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The Influence Of Habitat And Environment On Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) Nest Sites And Nest Success In Northern Lake Michigan, Mark A. Kaemingk, Alexander Clem, Tracy L. Galarowicz

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Information on smallmouth bass nesting ecology is lacking in northern Lake Michigan, despite available information for other Great Lakes ecosystems. Our objectives were to identify factors that influenced nesting sites and nest success in a smallmouth bass population in northern Lake Michigan. Temperature, substrate firmness, and lake bottom rugosity were measured and related to the number of smallmouth bass nests in four bays. We also investigated the role of temperature, effective fetch, and storms to explain nest success. Temperature appeared to be most important in explaining the number of nests and nest success; transects that experienced the greatest number of …