Lake trout need thiamine to produce viable eggs. It was a poor substitute, kind of like replacing your vegetable intake with potato chips. The lake trout switched to non-native alewives. Lake herring were not just an important commercial species, they also fed lake trout. Lake trout fish underwater close up head Image originally from Public domain images obtained through Wikimedia CommonsĪround 1960, the lake herring population crashed – the victim of the triple whammy of overfishing, habitat degradation and invasive species. It all seemed inexhaustible – but, of course, that was an illusion. Once, the lake teemed with lake trout, lake herring and lake whitefish, supporting viable commercial fisheries well into the mid-1900s. To understand Great Lakes reefs, you first have to take a look at the recent history of fisheries and food webs on Lake Michigan. “If you tell people about a Great Lakes reef, no one has any idea what you’re talking about.” The Tangled Food Web Even if they’ve never been to one, they know what a tropical reef is,” he says. “If you tell people about a tropical reef, everyone will have images in their heads. He is not surprised by the skepticism I’ve encountered. Matt Herbert, aquatic ecologist for The Nature Conservancy, is showing me the location of a soon-to-be-reconstructed reef. Photo: © Matthew Dae Smith/Big Foot Media So important that conservationists believe reef rehabilitation could be a key factor in restoring species like lake trout and lake herring. And while these reefs may look quite different from those of the Caribbean, they are nonetheless vitally important for Great Lakes native fish. Skeptics aside, I really am here for the reefs. “You do know that Lake Michigan is freshwater, right?”Īll actual comments I heard, as I traveled across Michigan to Little Traverse Bay. “You’re not going to see anything in that cloudy water. I’m on my way to snorkel Lake Michigan’s reefs, and nobody’s buying it:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |