Examining Invasive Fish-Habitat Linkages at Different Spatial Scales

Nearshore boat electrofishing data collected over a number of years from the lower Great Lakes will be used to explore linkages between non-native fish occurrence and habitat characteristics at three spatial scales.  Fish occurrence will be measured using an Index of Biotic Integrity and other multi-metric methods. At the micro-scale, linkages between fish occurrence and shoreline and in-water attributes in close proximity to the survey locations will be investigated, including natural versus altered shorelines, substrate (particle size, natural and artificial) and macrophyte abundance.  At the meso-scale, fish occurrence will be related to the vicinity of wetlands, harbours and exposed shorelines. At the regional scale, the effect of landscape characteristics (urbanization, agriculture and natural lands) on nearshore fish distribution will be investigated. This multi-spatial scale investigation will help identify the relative importance of proximate versus distal habitat factors on fish distribution in the Great Lakes. Comparisons will also be made with other studies in North America.