Seneca Lake Research Question and Methods

Question: Are the efforts to control the population of sea lamprey in Seneca Lake properly helping to stop them from hurting the native fish population?

The majestic sea lamprey

Variables:

Controlled Variables- What lake we are in, the day we go on, the methods we use to collect data, what sort of data we collect, how the data is processed.

Independent Variable- The locations that we are measuring and their respective depths.

Relevant Variables- How many fish are caught, the weather on the day there are caught, how many fish are found to have been affected by sea lamprey.

    Sea lampreys are a parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean. They use their suction cup-like mouths and many rows of teeth to stick onto fish and suck their blood and other bodily fluids. Fish in the Atlantic Ocean have evolved to resist the effects of this parasite and are therefore not killed by it, however, fish in the Great Lakes are either killed by the initial wound or the infection that comes afterwards. Sea lampreys were first spotted in the Great Lakes in 1835 in Lake Ontario, but have since spread to other Great Lakes and Finger Lakes, including Seneca Lake. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has been working to kill sea lamprey larvae and prevent adults from moving out into the lake.

(Citations:

 "Seneca Lake." DEC.NY. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

GLIN. "Sea Lamprey." GLFC. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

GLIN. "Sea Lamprey Control in the Great Lakes." GLFC. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

"The Future of Sea Lamprey Control." GLFC. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.)

Hypothesis: I believe that we will find very few fish that have been effected by sea lamprey. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has been working to control their populations, and has reported great success. Several techniques have been used to reduce their numbers, as reported in my fourth citation, from "The Future of Sea Lamprey Control".

Plan to Control Variables:

• Make sure that the boat stays in one place at each location and doesn't drift at all (i.e. with an anchor.)
• Use the same size net for each location, making sure to leave it in for the same amount of time.
• Use the same methods to take every measurement, and take the same measurements for each location.
• Record every latitude and longitude, as well as the depth for each location.
• Allow the net to drift to the bottom every time.

Procedure:

1. Find a large casting net with thin mesh and ropes on the end and pack this onto the boat.
2. Navigate the boat out to a fairly shallow location, between 20-50 feet in depth. Anchor there and record your latitude and longitude.
3. Cast out your net and allow it to sink to the bottom.
4. Reel in the net and count how many fish are in the net, and their species.
5. Find how many of these fish have large, circular bite marks on their sides or actual sea lamprey attached to them. Record these numbers.
6. Once recorded, release the fish back into the water.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 four more times.
8. Lift your anchor.
9. Navigate to a new location, with a depth between 50-100 feet, and drop the anchor. Record your latitude and longitude.
10. Repeat steps 3-7 for this new location.
11. Lift your anchor.
12. Navigate to a new location, with a depth greater than 100 feet, and drop the anchor. Record your latitude and longitude.
13. Repeat steps 3-7 for this new location.
14. Process your data.

Question: Has the Finger Lakes Institute or Hobart and William Smith Colleges not bought a new boat because they don't have enough money, or because they feel that their current one is good enough for their purposes? (I mean, come on. They got the boat in 1976, and who knows how long it's been on the waters. I know they did renovations in 1989, but you can only fix a boat so much. You'd figure they'd have gotten a new one by now, especially since they put children on it.)