family native to Northern Michigan, that has been extirpated since 1936 due to habitat loss, overfishing, and competition by invasive species. In 2016 the DNR proposed reintroducing Grayling to their native habitat, which includes the restocking of the West Branch of the Maple River, MI. This survey collected habitat, water quality, and macroinvertebrate data at 4 sample sites along the East and West branches of the Maple River. Abiotic habitat characteristics such as temperature, water velocity, and percent cover at both West branch Maple sites were more suitable for Grayling than those at the East Branch sites. While the East branch had more drifting macroinvertebrates, the West branch had significantly higher %EPT for both benthic and drifting macroinvertebrate. Based on our data, we believe that the West branch of the Maple River is more suitable for Grayling than the East branch. We also believe that Grayling could survive in the West branch, however further study should be conducted to determine if Grayling could successfully compete with existing fish species. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143550/1/Cogut_2017.pdf