Genetic origins of a resurging lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, population in the Detroit River, Laurentian Great Lakes
The Detroit River once supported a substantial lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) fishery until the early 1900s. As a result of almost 50 years of efforts to improve water and habitat quality, lake whitefish have begun to spawn in the river and viable eggs were collected. Genetic analysis of larval fish hatched from eggs collected in the field between 2005 and 2018 found thatover 80% of the hatched larvae had parents originating from Lake Erie. The estimated number of lake whitefish parents at Fighting Island decreased in the most recent collections possibly due to loss of habitat on spawning reefs due to sedimentation or a change in sample design. Our results provide additional evidence that restored spawning habitat in the Detroit River is again being used by lake whitefish and continued reproduction at these sites may improve the Great Lakes portfolio of ecological and genetic diversity.