Colleagues,

Please forward this call for papers to researchers who would be
interested.

Thank you,

Steve Crawford
Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Canada N1G 2W1

-----------------------------------------

CALL for PAPERS

Symposium: "ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SALMONINE INTRODUCTIONS TO THE GREAT
LAKES BASIN"

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists 78th Annual
Meeting
16 - 22 July 1998
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~ichsherp


ABSTRACT DEADLINE: 13 March 1998

BACKGROUND:
Several non-native species of salmonines have been introduced to the
various lakes and tributaries of the Great Lakes basin since the late
1800's (Parsons 1973), including:
Atlantic salmonines
        - Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) other than in Lake Ontario.
        - Brown trout (Salmo trutta)
Pacific salmonines
        - Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
        - Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)
        - Rainbow trout/steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
        - Sockeye/kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka)
The objectives for such introductions varied with species, location and
era, however most early stocking programs were intended to compensate
for declining fisheries for native species (food, commercial, and
recreational) caused by overfishing and habitat degradation.  Most of
the early salmonine introductions were unsuccessful in their attempt to
establish wild-reproducing, self-sustaining populations.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, U.S. and Canadian fisheries management
agencies initiated a new round of salmonine introductions at an
unprecedented scale of operation.  Some of these modern salmonine
introductions were intended to present a form of biological control for
non-native alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus
mordax), both of which were exhibiting high population levels at the
time, and which were considered to be causing an ecological, economic
and social crisis (Eck & Wells 1987).

The initial effect of the massive salmonine stocking programs superseded
the expectations of the Great Lakes fisheries managers.  High survival
and growth rates led to very large returns of adult fish, which in turn
led to the explosive development of a large recreational fishery (e.g.
McFadden 1969, Brown et al. 1991).  Up until the early 1990's stocking
rates of introduced salmonines in the Great Lakes basin increased
dramatically.  More recently, the collapse of alewife populations in
some of the lakes (e.g. Michigan, Ontario) has led to calls for a closer
examination of the desired relationship between salmonine stocking
programs and the condition of the receiving ecosystems (e.g. Jones et
al. 1993).


PURPOSE OF THE SYMPOSIUM

There is a growing body of general scientific theory and evidence that
strongly cautions against the unplanned and undesirable ecological
consequences of salmonine introductions (e.g.  Li & Moyle 1981, Krueger
& May 1991). Given these warnings, it is disconcerting to learn that
there have been no attempts to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of
the ecological effects of salmonines that have been introduced to the
Great Lakes ecosystem.

The purpose of this symposium is to evaluate ecological evidence
regarding the relationship between introduced salmonines and native
species existing in the lakes and tributaries of the Great Lakes basin.
Following the examples set by Kohler & Courtenay (1986), Li & Moyle
(1993) and Krueger & May (1991), this evaluation is intended to consider
hypothesized ecological effects from a variety of different
perspectives, including:
        - Habitat alteration
        - Diseases, parasites and contaminants
        - Predation
        - Competition
        - Hybridization and genetic alteration
        - Community alteration


FOR MORE INFORMATION or TO SUBMIT ABSTRACTS (deadline is 13 March 1998),
please contact the SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZER:

Dr. Stephen Crawford
Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
N1G 2W1
tel.    (519) 824-4120 x3544
fax.    (519) 767-1656
email   [log in to unmask]


-----------------------------------------

References:

Brown, T.L., B.A. Knuth & F.C. Menz.  1991.  Lake Ontario's sport
fisheries: socioeconomic research progress and needs.  Can. J. Fish.
Aquat. Sci.  48: 1595-1601.

Eck, G.W. & L. Wells.  1987.  Recent changes in Lake Michigan's fish
community and their probable causes with emphasis on the role of the
alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus).  Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 44(Suppl.2):
53-60.

Jones, M.L., J.F. Koonce & R. O'Gorman.  1993.  Sustainability of
hatchery-dependent salmonine fisheries in Lake Ontario: the conflict
between predator demand and prey supply.  Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 122:
1002-1018.

Krueger, C.C. & B. May.  1991.  Ecological and genetic effects of
salmonid introductions in North America.  Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 48
(Suppl. 1): 66-77.

Li, H.W. & P.B. Moyle.  1981.  Ecological analysis of species
introductions into aquatic systems.  Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 110:
772-782.
McFadden, J.T.  1969.  Trends in freshwater sport fisheries of North
America.  Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 98: 136-150.

Parsons, J.W.  1973.  History of salmon in the Great Lakes, 1850-1970.
Technical Papers of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife No.68.
U.S. Dept. Interior, Fish Wildl. Serv., Bur. Sport Fish. Wildl.,
Washington.  80pp.