Effects of Spatio -temporal Heterogeneity on Resource Partitioning of Lake Ontario Salmonids Using Archival Satellite

1. Effects of Spatio-temporal Heterogeneity on Resource Partitioning of Lake Ontario Salmonids Using Archival Satellite Tags Christina Semeniuk Assistant Professor University of Windsor semeniuk@uwindsor.ca Great Lakes Fishery Commission – Project Pre-Proposal Presentation March 7, 2013 Ann Arbor, MI

2. Team Members PI: Christina Semeniuk – Assistant Professor, GLIER, UWindsor Co-PI’s: • Nigel Hussey – Post-doctoral Research Fellow, GLIER, UWindsor • Aaron Fisk – Professor, GLIER, UWindsor • Timothy Johnson – GL Research Scientist, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources • Tom Stewart – Program Advisor-Great Lakes Ecosystems,OMNR • Jana Lantry – Aquatic Biologist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources

3. What I Study • I investigate the cumulative effects of multiple stressors on the behaviour and movement decisionsof wildlife. Predictive Ecology • I use this information to explore distributional and demographic patterns under future scenarios. • I ensure the scenarios are rooted in spatial systems to strengthen the predictive framework. • I then evaluate how these impacts can ultimately affect the persistence of wildlife populations.

4. How I Conduct Integrated Resource Management Ecology • field • theory • habitat selection • predator-prey Quantitative Modelling • individual – agent-based • population – system dynamics • spatial – GIS Interdisciplinary Resource Management • human dimensions of wildlife • econometric models • geography • geomatics engineering Collaboration • academic • industry • government

5. Study Systems: Multi systems, Multi taxa Unifying Thread

6. Team Members - Expertise PI: Christina Semeniuk – Ecological modeling, Spatial analyses Co-PI’s: • Nigel Hussey – Resource partitioning, Animal movement • Aaron Fisk – Trophic ecology, Animal movement • Timothy Johnson – Food-web ecology, Fish bioenergetics • Tom Stewart – Bioenergetics/Food-web models, Spatial analyses • Jana Lantry – Population dynamics, Fisheries assessments

7. Lake Ontario Research Priorities • Draft Fish Community Objectives for Lake Ontario* • Maintain healthy, diverse fisheries • Salmon, trout, walleye, yellow perch, basses • Maintain and restore native fish communities • Atlantic salmon, lake trout, lake sturgeon, American eel • Maintain predator-prey balance * Stewart et al., GLFC Spec. Publ., under review • Restoration of Native Fishes is a Basin-wide Research Priority

8. Statement of the Problem • Non-complementary objectives (??): Restoration of native species Productive salmonid fisheries • Ecological effects associated with non-native fish introductions • Concerns about predator demand: prey supply 8

9. Statement of the Problem • Efforts to restore native lake trout (Salvelinusnamaycush, LT) and Atlantic salmon (Salmosalar, ATS) are underway in Lake Ontario. • Progress has been slow and many potential impediments have been identified • interactions with non-native species, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchustshawytscha, CS) • knowledge gaps in fish movement and migration Salmonid Abundance in Lake Ontario Lantry and Eckert, 2012

10. Statement of the Problem A. Ecological relationships will have impacts on stocking and restoration efforts Changes in niche occupancy characteristics via: 1. Direct competition with Chinook salmon 2. Indirect competition through changes in prey base “Field studies are key in providing a more holistic vision of non-native species-induced ecological impact emerging from competitive forces.” Blanchet et al. 2007 Diet overlap Johnson et al. Unpublished data

11. Statement of the Problem B.Behaviour, movements and distribution of adult fish in the open lake have received relatively little attention. • Long-term environmental changes and/or whole-lake disturbances affect fish habitat-selection responses – growth, reproduction and survival. • Many of the challenges surrounding movement are biologically complex and vary in terms of spatial and temporal scale. “The advent of new and more powerful tracking technologies can address research questions such as large-scale movements (both spatial and temporal) and fine-scale behavior of fishes in and around fishways.” Landsman et al. 2011

12. Research Questions Understanding open-lake behaviour, movements, and distributions of salmonids in Lake Ontario is an essential pre-cursor to restoring self-sustaining populations How does seasonal BMD and resource use compare among salmonids in Lake Ontario; What is the degree of seasonal spatial overlap and the potential for interspecific competition of these species; Do predators exploit spatial and temporal heterogeneity in thermal structure and prey distributions to maximize growth? 2. 3. 1.

13. Research Methods (1) Animal Tracking MiniPAT: Pop-up Archival Transmitting Tag • Fish caught by trained anglers in the spring • 6 tags / species, split Ontario-New York waters • Simple attachment harness on fish • User-specified archiving interval and time-to-release • Upon release, relays data and current position to satellite for retrieval http://www.asf.ca

14. Research Methods (1a) Animal Tracking – Vertical positioning Detailed movement ecology: • Activity patterns – vertical daily, seasonal • Thermal occupancy Chittenden et al. 2013

15. Research Methods (2a) Refining Geolocation: Horizontal positioning Horizontal position will be estimated using a trajectory algorithm: • create trajectories that join tag start- and end-locations: avoid the excluded areas where tag and environmental information disagree Time step 380 Trajectory Tag Temperature = 20.4oC 21.0oC Depth = 25 5 Time step 255 Trajectory Tag Temperature = 16.5oC 16.0oC Depth = 75 30 Time step 205 Trajectory Tag Temperature = 6.5oC 25.2oC Depth = 5 3 Ådlandsvik et al. 2007

16. Research Methods (2b) Refining Geolocation: Spatial-thermal map Temperature-depth data will be obtained from a 3D hydrodynamic map of Lake Ontario. Huang, Yerubandi et al. 2010

17. Research Methods (2b) Refining Geolocation Detailed movement ecology: • Daily-seasonal activity rates • Degree of potential spatio-temporal overlap between species Simpfendorfer et al. 2012

18. Research Methods (3) Energetic Optimization • Thermal occupancy data will be combined with agency-derived diet, prey distributions and growth rates; • Bioenergetics modeling will be used to evaluate: • predator demand differences among species • energetic consequences of occupied temperature • where are predators relative to prey and each other when demand peaks? Prey density Temperature Depth 0 55 Density (g m-3) 101.3 10-3 22 0 Growth (g g-1 d-1) -0.0058 0.02 Horne et al. 1996

19. Research Deliverables A more complete understanding of seasonalbehaviour, movement, and distribution of salmonids in Lake Ontario Insight into the potential for interspecific competition among salmonidspecies Discern growth efficiency, thermal preferences Contribute to stock assessment management Extend methods to other species, lakes, and ecosystems e.g., feeding ecology, corroborate diet isotopic information e.g., partition of space and resources e.g., recalibrate stocking demand relative to prey supply e.g., aid in targeting location of stocks

20. Questions? Great Lakes Fishery Commission – Project Pre-Proposal Presentation March 7, 2013 Ann Arbor, MI

21. Research Budget & Timeline • Costs: $67,320 / year for 2 years • Purchase: miniPATs from Wildlife Computers • Hire: boating captains • Year 1: Animal tracking, vertical positioning analyses, spatial-map • generation, development of geolocation algorithm. • Year 2: Continued tracking, resource-partitioning analyses, and • bioenergetics modeling.

23. Research Objectives & Hypotheses Describe the seasonal behaviour, movements and distribution of LT, ATS, and CS in Lake Ontario using MiniPSATs and determine the degree of spatial and depth overlap and potential for competition LT, ATS, and CS rarely overlap in their distribution reducing the potential for interspecific competition Explore variation in growth rate potential for each species relative to spatial and temporal variation in temperature and prey Patterns of occupancy exploit spatial variation in thermal habitat and prey distributions to minimize interspecific competition while maintaining sufficient access to prey and physiological optima to maximize growth.