The effects of cool and variable temperatures on the hatch date, growth and overwinter mortality of a warmwater fish in small coastal embayments of Lake Ontario

Comparative thermal biology and depth distribution of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and northern pike (Esox lucius) in an urban harbour of the Laurentian Great Lakes

“…Studies on smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède, 1802) revealed that July temperatures of <15°C restricted young-of-the-year individuals from achieving a required body size needed to overwinter, preventing the sustainability of the species (Shuter et al 1980). Specifically, within Toronto Harbour, previous work using bioenergetic simulations suggested that for bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819) many embayments were too cool for sufficient summer growth and that these habitats may act as ecological sinks during cooler years (Murphy et al 2012a(Murphy et al , 2012b(Murphy et al , 2012c. Thus, behavioural thermoregulation of northern pike and largemouth bass in Toronto Harbour is likely an adaptive response to avoid temperatures that limit growth potential.…”

“…Additionally, the superposition of Poincaré waves (mean amplitudes of 4 m) may have an important modulation effect on major thermocline oscillations and increase thermal variability especially in the more exposed half of the Outer Harbour (Hlevca et al 2015). Temperature fluctuations caused by lake-embayment exchanges have been identified as a major factor contributing to habitat suitability (Murphy et al 2011), fish distribution, and adequate growing seasons (Murphy et al 2012a(Murphy et al , 2012b(Murphy et al , 2012c for warm-water fish species. Populations of yellow perch (Perca flavescens (Mitchill, 1814)), largemouth bass, and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus (L., 1758)) have been shown to move among embayments, effectively creating a metapopulation and allowing individuals to compensate for variations in the thermal habitat of different embayments in Toronto Harbour that would otherwise act as ecological traps (Murphy et al 2012a(Murphy et al , 2012b(Murphy et al , 2012c.…”

Thermal Influences on Life‐History Traits and Reproductive Effort of Introduced Pumpkinseed Sunfish Lepomis Gibbosus in the River Moselle Basin (Northeastern France)

“…Thermal influence on somatic growth and length at maturity. The lack of a significant effect of thermal regime on TL at age 1 was unexpected, given the positive effect of earlier warming on the initial date of spawning and hatching (Zięba et al, 2010), and the positive effect of increased DD on the growth increment of age-1 pumpkinseed (Murphy et al, 2012;also Appendix 3). The lack of a significant relationship between thermal DD and TL at age 1 can probably be explained by the fact that the pumpkinseed is a multiple spawner (Crivelli and Mestre, 1988), and its spawning periods are more protracted in warmer water bodies (Fox and Crivelli, 2001).…”

Determinants of temperature in small coastal embayments of Lake Ontario

“…2), only the days before Lake Ontario reached maximum temperature were used in the above calculations. W-4 was selected as the thermal baseline because it is warm enough for warmwater fish growth and survival (Murphy et al, 2011(Murphy et al, , 2012, and it is the most intensively instrumented Warm embayment.…”

“…For this reason, small coastal embayments have been, and will likely continue to be constructed in the Great Lakes to replace warmwater fish habitats lost through shoreline urbanization. Unfortunately, cool thermal conditions in existing small coastal embayments appear to limit the growth potential of age-0 warmwater fishes (Murphy et al, 2011); and many small embayments are too cold to produce cohorts of age-0 fish large enough to survive their first winter (Murphy et al, 2012).…”