Table Of ContentLimnology and Fisheries of Georgian Bay
and the North Channel Ecosystems
Developments in Hydrobiology 46
Series editor
H.J. Dumont
Limnology and Fisheries of Georgian Bay
and the North Channel Ecosystems
Edited by
M. Munawar
Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, vol. 163
1988 KWWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
DORDRECHTI BOSTON I LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Llrnnology and fisheries of Georgian Bay and the North Channel
ecosystems! M. Munawar. editor.
p. em. -- (Developments in hydrobiology ; 46)
Papers from a symposlum held during the 27th Conference on Great
Lakes Research, Brock Unlversity, 1984, and sponsored by the
International Association for Great Lakes Research.
lSBN-13: 978-94-010-7894-8 e-lSBN: 978-94-009-3101-5
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-3101-5
1. Limnology--Ontario--Georgian Bay--Congresses. 2. Limnology-
-North Channel (Huron, Lake. MiCh. and Ont.)--Congresses.
3. Flsheries--Ontario--Georgian Bay--Congresses. 4. Fisheries
-North Channel (Huron. Lake. Mich. and Ont.)--Congresses. 5. Fish
populatlons--Ontario--Georgian Bay--Con~r8sses. 6. F1Sh
populatlons--North Channel (Huron, Lake. Mich. and Ont.)-
-Congresses. I. Munawar. M. II. International Association for
Great Lakes Research. III. Series.
QH106.2.06L56 1988
574.92·9'71315--dc19 88-2378
CIP
Kluwer Academic Publishers incorporates the publishing programmes of Dr W. Junk
Publishers, MTP Press, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, and D. Reidel Publishing Company.
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jar all other countries: Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH
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Copyright
© 1988 by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys
tem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission from the copyright owners.
v
DEDICATED TO
Professor Jacob Verduin in recognition of his outstanding and long-term
contributions which have broadened our vision of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
He inspired and encouraged my interest in the Great Lakes during my research
sojourn at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.A.) and
contributed invaluably to my scientific horizons for the past several years.
M. Munawar
Historical map of Laurentian Great Lakes (1679), Public Archives of Canada.
VII
Foreword
'The criterion of true beauty' , wrote Fulke Greville, 1st Baron of Burke, 'is that it increases on examination;
if false, that it lessens. There is therefore something in true beauty that corresponds with right reason, and
it is not the mere creation of fantasy.'
The authors of this compact volume have increased the beauty of an area that is commonly and rightly ac
knowledged to be one of the loveliest parts of the Great Lakes. They have done this by integrating the historical,
industrial, and cultural influences on 'Lake Manitoulin' in sixteen manuscripts.
It is enigmatic that Lake Huron, the second of the Great Lakes to be discovered by European explorers, has
been the last to be adequately described Iimnologicaliy. As recently as 1966, for example, Alfred M. Beeton
wrote in Limnology in North America: ' ... even a list of the more common species comprising the plankton
of Lake Huron could be an original contribution to scientific literature.' Comparable statements could have
been made for sediments, benthos, and water chemistry. This volume reflects a change of course and Georgian
Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron are now on the scientific map.
Science is 'right reason'. Its application to Georgian Bay and the North Channel is a welcome and timely
addition for the renewal of public, political, and scientific interest in the conservation of the Great Lakes.
J. R. Vallentyne, Chairman
Canadian Section
Great Lakes Science Advisory Board
International Joint Commission
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
VIII
CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC SHIP LIMNOS
Canada's principal Great Lakes research ship, CSS LIMNOS, is a general-purpose scientific vessel owned by the federal Department of
Fisheries and Oceans. Based at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington, Ontario, LIMNOS sails throughout the Great Lakes
on research and monitoring voyages for Fisheries and Oceans, Environment Canada, other government departments and universities.
Length 44.8 metres
Beam 9.8 metres
Draft 2.6 metres
Displacement 615 tonnes
Cruising Speed 10 knots
Range 3500 nautical miles
Crew 16
Scientific Personnel 14
Built Port Weller, 1968
Port of Registry Ottawa'
IX
Preface
Georgian Bay and the North Channel, together with Saginaw Bay and the main body of the lake make up
Lake Huron. In total surface area, this is the second largest of the Great Lakes. Georgian Bay and North
Channel, with surface areas of approximately 15000 and 4000 km2 respectively, could very well be consi
dered as large lakes in their own right (Herdendorf, 1982; Munawar, 1987). Etienne Brule was probably
the first European to see Georgian Bay, in 1610. Samuel de Champlain, who constructed the first maps of
the eastern Great Lakes based on European exploration, visited the Bay and Lake Huron in 1615 (Heiden
reich, 1980). He was driven by the desire to discover a water route to the west and to open up the interior
to fur traders and missionaries. The Georgian Bay and North Channel area is renowned for its exquisite
collection of bays, inlets, sounds, sandy beaches and the thousands of islands distributed across the edge
of the Canadian shield. The scenery has provided subject matter for many noted Canadian artists such as
the 'Group of Seven' and the basins offer extensive areas of unpolluted water for swimming, boating, cam
ping, and other resort activities, close to several major centres of population.
Very little, however, has been published about the limnology and fisheries of these ecosystems with the
exception of reports by the International Joint Commission (1977). Consequently, during the 27th Confe
rence on Great Lakes Research (1984) at Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, a one-day symposium,
sponsored by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, was convened. The symposium, for
the first time, dealt with much needed limnological, environmental, fisheries, and habitat information about
these two ecosystems. The symposium consisted of 14 papers and attracted substantial attention. It was con
sidered timely and successful and encouraged the editor to undertake the publication of this volume. Some
of the papers included in the volume have been added later to complete the body of scientific information.
An overview of the two ecosystems and a background description of the basins are provided (Sly & Muna
war), followed by the physical limnology of the Bay (Bennett), a surficial sediment description (Thomas),
and geological and environmental significance of sediment distribution (Sly & Sandilands). Detailed che
mistry of Georgian Bay and the North Channel has been undertaken (Weiler).
The biological information is generally comprehensive and begins with the phycological and nutrient sta
tus of the embayments between Penetanguishene and Waubaushene in southern Georgian Bay (Nicholls,
Robinson, Taylor & Carney). An in-depth treatment of phytoplankton productivity, species and size com
position, and their ecology in the Bay (Munawar & Munawar) and North Channel (Munawar, Munawar,
McCarthy & Duthie) has been attempted. The composition of zooplankton, as well as normalized plankton
biomass spectra for both the ecosystems, are discussed (Sprules, Munawar & Jin). The volume then deals
with benthic macro-algae (Sheath, Hambrook & Nerome) and attached filamentous algae with their biomo
nitoring potential (Jackson). There is also a contribution on zooplankton feeding rates, about which very
little is known (Ross & Munawar).
Lastly, the volume deals with the structural changes in the fish community of Georgian Bay (Henderson
& Payne) and the North Channel (Collins), and the application and effectiveness of the Sea Lamprey Con
trol program (Johnson). Other relevant information regarding benthos and contaminant burdens in fish,
invertebrates and netplankton is reviewed (Sly & Munawar) including present concerns and developing issues.
I hope that this compendium of papers will serve to bridge the existing information gap of these large,
aquatic ecosystems which have been largely ignored in the past. I further hope that this volume will facilitate
x
habitat evaluation and environmental assessment towards the protection of these oligotrophic and beautiful
components of the Laurentian Great Lakes.
I would like to thank the several referees for their high-quality and meticulous reviews of the manuscripts
and the authors for their excellent contributions and their cheerfulness in executing suggested revisions. Thanks
are also due to the International Association of Great Lakes Research for giving me the opportunity to orga
nise the symposium; and Dr. M. Dickman, Brock University for his assistance in symposium arrangements,
Iftekhar Fatima Munawar, Lynda McCarthy, Shirland Daniels, Peter Sly, and Bill Finn for their valuable
assistance. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Wil Peters of Dr. W. Junk Publishers and Henri Du
mont, editor-in-chief of Hydrobiologia, for their continued interest and assistance in the publication of this
volume.
THE GREAT LAKES
References gian Bay and North Channel. Report to the International Joint
Commission by the Upper Lakes Reference Group, Windsor,
Ontario, pp. 743.
Heidenreich, C. E. 1980. Mapping the Great Lakes/The period
Munawar, M. 1987. Preface: Phycology of the large lakes of the
of exploration, 1603 -1700. Cartographica vol. 17(3): 32 - 64.
world. In: M. Munawar (ed.), Proc. Internat. Symp. on Phy
Herdendorf, C. E. 1982. Large lakes of the world. J. Great La
cology of Large Lakes of the World. Arch. Hydrobiol., Beih.
kes Res. 8(3): 379 - 412.
Ergebn. Limnol./A dvances in Limnology 25: vii - xi.
International Joint Commission, 1977. The waters of Lake Hu
ron and Lake Superior: Vol. II (part B), Lake Huron, Geor-
M. MUNAW AR, Research Scientist
Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries
and Aquatic Sciences
Canada Centre For Inland Waters, Burlington
Ontario, Canada. L 7R 4A6
XI
Contents
1. Preface
by M. Munawar .................................................................. IX
2. Great Lake Manitoulin: Georgian Bay and the North Channel
by P. G. Sly and M. Munawar ..................................................... .
3. On the physical limnology of Georgian Bay
by E. B. Bennett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4. Distribution and composition of the surficial sediments of Georgian Bay and the North Channel
by R. L. Thomas ................................................................. 35
5. Geology and environmental significance of sediment distributions in an area of the submerged Niag
ara escarpment, Georgian Bay
by P. G. Sly and R. G. Sandilands .................................................. 47
6. Chemical limnology of Georgian Bay and the North Channel between 1974 and 1980
by R. R. Weiler ................................................................... 77
7. Phytoplankton and phosphorus in southern Georgian Bay, 1973 -1982, and implications for phos
phorus loading controls
by K. H. Nicholls, G. W. Robinson, R. Taylor and E. C. Carney ........................ 85
8. Georgian Bay phytoplankton: Ecology and response to contaminants
by M. Munawar and I. F. Munawar ................................................. 95
9. The phycological studies in the North Channel
by M. Munawar, I. F. Munawar, L. H. McCarthy and H. C. Duthie..................... 119
10. Plankton community structure and size spectra in the Georgian Bay and North Channel ecosystems
by W. G. Sprules, M. Munawar and E. H. Jinn ....................................... 135
11. The benthic macro-algae of Georgian Bay and the North Channel and their drainage basin
by R. G. Sheath, J. A. Hambrook and C. A. Nerone .................................. 141
12. The dominant attached filamentous algae of Georgian Bay, the North Channel and Eastern Lake
Huron: Field ecology and biomonitoring potential during 1980
by M. B. Jackson.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
13. Zooplankton filtration rates in Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and North Channel
by P. E. Ross and M. Munawar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
14. Changes in the Georgian Bay fish community, with special reference to lake trout (Salvelinus namay
cush) rehabilitation
by B. A. Henderson and N. R. Payne................................................ 179
