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ABOUT
ONEIDA LAKE
The Oneida Lake ecosystem is in a state
of flux.
It is important that the public understand
Oneida Lake and its changing environment
so that sound decisions can be made regarding
the lake's future.
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A unique feeling envelops
you when you voyage across Oneida Lake's
surface, a sensation of immersion within
a pulsating biosphere that teems with
life.
Odors of algae, vegetation,
and fish mix together, saturating the
air with a rich blending.
Midges and
related aquatic insects rise from the
lake's depths and clouds of them hover
above you while their body casings,
discarded in the hatching process,
punctuate the surface of the water
below.
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As your voyage unfolds,
baitfish such as emerald shiners and young
yellow perch often congregate alongside your
boat, vast schools following the vessel as
if you were Saint Patrick of the waves. Millions
of immature white bass and white perch, newly
grown from spring's successful spawning, their
glistening sides reflecting sunlight like a
mirror ball, cruise just beneath you, gorging
on Daphnia and other zooplankton.
Walleyes and smallmouth
bass prowl below these tiny fish, inciting
a terror that makes thousands break water in
unison, vainly attempting to escape fate. Gulls
and terns prey upon the panicked bait and the
air resounds from the birds' haunting
cries.
Traveling into the lake's
shallower realms, you view the bottom through
water clarified by millions of zebra mussels.
These tiny mollusks filter out algae and attach
to rocks, shells, and any hard surface. You
reach overboard and pick a stone from the lake
and hidden life gushes forth as amphipods,
midge larvae and other invertebrates emerge
from the zebra-encrusted mass. Throughout these
inshore waters you are amazed by the abundant,
dense weed beds, aquatic nurseries for many
of the lake's creatures. Schools of juvenile
fish scurry amidst the vegetation, feeding
upon the omnipresent invertebrate life and
avoiding, whenever possible, the northern pike
and largemouth bass that thrive there.
This Oneida Lake living
mosaic has prodded imaginations and inspired
poetry and prose. In 1874, a writer from the
utopian socialist Oneida Community vacationed
at the Community's "Joppa" retreat cottage
at Sylvan Beach. Envisioning Oneida's rich
food web, he penned these words:
How these waters must swarm with
life! Suppose the lake be drawn off and
its bed laid bare. What a writhing, squirming,
flopping, gasping mass would be disclosed!
Great eels and water snakes, huge muskellunge
and catfish enormous snapping turtles,
the fierce pike and belligerent bass, ugly
lizards, and acres on acres of bullheads,
lawyers, whitefish and perch. In short,
the whole vast population of the great
lake basin would appear, a sight to ravish
the epicure, delight the zoologist, and
fill with crazy acquisitiveness the man
of dollars and cents.
Contemporary Oneida
Lake is undergoing great biological changes.
Fluctuating fish populations, the invasion
of zebra mussels, and a drop in the lake's
phosphorus levels have brought about these
alterations.
Zebra mussels entered
the Great Lakes' waterways' system in ballast
water discharged by European freighters during
the late 1980's. Upgraded and expanded sewage
treatment facilities and laws regulating detergent
ingredients caused the phosphorus decline.
Today, the lake remains in a state of metamorphosis.
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Scientists at Cornell and Syracuse Universities have chronicled
the lake's ecological history since the early 1900's and
their research has amassed a tremendous reservoir of knowledge
and understanding. This pamphlet, the Oneida Lake Profile,
reflects these findings and contains a general synopsis of
the lake's ecology and history. The Profile, prepared
by the Cornell University Biological Field Station, at Shackelton
Point, and by the Oneida Lake Association, is designed to
promote an environmental literacy that will abet the preservation
of one of New York State's finest inland waters.
The Geologic Background
Oneida Lake is a remnant of Lake Iroquois,
a huge body of water that formed nearly 12,000 years ago
when, as the Ice Age ended, a glacier dammed the St. Lawrence
River, flooding much of Central New York. As global warming
occurred and the ice mass shifted northward, the St. Lawrence
outlet to the Atlantic Ocean opened and Lake Iroquois'
waters drained. Oneida Lake was created when water remained
in a slightly deeper depression in the former Lake Iroquois
bed.
Evidence of the Oneida Lake region's glacial origins
is visible today. Hills south of the lake, near Canastota,
are underlain by rock that was resistant to erosion and,
consequently, the glacier lifted over this escarpment and
left deposits of shale and limestone in its path. Swamps
near Cicero and Canastota, containing extensive muck and
peat deposits, were a part of the original glacially-created
Lake Iroquois depression, but eventually separated from
Oneida Lake. North of the lake, glaciation of the Tug Hill
upland left a thin layer of debris over the resistant sandstone
bedrock. Large boulders, dropped by the glacier in fields
surrounding Oneida Lake, bear further witness to the ice
age's effects. Satellite
View.
A Brief History
Prior to European exploration, Native Americans
utilized Oneida Lake's fishery. Artifacts that document
their occupation have been discovered at Brewerton, Shackelton
Point, and other sites by the lake. Later, the Oneidas
and Onondagas, members of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy,
settled in the region. The Oneidas, who called the lake Tsioqui (meaning "white
water" -- a reference to impressive wave action), constructed
fishing villages near Oneida Creek's mouth and along Fish
Creek, near Sylvan Beach. Their annual Atlantic salmon
harvest yielded tons of a once common Oneida Lake fish
and was vital to their sustenance. The Onondagas also valued
the lake's fishery and, from camps at the Oneida River
outlet and near Chittenango Creek's mouth, they netted
eels, salmon, catfish, pike and related bounty. Archaeologists
have uncovered many Iroquois artifacts at various locations
near Oneida Lake.
Lands surrounding Oneida Lake were opened for white
settlement in the late 18th century. The Scriba Patent,
a land company founded by George Scriba in the 1790's,
marketed a significant acreage that stretched from Oneida's
north shore to Lake Ontario. The Military Tract, an area
of government land that bordered the lake's western end,
was reserved for veterans of the American Revolution. Parcels
not given to former patriots were eventually sold to the
general public. The Oneida Lake region was sparsely settled
until the early 1800's, when the "Yankee Invasion" of Upstate
New York sparked the area's first major development. During
this era, which lasted through the 1820's, thousands of
New Englanders left their marginal farms, seeking better
land. The Oneida Lake locale, in particular its fertile
south shore, attracted many of these people.
The Erie Canal, built from 1817 to 1825, bypassed
Oneida Lake. However, the lake was linked to the Erie by
the Oneida River and through two "Oneida Lake Canals." The first of
these, sometimes called the "Side Cut Canal," was built in
the 1830's and connected the Erie Canal with Fish Creek,
at a point about a mile east of the lake. Logging, centered
in Oneida's north shore communities, and the sand business,
based along the lake's east end, made this waterway a modestly
successful enterprise. The second Oneida Lake canal, constructed
in the 1870's during the heyday of New York State railroading,
proved to be a dismal economic failure.
The Erie-Barge Canal, an enlargement of the old Erie that
was completed around 1916, used Oneida Lake as a part of
its course and the lake became a cog in the state's water
transportation network. Hundreds of tugs and barges used
the lake during the Erie-Barge's peak years, and Brewerton
and Sylvan Beach became active canal ports.
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Lakeside communities grew at different times.
Constantia's and Brewerton's earliest settlers arrived
in the 1790's. Bridgeport's genesis occurred around
1802 and Lakeport's by 1811. These communities served
as commercial centers for the surrounding farm population
and as summer resorts.
North Bay was popular with
sportsmen in the 1850's, while Sylvan Beach's initial
growth occurred in the 1870's. The 1880's and 1890's
witnessed Sylvan and Verona Beaches' transformation
into the "Coney
Island of Central New York." Scores of hotels, thousands
of vacationers, two amusement parks, and even a boardwalk
highlighted summers at "the Beach" during this era.
The glass industry contributed to Cleveland's and
Bernhard's Bay's 19th century economies, while Jewell
and West Monroe benefitted by being station stops
on the Oswego-Midland Railroad (later renamed the
Ontario and Western).
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A trolley line brought Syracuse tourists to Lower
South Bay, where grand steamboats like the Sagamore and
the Manhattan awaited. Cottage and camp construction
altered the lake's shoreline in the latter 1800's and early
1900's and accelerated as post-World War I prosperity and
the "Golden 20's" embraced the United States.
Although slowed by the Great Depression, the development
of Oneida Lake's periphery proceeded throughout the 20th
century to the point where, by the 1990's, few parcels
of wild lake shore remained. Productive, lake-nourishing
wetlands still thrive in the vicinity of Toad Harbor, Cicero
Swamp, and Verona Beach State Park. Widely scattered woodlands
lend their greens to the north shore vista and the last
remaining lake-bordering crop field, a lush hay meadow
west of Lakeport, may soon experience a builder's makeover.
The completion of Interstate 81, in the 1960's, transformed
the distance from Oneida Lake to Syracuse into an easy
commute. As a result, Cicero, Brewerton and the surrounding
countryside suburbanized. An influx of Federal Government
and New York State funding for Erie-Barge Canal recreation
enhancement, coupled with major land acquisitions by the
Oneida Indian Nation, may dramatically alter the Sylvan-Verona
Beach area. The Oneida Lake scene of the impending millennium
will likely exhibit vivid contrasts with memories of the
20th century.
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Biological Changes in the Lake
Oneida has undergone significant biological
changes over the past two decades. A major contributor
to these alterations is the recent invasion by
the zebra mussel, a small (less than two inches long)
bivalve mollusk, with an elongated shell, usually
marked by alternating light and dark bands. Zebra
mussels are native to the Black, Caspian, and Aral
Sea basins of Eastern Europe and Western Asia and
are believed to have entered North America's Great
Lakes in freshwater ballast dumped by ships that
originated in European ports. Zebra mussels siphon
up to one quart of lake water per day into their
shell. Their gill system filters out microscopic
algae and bits of organic debris.
Oneida
Lake, with its well-mixed waters (produced through
a combination of shallow depths and powerful wind
action), warm summer temperatures, and high levels of calcium required
for shell formation, provides an ideal zebra mussel
habitat.
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Mussel densities in some lake bottom areas exceed
100,000 per square meter. Numbers of zebra mussel larvae,
called veligers, peaked in 1995 and, in 1997, their concentrations
were the lowest recorded since 1992.
In the past, algae blooms frequently clouded Oneida
Lake's waters, but now the lake often displays striking
crystalline qualities. The depth of light penetration,
as measured with a black and white disc (what scientists
call a "Secchi Disc"),
increased in the 1990's to an all time record 30 feet. Anglers
have learned that walleyes, which avoid strong light, have
abandoned shallower, exposed reefs and, instead, seek shelter
in weed beds and in deeper water, where light intensity diminishes.
Zebra mussel-induced clarity allows light to penetrate deeper
and stimulate plant growth. Beds of submerged plants, that
once grew in limited areas near shore (in about three to
six feet of water) now thrive in depths up to twelve feet.
Rooted aquatic plants hinder boating, but provide escape
cover for small fish and are the preferred habitats for largemouth
bass and sunfish. While shallow water species appear to be
thriving, the long-term effects of weed bed expansion on
walleyes, yellow perch, and other species that live primarily
in the lake's deeper areas are yet to be seen.
Although filtering by zebra mussels has diverted some of
the lake's production to the bottom, the normal algae-zooplankton-fish
food chain linkages have not been seriously affected. With
light penetrating deeper, more of Oneida's water column can
produce algae. This may explain why zooplankton populations
have not declined. With adequate zooplankton as a food base,
the lake's fish production should remain high. Zebra mussels'
fecal waste material is deposited on the lake's bottom and
is fed upon by invertebrates such as amphipods and midge
larvae. Both of these bottom-dwelling organisms use zebra
mussel beds for shelter. Consequently, populations of these
creatures have thrived, providing an enhanced food source
for fish.
On the negative side, zebra mussels' feeding has
brought on the extinction of native Oneida Lake clams,
important bivalves that cannot successfully compete with
the zebras. Clearly, the interacting biological changes
caused by the mussels have created a very dynamic Oneida
Lake environment and this phenomenon's effect on the "fish community" (all
the fish in the lake) will not be known for some time.
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The Lake and Its Watershed
Water from over 800,000 acres in five counties
flows into Oneida Lake. We call this area the lake's "watershed." The
drainage basin north of the lake (encompassing much
of the Tug Hill Plateau region) contributes 67% of
Oneida's water, but only 20% of the nutrients needed
to sustain the algae and plants at the base of the
Oneida food web. The bulk of this water comes from
Fish and Scriba Creeks during spring's snow melt
period. Canaseraga, Chittenango, and Oneida Creeks,
all south shore tributaries that flow through rich
farm country and wetlands, carry most of the lake's
nutrients.
Throughout history, Oneida Lake has exhibited
summer algae blooms that are characteristic of enriched
water productivity. French voyagers called Oneida "le
lac vert" (the green lake) and colonial travelers
refused to drink the "diatom-saturated water" for
fear of contracting "lake fever."
During the 1960's,
phosphorus runoff from the Oneida Lake watershed
was high and, as a result, nuisance blooms of blue-green
algae persisted. Multi-colored algal swirls across Oneida's
surface often resembled an abstract painting and the pungent
odors emanating from decaying algae alarmed people. The
situation demanded urgent action. Property owners,
anglers, scientists and other stakeholders in the
watershed made a reduction of the lake's phosphorus
levels a priority.
Scientists attached more importance to phosphorus
than to nitrogen since phosphorus has a greater effect
on algae and plant growth.
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Early efforts to reduce phosphorus quantities
in Oneida Lake began in the 1970's and were linked to a water
quality agreement between the United States and Canada that
set target levels for phosphorus entering the Great Lakes.
Since Oneida's watershed was a part of the Great Lakes' basin,
government funding for upgrading existing sewer districts
and constructing new ones became available. In addition,
proper management practices were encouraged on agricultural
lands. New York State banned phosphorus in 1973 and, by the
mid-1980's, Oneida Lake's total phosphorus concentrations
were slashed by 50%. This was a major change in the lake's
ecosystem.
The Watershed's Wetlands
The diverse and abundant wetlands distributed around
Oneida Lake are an integral component of the lake and its
watershed. Wetlands like the Cicero and Toad Harbor Swamps
provide habitats that are critical for fish and waterfowl
survival and also serve as groundwater renewal areas. They
retain fertilizing chemicals from watershed runoff, thereby
improving Oneida's water quality. Moreover, they serve
as "storage
tanks" during periods of excessive precipitation, minimizing
potential flooding. If remaining wetland areas are destroyed,
the lake's environment will suffer.
Protecting wetlands from commercial and residential development
should be a long-term management goal for the Oneida Lake
watershed. Wetland losses during the past several decades
have reduced the watershed's water storage potential, thereby
leaving the lake's environs more vulnerable to high water
damage.
Over the past decade, the purple loosestrife plant has proliferated
throughout Oneida's wetlands. This non-native, purple-flowered
plant thrives in marshes and ditches, outcompeting indigenous
cattails and related flora, and makes wetlands less suitable
for wildlife habitat.
A Portrait of the
Fishery
Oneida Lake's present fish community bears little
resemblance to its original species population. The first
settlers seined Atlantic salmon as the fish entered their
native spawning streams. Many of these large fish were
shipped to the New York City market and a thriving commercial
fishery developed. Ciscos (called "whitefish") were once
common in the lake and many eels were trapped as they migrated
from the lake to their Atlantic Ocean spawning grounds.
Smoked eel was a popular delicacy. In the latter 19th century,
Oneida's market fishermen continued to net large quantities
of fish and many farmers supplemented their income through
this trade. When the New York State Legislature passed
laws that limited netting, illegal harvesting proliferated
and some legendary characters, called the Oneida Lake "fish
pirates," emerged.
Tales of these poachers' exploits, especially about their
conflicts with game wardens, adorn the lake's history.
Surveys from the 1920's suggest that chain pickerel
and walleyes were equally abundant, with northern pike
ranking close behind. These fish, and bass, were heavily
pursued by fishermen. By the 1940's, walleyes were far
more numerous than pickerel and northerns, and the eels
and ciscos had become rare.
American societal and cultural changes contributed
to the increase in Oneida's walleye population. Other fish
species in the lake have had contrasting histories. Atlantic
salmon were doomed to an early extinction by lumbering
and farming practices, which degraded spawning streams.
Dams, constructed to power ancient water wheels, accelerated
the salmons' demise. The Barge Canal, with its systems
of locks and dams upstream from Lake Ontario, blocked the
eels' spawning migration and this population dwindled.
The fates of pickerel and northern pike were closely
tied to conditions in the marshes and lake shallows, where
both species reproduced. As wetlands were drained for agriculture,
and filled for camp and cottage development, pickerel and
pike numbers declined. The spawning areas of walleyes were
largely unaltered and, as the number of their competing
predator fish plummeted, their population prospered.
Since the 1940's, walleyes and yellow perch have
dominated the Oneida food web. In addition, changes in
the abundance of other fishes have occurred. White perch,
an Atlantic Ocean species native to the Hudson River, entered
Oneida Lake through the Erie-Barge Canal in the 1950's
and, in subsequent years, they occasionally outnumbered
yellow perch. Gizzard shad, long present in Lake Ontario
and the Oswego River, were seldom observed in Oneida until
1984.
Vast numbers of juvenile shad replaced young yellow
perch as the primary walleye food during late summer and
early fall in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Few gizzard
shad survived through winters, however, and their population
fell so that, by 1994, they were again scarce.
The freshwater drum (also known as sheepshead) is
another species that has gained prominence. A single successful
drum hatch, in 1987, elevated these predators from a minor
to a major component of the fish community. By 1995, Oneida's
drum numbers equaled about half of its walleye population.
Because drum can live for over fifty years, they are likely
to remain abundant even without future reproductive success.
Further changes in Oneida Lake's fish community
are anticipated. Gobies and Eurasian ruffe, both small
but highly prolific European fish, are well established
in the Great Lakes and will likely use the Canal System
to enter Oneida within the next decade. Biological changes
at the base of the lake's food web, caused by the zebra
mussels and the decline in algae-nurturing phosphorus,
will affect fish populations. Continuous monitoring and
research are requisite to understand how new fish species'
introductions and food web changes will impact Oneida Lake's
walleyes and yellow perch.
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Walleyed Pike
The population of adult walleyes has ranged
from 200,000 to one million during the past three
decades. Anglers have harvested as few as 50,000
and as many as 450,000 in a year.
Cornell University's
tagged fish studies reveal that Oneida's anglers'
annual harvest usually totals about 25% of the
spring walleye population. Another 5% of adults die
from other causes. When bait fish are scarce, walleyes
are hungry and anglers catch a lot of fish. The
reverse is true when forage fish are abundant. Most
harvested walleyes are four to seven years old, but
those that are able to avoid anglers' lures may live
for 20 years or more.
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Prey abundance also affects whether walleyes survive to
adulthood. In years when Oneida Lake produces high bait fish
numbers, young walleyes grow rapidly and fewer are consumed
by their older cousins. The lake's walleye population expanded
in the 1980's, when gizzard shad and other bait fish abounded.
During the 1990's, however, the disappearance of shad, coupled
with declines in other prey fish, intensified cannibalism
and fewer young walleyes reached maturity.
The goal of walleye management in Oneida Lake is
to optimize recreational fishing opportunities, while minimizing
the risk of a walleye population collapse and the adverse
effects this would have on yellow perch. To control walleye
harvests, the Department of Environmental Conservation
(commonly called the "DEC") raises minimum size limits
to reduce catches when populations are down and lowers
length restrictions when walleyes are abundant. The DEC
also operates the Oneida Fish Cultural Station, a modern
hatchery at Constantia. Eggs from walleyes netted in April
are incubated there and about 100 million of the 200 million
fry (tiny walleyes) raised each year are stocked in Oneida
Lake. Although Oneida's walleyes deposit over 10 billion
eggs annually, few survive. About two-thirds of the walleye
fry in the lake in May are from the hatchery.
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Yellow Perch
Oneida Lake's yellow perch spawn between
40 and 60 billion eggs each spring. Depending on
weather conditions during the incubation period,
from 2 to 18% of the eggs will hatch and the larvae
will survive to become fry.
When perch grow beyond
this stage, they risk predation by walleyes and
by a host of other fish. The chances of young yellow
perch surviving annual environmental conditions
and reaching adulthood ranges from 1 in 1,000 to
1 in 30,000.
Records indicate that the number of adult
perch available to Oneida's anglers has fluctuated
between one and four million.
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This population dipped to an all-time
low in 1995, but is currently rebounding to levels that
are consistent with the long-term average. A third or more
of adult yellow perch die each year, with losses attributed
about equally to angling and natural causes. By age six,
yellow perch weigh nearly a pound. These "jack perch," prized
by fishermen, are short-lived when compared to walleyes
and few survive beyond age eight. Currently, anglers are
limited to taking 50 yellow perch per day.
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Some Other Oneida
Lake Fish
Oneida Lake supports a diverse fish community,
but only a few of the 74 species identified contribute
to anglers' annual harvest. Smallmouth and largemouth
bass are popular game fish, while rock bass, pumpkinseed
sunfish, bluegills, and black crappie (locally called "calico" or"strawberry
bass") are sought-after panfish.
Springtime anglers
avidly pursue brown bullheads, white suckers, and
channel catfish in the lake's shallows. Drum are
accidentally caught during many Oneida outings and
burbot (commonly called "lawyers") typically bite
during winter. In recent years, northern pike have
experienced a minor population resurgence and specimens
weighing over 10 pounds have been landed.
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Lake sturgeon are native to Oneida and their presence
has always created headlines. Commercial fishermen netted
a 104 pound sturgeon in the Oneida River at Brewerton in
1856. The Syracuse Standard paper made note of the 6 feet
11 inches long fish and the sturgeon was exhibited at the
Brewerton House, no doubt increasing that hotel's business.
As recently as 1973, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported
that a walleye fisherman, trolling the lake's channel north
of Frenchman's Island, boated a sturgeon whose weight was
estimated at 40 pounds.
The Oneida Fish Cultural Station, at Constantia,
has been raising lake sturgeon for the past three years
and a few thousand have been stocked in the lake. New York
considers these rare fish to be "threatened" and, when
caught, they must be released. The program has been very
successful and Cornell researches have netted several sturgeon
whose length exceeded 20 inches, a size indicating excellent
growth.
Colonial Nesting Birds
Colonial waterbirds are those species of birds
that prefer to nest in large groups, usually on islands,
and feed on aquatic organisms such as fish and crustaceans.
They are long-lived (10 to 25 years). Males and females
look alike and both adults take care of the young. Each
pair typically raises one or two chicks per year. Five
species of colonial
waterbirds nest on the small islands of Oneida Lake and
migrate to the Gulf of Mexico Coast, or to South America,
each autumn. All five birds consume fish and they are adept
predators, sharing the upper food web level with anglers
and larger fish like walleyes.
Common terns are the smallest of the colonial waterbirds
that nest on Oneida Lake and are listed as a "threatened" species
in New York. Their minnow-pursuing, acrobatic dives delight
many viewers. Predation on their chicks and eggs by gulls,
other shore birds, owls, and mammals greatly affects their
population. Efforts by the Department of Environmental Conservation
and Cornell University to enhance common tern nesting habitat,
to reduce predation by gulls on young terns, and to minimize
competition for nesting sites have been successful and over
400 pairs of terns now nest on Oneida Lake.
Three species of seagulls, the herring, great black-backed,
and ring-billed gulls, are close relatives of the terns.
Ring-billed gulls are the smallest of the three and have
adapted well to human contact. Their diet consists mainly
of worms and mice captured in agricultural fields, supplemented
with food refuse scavenged from landfills and parks. On Oneida
Lake their population has ranged from 200 to 2,000 pairs
since 1979. Recently, this number has hovered at around 850
pairs. Herring gulls and great black-backed gulls are true "sea" gulls
and sizable populations thrive along the Atlantic Coast.
Both are larger and more predacious than ring-billed gulls,
and are likely to eat live fish that swim near the lake's
surface, scavenge fish carcasses, and consume eggs and chicks
in colonial bird colonies. Herring gull numbers have fluctuated
from 20 - 60 pairs since 1979. The great black-backed gulls
are the largest gulls in the world, having a five and a half
feet wing span and a dark black head. Several of these huge
gulls reside on Oneida, but only one pair has nested since
1993.
The double-crested cormorant, also common around Oneida
Lake, is related to the pelican. Cormorant populations in
the Great Lakes' region plummeted from millions in the 1800's
to hundreds by the 1970's. This decline was caused primarily
by high concentrations of pesticides like DDT in the fish
these birds consumed. Human destruction of cormorant colonies
also contributed to their collapse. The increase in cormorants
throughout the Northeast since the 1980's is due to decreasing
contaminant concentrations in the birds' fish prey and the
protection afforded them by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,
passed in 1972.
Nesting cormorants were first observed on Oneida Lake in
1984 and, by 1997, their population had grown to 250 pairs.
Normally, migrating cormorants augment the lake's resident
population in early August and, by September, about 2,000
of them roost around Oneida. They are diving birds and eat
fish that are most abundant. Yellow perch and walleyes currently
fit this category and, as a result, are cormorants' primary
food. Twenty-five different species of fish have been recorded
in these birds' diet. When other fish are numerous, such
as gizzard shad in 1989 and 1991, cormorants will feed heavily
on them.
Cormorants are the only species of colonial waterbird
that has the potential to affect the fish populations in
Oneida Lake. They are an intermediate fish predator on
the lake, consuming small and mid-size fish. In contrast,
walleyes prey on small fish and anglers harvest mid-size
and larger specimens.
The Oneida Lake Food
Web
Links between Oneida Lake's fertility, its algae and small
invertebrates such as zebra mussels, its fish community
and bird life, and the human activity affecting the lake
have been discussed in this Profile. These links point
to complex interactions within the lake's food web. The
Oneida Lake food web today reflects a fusion of 10,000 years
of natural succession and human-induced changes.
Good fishing and quality fish populations depend on the
availability of small organisms. Microscopic creatures, called
algae, form the base of the Oneida Lake food web. Over 120
forms of algae have been identified in the lake, nearly half
of which are common or abundant. Macroscopic animals, called
zooplankton, eat algae for nutrition. One common zooplankton,
named Daphnia, is not only an excellent algae consumer,
but is also a prime food for young yellow perch, gizzard
shad, and white perch. Occasionally, these juvenile fish
will exhaust the lake's Daphnia supply and thereby
trigger increased algae densities. When this occurs, Oneida's
water clarity diminishes.
Faced with fewer Daphnia, young yellow and white
perch will feed on other zooplankton and invertebrates, while
young Zebra gizzard shad will shift their diet to algae.
In turn, these baitfish are eaten by yearling and older walleyes.
Consequently, growth and survival of walleyes are directly
related to the abundance of these small fish. Walleyes begin
feeding on young yellow perch in late June and, in years
when small perch are scarce, adult walleyes can easily deplete
the population by late summer. Walleyes then become cannibalistic
and eat their young.
In other years, when yellow perch and gizzard shad
are abundant in late summer and fall, walleyes abandon
their cannibalistic traits and the survival of their young
increases dramatically. Years of high walleye survival
produce what biologists call a good walleye "year class." During
times when young yellow perch grow quickly, juvenile walleyes
enjoy only a brief period to feed on these fish and must
divert their predation to insects. Young walleyes grow
slower on this diet and remain vulnerable to adult fish
for a longer period. Events like these can greatly impact
Oneida Lake's walleye population and have contributed to
the high variability in this fish's numbers during the
late 1980's and 1990's.
Oneida Lake and Its
Environs
Lakes are fragile natural resources that must be
treated carefully and wisely. The Oneida Lake ecosystem
is in a state of flux. It is important that the public
understand Oneida Lake and its changing environment so
that sound decisions can be made regarding the lake's future.
To reach this goal, we recommend the following actions:
- Actively participate in the Oneida Lake scene. Get involved
when important issues are at stake. Join organizations,
such as the Oneida Lake Association, that provide a strong
political base and stimulus for legislation and programs
that protect the lake.
- Support watershed and lake planning efforts. Remember
that what happens in Oneida's sensitive watershed will
greatly impact the lake and, ultimately, all of Central
New York. Watershed and lake shore development should be
orderly and compatible with the ecosystem.
- Wetlands are delicate areas, important to the lake's
overall excellence. They must remain in their natural state.
They filter out pollution, trap sediments, store water
during heavy precipitation, and provide habitat for scores
of animals and plants. Support all efforts to preserve
Oneida Lake's wetlands.
- Oneida Lake's water levels should be kept as they are,
both to insure the health of the lake's valuable wetlands
and to prevent any environmental damage to the lake's fragile
ecosystem. Any efforts to lower the lake's current seasonal
levels must be strongly opposed.
- Advocate continued lake and watershed research. Remember--the
better we understand how Oneida Lake functions, the more
effective we can be in maintaining its high quality.
- Encourage programs that promote public environmental
awareness and education.
- Enjoy and appreciate Oneida Lake. Spend as much quality
time there as possible. Share the lake with your family
and friends. It's one of the finest aquatic resources in
the United States.
The Oneida Lake Association
The Oneida Lake Association is the only organization
whose sole purpose is the preservation and enhancement
of the Oneida Lake environment. Since its inception in
1945, the Association's lobbying has contributed to many
positive changes in and around the lake. Among the projects
that have been implemented, through Association efforts,
are the construction of the Oneida Fish Cultural Station
at Constantia, the renovation of the South Shore Boat Launch
near Bridgeport and the Godfrey Point Launch by Cleveland,
the promotion of youth angling through annual "Take
A Youngster Fishing" derbies, the passage of legislation
that banned walleyed pike marketing, and the maintenance
of environmentally-sound water levels. The Association continually
monitors any threat to Oneida's natural integrity and, when
encroachments occur, mobilizes immediately. In a real sense,
this organization is Oneida Lake's guardian.
We urge all of you to join this effective environmental group. Only through
political unity can those who care about Oneida Lake exert maximum pressure
to insure that their resource receives proper treatment.
Memberships in the Association
can be obtained by sending your name, address, and a check for $5 to the Oneida
Lake Association, Box 3536, Syracuse, New York, 13220 - or by applying online.
About This Publication
The Oneida Lake Profile was created by Edward L. Mills, Lars
G. Rudstam, Connie Adams, Anthony VanDeValk, and John Forney of the Cornell
University Field Station, Milo Richmond and Rebecca Schneider of the Department
of Natural Resources at Cornell, and Jack Henke of the Oneida Lake Association.
Sincere thanks go to everyone who contributed to this project.
The Profile was funded by Cornell University and by the Oneida Lake
Association. The University and the Association encourage you to share this
bulletin with others and to spread its message.
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