McKenzie, Michael Warren

Migratory fish can influence the rivers where they spawn by depositing nutrients and organic matter which increase primary and secondary production. Past research in the Laurentian Great Lakes has focused on individual tributaries, accordingly, the spatial extent of subsidies and how environmental factors influence subsidies are not clear. To determine which tributaries received subsidies, I compared stable carbon isotope values (δ13C) of resident stream fishes above and below 54 barriers in 37 tributaries. Subsidies were found in found across 43 of the barriers. The subsidy magnitude varied among the lakes, with Lake Superior having significantly larger subsidies. Correspondence analysis of environmental factors showed that large differences in δ13C were associated with steeper river channels on the Canadian Shield with little agricultural land-use. Migratory fish supply resource subsidies to rivers across the Great Lakes basin, though their magnitude is contextually dependent.

Author Keywords: barriers, Great Lakes, migratory fish, resident stream fish, resource subsidies, stable isotopes