North Temperate Lakes
US Long-Term Ecological Research Network

Wisconsin creel dataset as well as predictor variables for lakes from 1990 to 2017 to estimate statewide recreational fisheries harvest

Abstract
Recreational fisheries have high economic worth, valued at $190B globally. An important, but underappreciated, secondary value of recreational catch is its role as a source of food. This contribution is poorly understood due to difficulty in estimating recreational harvest at spatial scales beyond an individual system, as traditionally estimated from angler creel surveys. Here, we address this gap using a 28-year creel survey of ~300 Wisconsin inland lakes. We develop a statistical model of recreational harvest for individual lakes and then scale-up to unsurveyed lakes (3769 lakes; 73% of statewide lake surface area) to generate a statewide estimate of recreational lake harvest of ~4200 t and an estimated annual angler consumption rate of ~3 kg, nearly double estimated United States per capita freshwater fish consumption. Recreational fishing harvest makes significant contributions to human diets, is critical for discussions on food security, and the multiple ecosystem services of freshwater systems.
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Core Areas
Dataset ID
379
Date Range
-
Maintenance
completed
Methods
The state of Wisconsin is comprised of about 15,000 inland lakes ranging from 0.5 to 53,394 ha (WDNR 2009). Most lakes occur in the northern and eastern part of the state as a result of glaciation. about 3,620 lakes are greater than 20 ha and together comprise about 93% of the state's inland lake surface area (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 2009). Wisconsin lakes constitute a wide range of physical and biological characteristics. Wisconsin inland lakes support valuable recreational fisheries for a variety of species, including Walleye (Sander vitreus), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu), Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), and a variety of sunfish species (Lepomis spp.).
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Version Number
2

Little Rock Lake Experiment at North Temperate Lakes LTER: Zooplankton length 1988 - 1998

Abstract
The Little Rock Acidification Experiment was a joint project involving the USEPA (Duluth Lab), University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Superior, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Little Rock Lake is a bi-lobed lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin, USA. In 1983 the lake was divided in half by an impermeable curtain and from 1984-1989 the northern basin of the lake was acidified with sulfuric acid in three two-year stages. The target pHs for 1984-5, 1986-7, and 1988-9 were 5.7, 5.2, and 4.7, respectively. Starting in 1990 the lake was allowed to recover naturally with the curtain still in place. Data were collected through 2000. The main objective was to understand the population, community, and ecosystem responses to whole-lake acidification. Funding for this project was provided by the USEPA and NSF. Zooplankton samples are collected from the treatment and reference basins of Little Rock Lake at at two to nine depths using a 30L Schindler Patalas trap (53um mesh). Zooplankton samples are preserved in buffered formalin and archived. Data are summed over sex and stage and integrated volumetrically over the water column to provide a lake-wide estimate of average length of organisms for each species.
Core Areas
Dataset ID
375
Date Range
-
Maintenance
completed
Methods
We collect zooplankton samples at the deepest part of the lake using two different gear types. We take one vertical tow with a Wisconsin Net (80um mesh), and a series of Schindler Patalas (53um mesh) samples spanning the water column. All samples are preserved in cold 95percent EtOH.
After collection we combine subsamples of the individual Schindler Patalas trap samples to create one hypsometrically pooled sample for each lakeordate. The individual depth samples are discarded after pooling except from one August sampling date per year. The Hypsometrically Pooled sample and the Wisconsin Net sample are archived in the UW Zoology museum.
We count zooplankton in one or two subsamples, each representing 1.8L of lake water, of the hypsometrically pooled samples to calculate zooplankton abundance. We count one sample date per month from the open water season, and the February ice cover sample. We identify individuals to genus or species, take length measurements, and count eggs and embryos.
Protocol log: 1981-May1984 -- a 0.5m high, 31L Schindler Patalas trap with 80um mesh net was used. Two Wisconsin Net tows were collected. Preservative was 12percent buffered formalin.
June1984 -- changed to 53um mesh net on Schindler trap.
July1986 -- began using the 2m high, 45L Schindler Patalas trap. Changed WI Net collection to take only one tow.
2001 -- changed zooplankton preservative from 12percent buffered formalin to 95percent EtOH.
The number of sample dates per year counted varies with lake and year, from 5 datesoryear to 17 datesoryear.
1981-1983 -- pooled samples are of several types: Total Pooled (TP) were created using equal volume subsamples of the Schindler samples. Epi, Meta, Hypo pooled used equal volume subsamples from the Schindler samples collected from each of the thermal strata. Strata Pooled used equal volume subsamples from the Epi, Meta, Hypo pooled samples to create an entire lake sample. Hypsometrically Pooled (HP) is our standard, which uses subsample volumes weighted to represent the hypsometry of the lake.
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Version Number
1

Cascade project at North Temperate Lakes LTER - Daily data for key variables in whole lake experiments on early warnings of critical transitions, Paul and Peter Lakes, 2008-2011

Abstract
Peter Lake's food web was altered by adding largemouth bass at a slow rate while monitoring key food web constituents including littoral minnow abundance indexed as catch per trap per hour, zooplankton biomass, and concentration of chlorophyll a. Paul Lake was manipulated and the same variables were measured there.
In Peter Lake, we expected littoral catch of minnows to first increase as minnows moved into the littoral zone due to the threat of bass predation and then decrease due to bass predation. We expected zooplankton biomass to increase as minnows moved into the littoral zone. We expected chlorophyll to decrease due to increased grazing by zooplankton. We expected that variance and autocorrelation of chlorophyll would increase as the food web passed a critical transition.
We expected that the time series in Paul Lake would represent the normal variability of an unmanipulated lake
Dataset ID
374
Date Range
-
Methods
Primary publications that provide more information about taxa, methods, and data are:
Carpenter, S.R., J.J. Cole, M.L. Pace, R.D. Batt, W.A. Brock, T. Cline, J. Coloso, J.R. Hodgson, J.F. Kitchell, D.A. Seekell, L. Smith and B. Weidel. 2011. Early warnings of regime shifts: A whole-ecosystem experiment. Science 332: 1079-1082.
Cline, T.J., D. A. Seekell, S. R. Carpenter, M. L. Pace, J. R. Hodgson, J. F. Kitchell, and B. C. Weidel 2014. Early warnings of regime shifts: evaluation of spatial indicators from a whole-ecosystem experiment. Ecosphere 5:art102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00398.1
Pace, M.L., S.R. Carpenter, R.A. Johnson and J. T. Kurzweil. 2013. Zooplankton provide early warnings of a regime shift in a whole-lake manipulation. Limnology and Oceanography 58: 525-532.
For an explanation of our rationale and expected results see:
Carpenter, S. R., Brock, W. A., Cole, J. J., Kitchell, J. F., & Pace, M. L. 2008. Leading indicators of trophic cascades. Ecology Letters, 11(2), 128-138. doi:DOI 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01131.x
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Version Number
2

Production, biomass, and yield estimates for walleye populations in the Ceded Territory of Wisconsin from 1990-2017

Abstract
Recreational fisheries are valued at $190B globally and constitute the predominant use of wild fish stocks in developed countries, with inland systems contributing the dominant fraction of recreational fisheries. Although inland recreational fisheries are thought to be highly resilient and self-regulating, the rapid pace of environmental change is increasing the vulnerability of these fisheries to overharvest and collapse. We evaluate an approach for detecting hidden overharvest of inland recreational fisheries based on empirical comparisons of harvest and biomass production. Using an extensive 28-year dataset of the walleye fisheries in Northern Wisconsin, USA, we compare empirical biomass harvest (Y) and calculated production (P) and biomass (B) for 390 lake-year combinations. Overharvest occurs when harvest exceeds production in that year. Biomass and biomass turnover (P/B) both declined by about 30% and about 20% over time while biomass harvest did not change, causing overharvest to increase. Our analysis revealed 40% of populations were production-overharvested, a rate about 10x higher than current estimates based on numerical harvest used by fisheries managers. Our study highlights the need for novel approaches to evaluate and conserve inland fisheries in the face of global change.
Contact
Core Areas
Dataset ID
373
Date Range
-
LTER Keywords
Methods
All methods describing the calculation of these data can be found in Embke et al. (in review)
Version Number
1

Cascade project at North Temperate Lakes LTER - Daily Chlorophyll Data for Whole Lake Nutrient Additions 2013-2015

Abstract
Daily chlorophyll for surface water samples in Paul, Peter, and Tuesday lakes from mid-May to early September for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. Inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus were added to Peter and Tuesday lakes each year while Paul Lake was an unfertilized reference.
Contact
Core Areas
Dataset ID
372
Date Range
-
Maintenance
completed
Methods
Methods are described in Wilkinson et al. 2018 (Ecological Monographs 88:188-203) and Pace et al. 2017 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114: 352-357). These publications including supplements should be consulted for details.

Version Number
1

Cascade project at North Temperate Lakes LTER - High Frequency Data for Whole Lake Nutrient Additions 2013-2015

Abstract
High frequency continuous data for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll a, and phycocyanin in Paul, Peter, and Tuesday lakes from mid-May to early September for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. Inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus were added to Peter and Tuesday lakes each year while Paul Lake was an unfertilized reference.
Contact
Dataset ID
371
Date Range
-
LTER Keywords
Maintenance
complete
Methods
Methods are described in Wilkinson et al. 2018 (Ecological Monographs 88:188-203) and Pace et al. 2017 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114: 352-357). These publications including supplements should be consulted for details.
In Paul, Peter and Tuesday lakes two sondes were deployed at 0.75 meters near lake center. One sonde was a Hydrolab (model DS5X) with temperature, oxygen, pH, phycocyanin, and chlorophyll a sensors. One sonde was a Yellow Springs Instruments (YSI) 6600-V2-4 with temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, phycocyanin, and chlorophyll a sensors. Measurements were made every five minutes. Brief gaps in the data record due to calibration or sensor malfunction were interpolated using a bivariate autoregressive state-space model with the MARSS package in R version 3.9 to create a continuous daily time series.
Version Number
1

Cascade Project at North Temperate Lakes LTER Phosphorus, Chlorophyll, DOC, Color, and pH for Twenty UNDERC Lakes 1995 - 2003

Abstract
Data on total phosphorous, chlorophyll a, dissolved organic carbon, water color, and pH for a set of lakes located at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center (UNDERC). Surface water samples were collected monthly from May through August either from shore with a telescoping pole or from a boat. Twenty lakes were sampled from 1995-2000. Fifteen of these lakes were sampled from 2001-2003.
Contact
Dataset ID
361
Date Range
-
Methods
Methods are described in Pace and Cole 2002 (https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2002.47.2.0333). Surface water samples for the analysis of pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chlorophyll a , total phosphorus color were collected by dipping a sample bottle. The total phosphorus (TP) samples were stored in a separate acid-washed bottle. Samples were collected monthly from May through August from a set of 20 lakes for the years 1995-2000. A subset of fifteen lakes were sampled in the same way from 2001-2003. Samples were stored in a cooler and returned the lab for processing within a few hours.
Version Number
3

Cascade Project at North Temperate Lakes LTER High Frequency Sonde Data from Food Web Resilience Experiment 2008 - 2011

Abstract
High-frequency sonde data collected from the surface waters of two lakes in Upper Peninsula of Michigan during the summers of 2008-2011. The food web of Peter Lake was slowly transformed by gradual additions of Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) while Paul Lake was an unmanipulated reference. Sonde data were used to calculate resilience indicators to evaluate the stability of the food web and to calculate ecosystem metabolism.
Dataset ID
360
Date Range
-
Methods
Data were collected at 5 minute intervals using in-situ automated sensors (sondes). All measurements and samples were collected from a stationary raft over the deepest part of the lake.
Sondes were suspended from floats with probes at a depth of 0.75m below the surface. Sonde sensors were cleaned daily in the field and calibrated monthly following manufacturer guidelines. Peter and Paul lakes were each monitored with two YSI multiparameter sondes (model 6600 V2-4) fitted with optical DO (model 6150), pH (model 6561), optical Chl-a (model 6025), and conductivity-temperature (model 6560) probes. Sensor measurements were made at 0.75 m every 5 min and were calibrated weekly. PAR was measured and the UNDERC meteorology station maintained by the University of Notre Dame or by the North Temperate Lakes Weather Station at Woodruff Airport.
Outliers were replaced by NA. Occasional gaps in the record due to instrument cleaning are NA.
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Version Number
1

Cascade Project at North Temperate Lakes LTER Core Data Zooplankton 1984 - 2016

Abstract
Zooplankton data from 1984-2016. Sampled approximately weekly with two net hauls through the water column (30 cm diameter net, 80 um mesh). There have been over eight zooplankton counters during this period, so species-level identifications (TAX, below) are not as consistent as those for some of the other datasets. Sampling Frequency: varies; Number of sites: 8
Core Areas
Dataset ID
355
Date Range
-
Maintenance
completed
Methods
Sampling:
Zooplankton were sampled approximately weekly with two net hauls through the water column (30 cm diameter net, 80 um mesh). Tows were taken at standard depths for almost all years. The standard depths are as follows: Peter, East Long, West Long, Crampton and Tuesday Lakes: 12m, Paul Lake: 8m, Ward Lake: 6m; exceptions are: for 2012 and beyond Tuesday Lake was sampled at 10m, Peter was sampled at 10m from 1984-1986, Paul was sampled at 7.5m in 1995. Samples were preserved with cold sugared formalin or Lugol's solution.
Version Number
16

Cascade Project at North Temperate Lakes LTER Core Data Process Data 1984 - 2016

Abstract
Data useful for calculating and evaluating primary production processes were collected from 6 lakes from 1984-2016. Chlorophyll a and pheophytin were measured by the same fluorometric method from 1984-2016. In some years chlorophyll and pheophytin were separated into size fractions (total, and a ‘small’ fraction that passed a 35 um mesh screen). Primary production was measured by the 14C method from 1984-1998. Dissolved inorganic carbon for primary production calculation was calculated from Gran alkalinity titration and air-equilibrated pH until 1987 when this method was replaced by gas chromatography. Until 1995 alkaline phosphatase activity was measured as an indicator of phosphorus deficiency.
Core Areas
Dataset ID
354
Date Range
-
Methods
General: Bade, D., J. Houser, and S. Scanga (editors). 1998. Methods of the Cascading Trophic Interactions Project. 5th edition. Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY.
Version Number
14
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #DEB-2025982, NTL LTER (ROR: 04gq8q482). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.