Browsing by Author "Syslo, John Michael"

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Demography of lake trout in relation to population suppression in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2010) Syslo, John Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christopher S. Guy
Introduced lake trout Salvelinus namaycush threaten to extirpate native Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park. Suppression of the lake trout population is deemed necessary for the conservation of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. A National Park Service gill netting program removed nearly 273,000 lake trout from Yellowstone Lake between 1995 and 2007. Lake trout population size has not been estimated; therefore, it is difficult to determine the efficacy of the program (i.e., proportion of the population that has been removed). My objectives were to (1) examine catch per unit effort (C/f) through time and catch as a function of effort to determine if the suppression program has caused lake trout abundance to decline, (2) determine if length structure, age structure, individual growth, mortality, body condition, length at maturity, age at maturity, and fecundity have changed as a function of harvest, and (3) develop age-structured models to determine the level of mortality required to cause population growth rate to decline below 1.0 (replacement). An increase in lake trout abundance was indicated by increasing C/f over time. Additionally, catch has continued to increase as a function of effort, indicating lake trout abundance is increasing. Population metrics were not clearly indicative of a response to harvest. However, metrics were comparable to North American lake trout populations where harvest has occurred, indicating that lake trout have not reached carrying capacity in Yellowstone Lake. Results from an age-structured matrix model determined the rate of population growth was 1.1 given the current rate of fishing mortality and that population growth rate would be 1.3 in the absence of fishing mortality. The current rate of population growth is positive; however, it is slower than it would be in the absence of lake trout suppression. Fishing mortality needs to increase from the rate of 0.22 estimated in 2007 to at least 0.32 to reduce population growth rate below replacement. Lake trout suppression is becoming an increasingly common management practice throughout the Intermountain West. Thus, Yellowstone Lake provides a case study for evaluating a strategy to remove the apex predator from a large lake.
Dynamics of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and lake trout in the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem : a case study for the ecology and management of non-native fishes
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2015) Syslo, John Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christopher S. Guy; Christopher S. Guy and Todd M. Koel were co-authors of the article, 'Trophic overlap and temporal diet shifts for a nonnative and a native salmonid in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park' submitted to the journal 'Transactions of the American Fisheries Society' which is contained within this thesis.; Christopher S. Guy, Todd M. Koel, Patricia E. Bigelow, Philip D. Doepke, Brian D. Ertel and Jeffrey L. Arnold were co-authors of the article, 'Response of Yellowstone cutthroat trout to suppression of non-native lake trout in the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem' submitted to the journal 'Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences' which is contained within this thesis.
The introduction of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush into Yellowstone Lake preceded the collapse of the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri population. As a system with a simple fish assemblage and several long-term data sets, Yellowstone Lake provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the ecology of a native salmonid in the presence of a non-native salmonid population undergoing suppression in a large natural lake. Diet data for Yellowstone cutthroat trout and lake trout were evaluated at varying densities to determine the effects of density on diet composition. Temporal diet shifts from 1996-1999 to 2011-2013 were likely caused by limitation of prey fish for lake trout. Diets, stable isotopes, and depth-related patterns in CPUE indicated lake trout > 300 mm consumed primarily amphipods, making them trophically similar to Yellowstone cutthroat trout from during 2011-2013. A lake trout removal program was initiated during 1995 to reduce predation on Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Abundance and fishing mortality were estimated for lake trout from 1998 through 2013 and Yellowstone cutthroat trout from 1986 through 2013. Density-dependence was evaluated by examining individual growth, weight, maturity, and pre-recruit survival as a function of abundance. In addition, a simulation model was developed for the lake trout- Yellowstone cutthroat trout system to determine the probability of Yellowstone cutthroat trout abundance persisting at performance metrics given potential reductions in lake trout abundance. Estimates of Yellowstone cutthroat trout abundance varied 5-fold and lake trout abundance varied 6-fold. Yellowstone cutthroat trout weight and pre-recruit survival decreased with increasing Yellowstone cutthroat trout abundance; however, individual growth and maturity were not related to abundance. Lake trout population metrics did not vary with lake trout abundance. Simulation model results were variable because of uncertainty in lake trout pre-recruit survival. Conservative estimates for required lake trout reductions were > 97% of 2013 abundance for a > 70% probability of Yellowstone cutthroat trout persistence at the performance metrics outlined in the Native Fish Conservation Plan. Lake trout removal will likely reduce lake trout abundance and result in Yellowstone cutthroat trout recovery if the amount of fishing effort exerted in 2013 is maintained for at least 15 years.