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Dietary niche and growth rate of the nonnative tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) in the Lake Superior basin
Citation:
Dawson, B., G. Peterson, T. Hrabik, AND J. Hoffman. Dietary niche and growth rate of the nonnative tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) in the Lake Superior basin. JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH. International Association for Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, MI, 46(5):1358-1368, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2020.07.014
Impact/Purpose:
Non-native species early detection surveillance and rapid response (EDRR) programs are built upon risk assessments that determine both the likelihood of introduction and establishment and potential ecological or economic impact. In the Great Lakes, the non-native fish tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) is difficult to detect owing to its high affinity for aquatic vegetation. In this study, we determined life-history traits of tubenose goby to better characterize its potential ecological impact. The study supports ongoing research to develop an EDRR approach for the Great Lakes basin.
Description:
Tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) was introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1990s via ship ballast water, but remains poorly studied within North America, making it difficult to predict its effects on native ecosystems. Basic life history knowledge is essential to determine if a nonnative species is potentially invasive. Dietary breadth and somatic growth rate have important ramifications for survival, competitiveness, and dispersal ability of a fish species, and thereby its potential ecological impact. We studied diet and growth of age-0 tubenose goby within the St. Louis River, a tributary to Lake Superior that is home to the largest population within the Lake Superior basin. We sampled tubenose gobies from shallow, vegetated habitat during summer and fall. Stomach contents were identified and weighed to measure fullness and dietary breadth between seasons (summer, fall) and several locations. We aged fish based on otolith daily increments to model somatic growth. Tubenose goby diet was mostly comprised of isopods and amphipods, and dietary breadth was low and not significantly different between locations and seasons. Tubenose goby diet strongly overlapped with that of tadpole madtom (Noturus gyrinus), a native, demersal species. We tested several candidate growth models; the Gompertz growth function was the most parsimonious model among those examined. The model demonstrates that tubenose goby obtains a small maximum size and is short-lived, indicating an r-selected life history. We conclude that tubenose goby presents a unique risk to the Great Lakes and other freshwater bodies because their life history is typical of invasive species, their diet overlaps with native fish, and because they occupy shallow, vegetated habitat which functions as both nursery and foraging habitat for many recreationally and commercially important fishes.
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DOI: Dietary niche and growth rate of the nonnative tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) in the Lake Superior basin