Spatial and temporal comparisons of double-crested cormorant diets following the establishment of alewife in Lake Champlain, USA

From yellow perch to round goby: A review of double-crested cormorant diet and fish consumption at Three St. Lawrence River Colonies, 1999–2013

“…These observations are consistent with those of Coleman et al (2012) who suggested that round goby may reduce predation on native fish species that have more economic or recreational value. More recently, the introduction of alewife into Lake Champlain and their dominance in cormorant diet has led to speculation that it could act as a buffer on yellow perch predation at some colonies (DeBruyne et al, 2012).…”

“…Strachan and Bergin islands are about 3.5 km apart. Cormorant diets can vary, depending on habitat conditions, even at colonies located in close proximity DeBruyne et al, 2012). The 101 km stretch of river spanned by the three colonies included a variety of habitats including fast flowing and reservoir type conditions that could influence fish assemblages at nearby colonies.…”

“…We estimated the biomass of yellow perch, a species that has received special attention in terms of potential impacts due to cormorant predation Diana et al, 2006;Fielder, 2010;DeBruyne et al, 2012), consumed by cormorants at each colony. Yellow perch size was determined by measuring up to 100 otoliths recovered from the pellets during each feeding period.…”

Lake Champlain 2010: A summary of recent research and monitoring initiatives

“…DeBruyne et al (2012) compared diets of double-crested cormorants during the breeding seasons of 2001-02 and 2008-09 and noted a shift to consumption of alewife in recent years as this species has become abundant. Cormorant diets are, however, also somewhat sitespecific, with those nesting on Young Island eating large numbers of yellow perch.…”

Energetic considerations for managing double-crested cormorants on Lake Champlain

“…Management activities on Young Island led to increased breeding dispersal from Young Island south 35 km to Four Brothers Islands, where cormorant numbers were not controlled (Duerr et al, 2007). Diets of cormorants from these colonies differ (DeBruyne et al, 2012). Cormorants nesting on Young Island consumed mostly yellow perch.…”