VanLandschoot & Sons Commercial Fishing on Lake Superior with a dramatic dark cloud sunset

Great Lakes native fish species rely on coastal areas for spawning and nursery habitat, foraging opportunities, and safe havens from predation. However, aquatic invasive species (AIS) have invaded the Great Lakes at the highest rate recorded for a freshwater ecosystem and are degrading native fish habitat, spreading disease, altering food webs, and acting as predators.

These AIS are affecting populations of walleye (Sander vitreus), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), three species that hold considerable cultural and economic value to coastal communities. Researchers are working to identify suitable habitats for these species around the Great Lakes. However, few studies on ideal habitats have accounted for AIS.

Michigan Sea Grant and the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) program are attempting to close that gap. The NOAA-funded GLANSIS program maintains a database of comprehensive historical and current information about AIS. GLANSIS program manager Rochelle Sturtevant and GLANSIS GIS Specialist Connor Shelly will use the database to:

  • Pinpoint which AIS have potential direct and indirect effects on walleye, yellow perch, and lake whitefish;
  • Analyze the extent of habitat overlap in the Great Lakes between these invasives and the three focal native species;
  • Identify ideal habitat areas that are currently uninvaded or minimally invaded; and
  • Use historical trajectories of invasion to forecast where the AIS are likely to move next.

This information will help determine the level of risk to the three focal species, need for management across habitats, and ideal stocking locations in the Great Lakes.

This project is funded by the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP), a national coastal effort to coordinate federal activities, strengthen academic programs, and address coastal community needs.