Acoustic Telemetry Reveals Large-Scale Migration Patterns of Walleye in Lake Huron

Abstract

Fish migration in large freshwater lacustrine systems such as the Laurentian Great Lakes is not well understood. The walleye (Sander vitreus) is an economically and ecologically important native fish species throughout the Great Lakes. In Lake Huron walleye has recently undergone a population expansion as a result of recovery of the primary stock, stemming from changing food web dynamics. During 2011 and 2012, we used acoustic telemetry to document the timing and spatial scale of walleye migration in Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. Spawning walleye (n = 199) collected from a tributary of Saginaw Bay were implanted with acoustic tags and their migrations were documented using acoustic receivers (n = 140) deployed throughout U.S. nearshore waters of Lake Huron. Three migration pathways were described using multistate mark-recapture models. Models were evaluated using the Akaike Information Criterion. Fish sex did not influence migratory behavior but did affect migration rate and walleye were detected on all acoustic receiver lines. Most (95%) tagged fish migrated downstream from the riverine tagging and release location to Saginaw Bay, and 37% of these fish emigrated from Saginaw Bay into Lake Huron. Remarkably, 8% of walleye that emigrated from Saginaw Bay were detected at the acoustic receiver line located farthest from the release location more than 350 km away. Most (64%) walleye returned to the Saginaw River in 2012, presumably for spawning. Our findings reveal that fish from this stock use virtually the entirety of U.S. nearshore waters of Lake Huron.

Probability of acoustic transmitter detections by receiver lines in Lake Huron: results of multi-year field tests and simulations

“…Acoustic transmitters were programmed to emit coded acoustic bursts (69 kHz) at random intervals between 300 and 900 s (mean interval = 600 s). Acoustic transmitters were detected on receivers deployed as part of the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System receiver network in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron [24]. In 2010-2011, the acoustic receiver (VR2W, 69 kHz, omnidirectional, Vemco, Halifax, NS) network consisted of 15 lines of receivers deployed in Lake Huron with receivers placed at 1000-m intervals along a line.…”

“…All virtual receiver lines consisted of 10 equally spaced receivers. The 1000-m interreceiver distance was chosen to mimic receiver spacing of acoustic receivers deployed in a study of walleye movements in Lake Huron [24]; 500-and 3000-m interreceiver distances were arbitrarily chosen to encompass conceivable other receiver deployment scenarios. Swimming speeds of fish were chosen to represent the range of swimming speeds observed in walleye [35].…”

“…Non-perpendicular paths provided additional time to detect virtual fish. Simulated acoustic transmission frequency mimicked transmitters implanted in walleye to study movements in Lake Huron and was the same for all simulations [24]. The time period between coded acoustic transmissions was random with a mean of 120 s and ranged from 60 to 180 s. Detection or non-detection of each simulated acoustic transmission on each virtual receiver was determined by a draw from a Bernoulli distribution, where the probability of detection (success) was set from the daily detection range curve (from Lake Huron) and the transmitter-to-receiver distance.…”

“…Rapid movements or low acoustic transmitter detection range may result in some individuals passing a receiver line without being detected [23]. The probability of detecting a moving fish by a stationary line of receivers may be estimated using mobile range testing and simulation or modeling [23,24]. Although range testing can provide insight into the performance of a single receiver, it can be difficult to predict or infer the probability of detecting a tagged fish moving through a line of stationary receivers.…”

“…Simulation models were based on daily empirical detection range curves derived from one of each paired acoustic transmitters deployed in Lake Huron and represented each of the four receiver lines in Lake Huron used in the field portion of the study. This paper represents part of a larger project investigating the movement patterns of walleye Sander vitreus in Lake Huron [24].…”