Document Type

Honors Project

Publication Date

5-29-2013

Abstract

The invasive round goby was introduced to Lake Michigan in 1998 (DeStasio, 2012). Since the species was introduced they have increased their range to include tributaries of the Lake Michigan watershed; such as the Lower Fox River. The presence of the round goby in the Lower Fox River was first documented in the Lower Fox River in 2006 (Kornis, 2008). We compared the size and age differences between round goby populations at these habitats to see if there was a variance between the two habitats. Round goby from Lake Michigan were statistically longer and heavier than those from the Lower Fox River. We sampled the age of fish by looking at scale annulis to see if there was any separation in growth at a given age. The round goby from Lake Michigan were on average heavier and longer than those from the Lower Fox River. The resulting variance in size and age between the habitats led us to hypothesize that we may be observing alternative ontogenies between the two populations.

Level of Honors

cum laude

Department

Biology

Advisor

Bart De Stasio

Comments

Advisor: Bart De Stasio

Level of Honors: cum laude

Included in

Biology Commons

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