Spawning Substrate Preferences of Yellow Perch along a Sand–Cobble Shoreline in Southwestern Lake Michigan

Abstract

Yellow perch in small lakes generally spawn in nearshore areas on rooted macrophytes and submerged brush; however, such materials are absent near many wave-swept shorelines of the Great Lakes. We examined substrate selection by spawning yellow perch in southwestern Lake Michigan. Relative densities of yellow perch were higher at sites with cobble substrate than at sites with sand or mixed substrates in all but one year of the study. We conclude that, in areas devoid of vegetation or wood debris, the distribution of spawning yellow perch is nonrandom with respect tu substrate type. In addition, population-assessment data may be biased by selection of sampling locations without regard to substrate type.