The Lake Michigan fish community has undergone many changes due to introduction of non-native species, climate shifts, and management actions. Managers need to understand the time course of these alterations, including the time-frame of impact on the food web in the lake. I used a collection (1999-2012) of diet samples from burbot from eastern Lake Michigan to evaluate temporal alterations in burbot diet with particular attention to non-native vs. native forage. Catch per unit effort (burbot/net · day) decreased from a high of 5.82 burbot/net · day (± 2.19) in 2001 to a low of 0.750 burbot/net · day (± 0.25) in 2010, which is consistent with declining burbot populations throughout the Great Lakes (Gorman and Sitar 2013; Stapanian et al. 2013). The collective contribution of sculpin (Cottus), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) to burbot diet decreased from ~80% before 2006 to ~15% in 2012. During the same time span, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) contribution to burbot diet increased from ~0% before 2006 to greater than 60% in 2012, implying nearly a complete diet shift of burbot in just six years. The diet shift suggests a change in feeding behavior from partially pelagic/benthic to almost entirely benthic, and a change in prey consumption from alewife/sculpin to round goby. This shift may and serve as a potential link to move the benthos from a nutrient sink to a nutrient source by utilizing round gobies and moving nutrients up the trophic web.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Lake Michigan fish community has undergone many changes due to introduction of non-native species, climate shifts, and management actions. Managers need to understand the time course of these alterations, including the time-frame of impact on the food web in the lake. I used a collection (1999-2012) of diet samples from burbot from eastern Lake Michigan to evaluate temporal alterations in burbot diet with particular attention to non-native vs. native forage. Catch per unit effort (burbot/net · day) decreased from a high of 5.82 burbot/net · day (± 2.19) in 2001 to a low of 0.750 burbot/net · day (± 0.25) in 2010, which is consistent with declining burbot populations throughout the Great Lakes (Gorman and Sitar 2013; Stapanian et al. 2013). The collective contribution of sculpin (<em>Cottus</em>), alewife (<em>Alosa pseudoharengus</em>), and ninespine stickleback (<em>Pungitius pungitius</em>) to burbot diet decreased from ~80% before 2006 to ~15% in 2012. During the same time span, round goby (<em>Neogobius melanostomus</em>) contribution to burbot diet increased from ~0% before 2006 to greater than 60% in 2012, implying nearly a complete diet shift of burbot in just six years. The diet shift suggests a change in feeding behavior from partially pelagic/benthic to almost entirely benthic, and a change in prey consumption from alewife/sculpin to round goby. This shift may and serve as a potential link to move the benthos from a nutrient sink to a nutrient source by utilizing round gobies and moving nutrients up the trophic web.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hares, Casey J"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Jill B.K. Leonard"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:34Z","subjects":["burbot","Lake Michigan","round goby","non-native species","benthic","diet analysis","Aquaculture and Fisheries","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/10","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Jill B.K. Leonard"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hares, Casey J"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-04-02T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["burbot","Lake Michigan","round goby","non-native species","benthic","diet analysis","Aquaculture and Fisheries","Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/10"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Lake Michigan fish community has undergone many changes due to introduction of non-native species, climate shifts, and management actions. Managers need to understand the time course of these alterations, including the time-frame of impact on the food web in the lake. I used a collection (1999-2012) of diet samples from burbot from eastern Lake Michigan to evaluate temporal alterations in burbot diet with particular attention to non-native vs. native forage. Catch per unit effort (burbot/net · day) decreased from a high of 5.82 burbot/net · day (± 2.19) in 2001 to a low of 0.750 burbot/net · day (± 0.25) in 2010, which is consistent with declining burbot populations throughout the Great Lakes (Gorman and Sitar 2013; Stapanian et al. 2013). The collective contribution of sculpin (Cottus), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) to burbot diet decreased from ~80% before 2006 to ~15% in 2012. During the same time span, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) contribution to burbot diet increased from ~0% before 2006 to greater than 60% in 2012, implying nearly a complete diet shift of burbot in just six years. The diet shift suggests a change in feeding behavior from partially pelagic/benthic to almost entirely benthic, and a change in prey consumption from alewife/sculpin to round goby. This shift may and serve as a potential link to move the benthos from a nutrient sink to a nutrient source by utilizing round gobies and moving nutrients up the trophic web.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Diet Analysis of Burbot from Eastern Lake Michigan: 1999-2012"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Jill B.K. Leonard"],"dc:creator":["Hares, Casey J"],"dc:date.available":["2014-04-02T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Lake Michigan fish community has undergone many changes due to introduction of non-native species, climate shifts, and management actions. Managers need to understand the time course of these alterations, including the time-frame of impact on the food web in the lake. I used a collection (1999-2012) of diet samples from burbot from eastern Lake Michigan to evaluate temporal alterations in burbot diet with particular attention to non-native vs. native forage. Catch per unit effort (burbot/net · day) decreased from a high of 5.82 burbot/net · day (± 2.19) in 2001 to a low of 0.750 burbot/net · day (± 0.25) in 2010, which is consistent with declining burbot populations throughout the Great Lakes (Gorman and Sitar 2013; Stapanian et al. 2013). The collective contribution of sculpin (Cottus), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) to burbot diet decreased from ~80% before 2006 to ~15% in 2012. During the same time span, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) contribution to burbot diet increased from ~0% before 2006 to greater than 60% in 2012, implying nearly a complete diet shift of burbot in just six years. The diet shift suggests a change in feeding behavior from partially pelagic/benthic to almost entirely benthic, and a change in prey consumption from alewife/sculpin to round goby. This shift may and serve as a potential link to move the benthos from a nutrient sink to a nutrient source by utilizing round gobies and moving nutrients up the trophic web.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/10"],"dc:subject":["burbot","Lake Michigan","round goby","non-native species","benthic","diet analysis","Aquaculture and Fisheries","Biology"],"dc:title":["Diet Analysis of Burbot from Eastern Lake Michigan: 1999-2012"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:34Z"}