Ohio Sea Grant works hard to help Great Lakes residents and managers understand aquatic ecosystems, fish community health and potential issues. The program is also a frequent partner with agencies, academia, and private-sector interests to enhance fishing and understanding of Great Lakes fish populations and ecology. If wild stocks grow scarcer and are more intensively managed, aquaculture might play an ever-increasing role in the Great Lakes food supply and the region’s economy.
CURRENT
Projects
CURRENT PROJECTS
Profiling Microbial Diversity in Fish Production Ponds at Fin Farm
RECORD:
R/A-024-PDPrincipal Investigator:
Zhaohui Xu, Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University
Institution:
Bowling Green State University
Research in progress.
Physiological, growth and survival response of age-0 yellow perch and walleye to toxic cyanobacteria
RECORD:
R/ESH-001-ODHEPrincipal Investigator:
Stuart Ludsin, Director, OSU Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
Institution:
Research in progress.
Development of an efficient approach to quantify and control a fish disease caused by Saprolegnia sp.
RECORD:
R/A-023Principal Investigator:
Vipaporn Phuntumart, Faculty, BGSU Department of Biological Sciences
Institution:
Bowling Green State University
Research in progress.
Stock structure and contribution of west and east basin walleye to recreational and commercial fisheries in Lake Erie
RECORD:
R/ER-129Principal Investigator:
Stuart Ludsin, Director, OSU Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
Institution:
Research in progress.
Seeing the bait on the hook: Assessing the impact of harmful algal blooms on the recreational Walleye fishery in Lake Erie
RECORD:
R/ER-128Principal Investigator:
Suzanne Gray, Associate Professor, OSU College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES)
Institution:
Research in progress.
Design and implementation of aquatics based after school program at PAST Innovation Lab
RECORD:
E/E-006-PDPrincipal Investigator:
Andrew Bruening, Director of Bridge Programs, The PAST Foundation
Institution:
RELEVANCE: After-school programs can be a great way for students to expand their knowledge of aquatic biology and environmental science, but many currently available options can be overwhelming for middle-school students and younger children.
RESPONSE: A seven-week after-school program for middle school students was designed to introduce them to hands-on activities, field sampling and identification techniques, as well as build student confidence.
RESULTS: Participants confidently showed what they had learned during an “open house” that included required presentations to parents and other guests. They were also familiar with local macroinvertebrate identification and water quality testing, and better prepared to participate in additional field studies like summer camps.
BOTTOM LINE
A hands-on after-school program was developed to increase middle school students' ability to participate confidently in field studies and other learning experiences outside the classroom.
Swimming Performance of Great Lakes Minnows and Darters
RECORD:
R/ER-119-PDPrincipal Investigator:
Stephen Jacquemin, Professor - Biological Sciences and Water Quality, Wright State University Lake Campus
Institution:
RELEVANCE: Understanding how swimming performance varies in freshwater fishes has implications for determining where they fit into an ecosystem, how different species evolved from others, and providing management and conservation recommendations. The vast majority of swimming performance research has focused on larger sportfish, leaving out the smaller species that represent the largest portion of North American freshwater fish diversity.
RESPONSE: Researchers assessed swimming performance in several species of Great Lakes minnows and darters in relation to the fishes’ body size, sex and specific species, using a swimming performance chamber that allowed them to measure speeds that can be maintained for a long time, shorter durations, or rapid bursts.
RESULTS: Species differed in swimming performance, even when data was adjusted for body size differences, and sex did not appear to play a role in swimming ability in most species. Spotfin shiners overall seemed to be the strongest swimmers, both over prolonged time periods and during short bursts.
BOTTOM LINE
Understanding swimming performance in fishes can provide important information about their place in the ecosystem and how to best manage and conserve species of interest, but few studies have looked at smaller non-game fishes in the Great Lakes. Researchers found that swimming performance varies between species even when varying body sizes are taken into account, but that few species show differences in performance between males and females.
Can fish see the bait on the hook? Linking effects of algal and sedimentary turbidity on fish vision to the Lake Erie recreational fishery through research and outreach
RECORD:
R/ER-111Principal Investigator:
Suzanne Gray, Associate Professor, OSU College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES)
Institution:
RELEVANCE: Walleye, an important Ohio sportfish, hunt primarily by vision, meaning that reduced water clarity due to algal blooms or stirred-up sediments can keep them from finding food and mates. The increased severity and spread of harmful algal blooms and sediment runoff into Lake Erie has the potential to severely affect these fish, their prey, and Ohio’s $1.8 billion sportfishing industry.
RESPONSE: Laboratory experiments tested the ability of Lake Erie fishes to see under various conditions, such as algal blooms or stirred-up sediment in the water. A phone app recruited Lake Erie charter boat captains in a citizen science project aimed at gathering fishing success information under different water conditions.
RESULTS: Lab experiments showed that walleye and their prey, emerald shiners, have compromised vision when there are algal blooms in the water, compared to when murky waters are caused by sediments. Both species can also detect prey from farther away when the water is clear. 17 charter captains are currently using the app, with data being analyzed this fall.
BOTTOM LINE
Because walleye, an important Ohio sportfish, hunt by sight, reduced visibility underwater can limit their ability to find prey. With an increase in harmful algal blooms and sediment runoff into Lake Erie, researchers are examining the extent to which these could affect Ohio’s billion-dollar sportfishing industry.
Consequences of algal and sedimentary turbidity for the visual abilitiesof Lake Erie fishes
RECORD:
R/LR-023Principal Investigator:
Suzanne Gray, Associate Professor, OSU College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES)
Institution:
RELEVANCE: Recent algal blooms and sediment runoff to Lake Erie can directly impact the ability of economically important game fishes and their prey to see underwater. Reduced visibility of prey can lead to poor growth in fish, such as walleye, and could disrupt recreational fishing if fish cannot see lures; therefore there is a critical need to better understand the visual abilities of Lake Erie fishes when water color and quality are compromised.
RESPONSE: A Sea Grant-funded scientist and her students have determined the best way to test the visual responses of walleye and their prey, emerald shiner, to intense algal blooms an run-off. These new protocols will be used to determine what colors fish can see best and from what distances walleye and their prey can see each other.
RESULTS: The establishment of protocols for testing visual abilities associated with finding food and avoiding predators is an important first step in understanding how walleye will respond to ongoing water quality issues. Researchers will be further able to evaluate what fish can see when the water is murky or turbid, which can have direct implications for the lucrative recreational walleye fishery. For example, walleye may be able to detect different lures better than others depending on how thick the algal bloom is.
BOTTOM LINE
A Sea Grant-funded scientist and her lab have developed standard protocols to determine the visual capabilities of an economically important game fish and its prey under the changing quality and clarity of Lake Erie water.
Developing superior neomale broodstocks and genetically fast-growing monosex female populations in yellow perch and ealuating their growth and production potential at different culture regimes
RECORD:
R/A-022Principal Investigator:
Hanping Wang, Senior Research Scientist, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC)
Institution:
RELEVANCE: Yellow perch aquaculture has become a growing industry in Ohio, due to high market prices and decline in wild populations. Yellow perch are small and grow slowly, restraining growth of this new Midwest industry, particularly in mixed-sex stocks because males grow much more slowly and not as large as females.
RESPONSE: Researchers have developed broodstocks of yellow perch that are almost exclusively female, based on previous generations of performance-bred yellow perch that already grow faster than wild populations.
RESULTS: Growth performance tests showed that the all-female group of yellow perch had grown 26.3% faster than a mixed-sex group and 66% faster than an all-male group after six months in indoor tanks. Larger-scale pond studies are underway and will finish by the end of 2018. Young fast-growing all-female yellow perch will become available to the aquaculture industry in the summer of 2018.
BOTTOM LINE
Broodstock of fast-growing yellow perch females, which grow larger than males, was bred and made available to the aquaculture industry, making yellow perch farming a more achievable industry for Ohio. The all-female fish grow 26.3% faster than mixed-sex groups on the same feed, increasing profit margins and reaching market size more quickly.