Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes, second edition

Chapter 12: Coolwater and Coldwater Fish in North American (Laurentian) Great Lakes

David F. Clapp, Andrew S. Briggs, Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Jeremy P. Holden, Janice A. Kerns, Matthew S. Kornis, Rebecca A. Redman, Lars G. Rudstam, and Shawn P. Sitar

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874769.ch12

Standards for sampling coolwater and coldwater fish in North American (Laurentian) Great Lakes were not included in the first edition of Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes (Bonar et al. 2009); addition of the current chapter adds to the number of habitats that now have standardized methods.

The standard sampling techniques described in this chapter are used in the five North American Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario) and connecting waters (St. Marys River, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, St. Lawrence River). The Great Lakes far surpass most other North American freshwater systems in size, ranging in area from 82,000 km2 (Lake Superior) to 19,000 km2 (Lake Ontario), with maximum depths of >400 m (Lake Superior) to 70 m (Lake Erie). In total, the Great Lakes drain a land area of >520,000 km2, from Minnesota and Manitoba in the west to New York and Quebec in the east; the present-day configuration of the Great Lakes is a product of the most recent deglaciation of their drainage basin that began around 15,000 years ago (Larson and Schaetzl 2001). The modern-day Great Lakes shoreline includes significant areas of undeveloped, presettlement topography (much of Lake Superior, northern Lake Huron) as well as large urban waterfronts, from Duluth in western Lake Superior, to Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto, moving eastward. Shoreline urbanization varies significantly across the lakes, from <10% on Lake Superior to >75% on Lake Erie. Urban fisheries in large metropolitan areas are a focus for many resource management agencies surrounding the Great Lakes and are one factor driving assessment programs on the lakes.