Great Lakes Essential Resources: Flora & Fauna

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2024 4:11 PM

Invasive Species

Randy Westbrooks, Invasive Plant Control, Inc., Bugwood.org, zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) (Pallas) Image source: Invasive.org

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission , Bugwood.org, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) Image source: Invasive.org

Illinois Natural History Survey , Bugwood.org, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) Image source: Invasive.org

Lee Emery, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bugwood.org, sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) . Image source: Invasive.org

Lampricide Research Compendium
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The Lampricide Research Compendium is a reference that provides descriptions of research conducted on the chemicals 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and 2’,5-dichloro-4’-nitrosalicylanilide (niclosamide) that are used to control the parasitic sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Great Lakes. Data contained in this compendium are from research studies on the toxicity/toxicological effects on target and non-target organisms, and from research on the environmental fate and residue chemistry of TFM and niclosamide. Data are from published manuscripts and from available grey (non-commercial) literature, such as reports submitted to the regulatory agencies of the United States and Canada to support registration and use of the chemicals in the control program. If the user is aware of specific publications in these subject areas that are not found in the compendium, please contact the editor (see below). The compendium has been designed to access information by either entering key word search terms or by proceeding through the data by making selections from various menu options.
Sea Lamprey: A Great Lakes Invader (Great Lakes Fishery Commission)
Sea lamprey control on the Great Lakes, 1953 and 1954 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Gary Montz, Bugwood.org, spiny water flea (Bythotrephes cederstroemii) Image source: Invasive.org

Spiny Water Flea (National Invasive Species Information Center)

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) Image source: Invasive.org

Eric Coombs, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Image source: Invasive.org

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Image source: Invasive.org

John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.org, common reed (Phragmites australis) Image source: Invasive.org

Mandy Tu, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.org, common reed (Phragmites australis) Image source: Invasive.org

Threatened and Endangered Species

Eric Engbretson, Lake Sturgeon (2008). Image source: USFWS National Digital Library

Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Tag Identification Database
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This database facilitates communication between people who tag and those who recapture lake sturgeon across the Great Lakes. The database provides the ability to determine who should be contacted when a tagged lake sturgeon is encountered. The database is updated, maintained, and hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lake sturgeon Assessments in Lake Erie and the Niagara River (Fish & Wildlife Service)
Sturgeon (World Wide Fund for Nature)

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, Houghton's goldenrod (Oligoneuron houghtonii) . Image source: Invasive.org

Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, Dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris). Image source: Invasive.org

Gene Mieminen, Piping Plover (2006). Image source: USFWS National Digital Library

Ryan Hagerty, USFWS, Northern riffleshell mussels . Image source: USFWS National Digital Library

Fisheries and Commercial Fishing Activities and Impact

Commercial Fish Production In The Great Lakes 1867-2015
Scroll to bottom of page for data.
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Commercial fish catch data (called production) were published by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 1962 (Technical Report No.3) and covered the period 1867-1960. A supplement covering the years 1961-1968 was released in 1970, and a revised edition covering the years 1867-1977 was published in 1979. This third update of a web-based version covers the period 1867-2015. The intent is to update at approximately five-year intervals. The files are intended for open use by the public. We ask only that the commission be acknowledged when these records are used in presentations and publications.
Great Lakes Fish Stocking Database
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This database provides access to a centralized, comprehensive database of all fish stocked from artificial propagation into the Great Lakes. The database was developed through a peer review process that involved fishery professionals from every agency that stocks fish into the Great Lakes. Fishery managers use this database to help them understand the food and habitat needs of stocked predators in each lake. The database is updated, maintained, and hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
UB researchers to study why stocked fish are not reproducing in Lake Ontario (UBNow, March 10, 2022)
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A UB research team will investigate why stocked fish in Lake Ontario are not reproducing.

The effort is being funded by New York Sea Grant, which recently announced eight projects totaling $1.3 million.
Great Lakes Fin Clip Database
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This database is not publicly available and is meant for fishery agencies to share stocking plans and associated tagging needs to properly evaluate whether stockings have achieved management objectives. The utility of this database has declined since the development of mass marking and the decline in numbers of fish stocked throughout the Great Lakes since 2005. This database is updated and hosted by the commission on behalf of the lake committees.
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
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The Great Lakes Fishery Commission was established in 1955 by the Canadian/U.S. Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries. The commission coordinates fisheries research, controls the invasive sea lamprey, and facilitates cooperative fishery management among the state, provincial, tribal, and federal agencies.
Lower Great Lakes, Fishery Resources Office, Amherst, NY (2003)

General Resources

Great Lakes Now
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With a monthly magazine-style television program and daily online reports at GreatLakesNow.org, the Great Lakes Now initiative offers in-depth coverage of news, issues, events and developments affecting the lakes and the communities that depend on them, while capturing the character and culture of the region.
The Challenge: Restoring the Great Lakes (1991)
Great Lakes Biology Monitoring Program (U.S. EPA)
The Nature Conservancy
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)