Lamberti Lab - David Janetski

David Janetski

Chinook salmon taken from a northern Lake Michigan tributary BS (Zoology): Brigham Young University
MS (Integrative Biology): Brigham Young

Current Postion: Post-doctoral Researcher
Annis Water Resources Institute
Grand Valley State University
janetskd@gvsu.edu
Office: 616-331-3722

I am a sixth year student interested mainly in fish ecology, specifically the ecological consequences of fish introductions for surrounding ecosystems. My dissertation research focuses on introduced Pacific salmon in the Great Lakes and their effects on streams during spawning runs.
Garden River, Ontario
Pacific salmon became established in the Great Lakes in the 1960s, when they were introduced as a biological control of non-native planktivorous fishes and to develop new recreational fisheries. While the implications of Pacific salmon for human health in the Great Lakes region have been studied in depth, many of the ecological effects of salmon on flowing waters, such as nutrient enrichment, substrate disturbance, competition with native fish species, and pollutant transfer to native fishes, are largely unexplored.

Electroshocking in a Lake Superior tributary After two years of field work (2008 and 2009), we are beginning to more thoroughly understand the effects of introduced salmon on stream ecosystems in the Great Lakes. For example, salmon can significantly increase dissolve nutrients and reduce the abundance of the benthic organisms, but these effects appear to be dependent on environmental factors. Furthermore, we have found that in some cases brook trout alter their normal movement patterns upon the arrival of salmon spawners. Finally, contaminant concentrations in some populations of stream-resident fish appear to be related to the flux of contaminants delivered by salmon during spawning runs. Thus, salmon appear to affect the abundance and behavior of aquatic organisms at multiple levels of stream food webs in the Great Lakes.

In addition to the ecological insights generated by the project, this research has fostered collaborative relationships and provided undergraduate research opportunities at multiple institutions. In addition to our primary collaborator on the project, Dr. Ashley Moerke at Lake Superior State University, I have been fortunate to work with biologists and scientists from the Brook trout taken from a salmon stream in northern Michigan Annis Water Resources Institute (Muskegon, MI), Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Manistee, MI), Michigan Division of Natural Resources, Northern Michigan University, and the National Park Service. Additionally, eleven undergraduate students have participated in the project, six of whom have gone on to present their work at local or national scientific meetings. These contributors have immensely improved the quality and breadth of the research and their involvement has been both personally rewarding and intellectually stimulating.

After completing my dissertation I plan to pursue a career in fisheries management and conservation.

If you have questions or would like to know more about my research, please contact: David.J.Janetski.1@nd.edu.

Publications and presentations:

Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, S.D. Tiegs, and G.A. Lamberti. 2009. Pacific salmon effects on stream ecosystems: a quantitative
  synthesis. Oecologia 159: 583-595.
Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. Ecosystem effects of Pacific salmon spawners in a Great Lakes tributary
  stream. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Santa Fe, NM, 5-11 June 2010.
Janetski, D.J., A.H. Moerke, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. Brook trout movement patterns during a Chinook salmon run in a Lake
  Michigan tributary. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009.
Kratschmer, E.M., D.J. Janetski, D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. Disturbance effects of Pacific salmon spawning on
  benthic communities in Upper Great Lakes tributaries. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting,
  Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009.
Sura, S.A., D.J. Janetski, D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, R.R. Rediske, J.P. O’Keefe, and G.A. Lamberti. Uptake of contaminants derived
  from Pacific salmon by resident fish in Pine Creek, Michigan. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting,
  Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009. (Poster)
Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. The role of environmental context on salmon-benthos interactions in
  Great Lakes tributaries. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Grand Rapids, MI, May 2009.
Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, S.D. Tiegs, and G.A. Lamberti. 2008. Influences of Pacific salmon on stream ecosystems: A quantitative
  literature synthesis. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2008.


staff & students
home research teaching biography staff & students links publications theses & dissertations opportunities	David Janetski BS (Zoology): Brigham Young University MS (Integrative Biology): Brigham Young Current Postion: Post-doctoral Researcher Annis Water Resources Institute Grand Valley State University janetskd@gvsu.edu Office: 616-331-3722 I am a sixth year student interested mainly in fish ecology, specifically the ecological consequences of fish introductions for surrounding ecosystems. My dissertation research focuses on introduced Pacific salmon in the Great Lakes and their effects on streams during spawning runs. Pacific salmon became established in the Great Lakes in the 1960s, when they were introduced as a biological control of non-native planktivorous fishes and to develop new recreational fisheries. While the implications of Pacific salmon for human health in the Great Lakes region have been studied in depth, many of the ecological effects of salmon on flowing waters, such as nutrient enrichment, substrate disturbance, competition with native fish species, and pollutant transfer to native fishes, are largely unexplored. After two years of field work (2008 and 2009), we are beginning to more thoroughly understand the effects of introduced salmon on stream ecosystems in the Great Lakes. For example, salmon can significantly increase dissolve nutrients and reduce the abundance of the benthic organisms, but these effects appear to be dependent on environmental factors. Furthermore, we have found that in some cases brook trout alter their normal movement patterns upon the arrival of salmon spawners. Finally, contaminant concentrations in some populations of stream-resident fish appear to be related to the flux of contaminants delivered by salmon during spawning runs. Thus, salmon appear to affect the abundance and behavior of aquatic organisms at multiple levels of stream food webs in the Great Lakes. In addition to the ecological insights generated by the project, this research has fostered collaborative relationships and provided undergraduate research opportunities at multiple institutions. In addition to our primary collaborator on the project, Dr. Ashley Moerke at Lake Superior State University, I have been fortunate to work with biologists and scientists from the Annis Water Resources Institute (Muskegon, MI), Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Manistee, MI), Michigan Division of Natural Resources, Northern Michigan University, and the National Park Service. Additionally, eleven undergraduate students have participated in the project, six of whom have gone on to present their work at local or national scientific meetings. These contributors have immensely improved the quality and breadth of the research and their involvement has been both personally rewarding and intellectually stimulating. After completing my dissertation I plan to pursue a career in fisheries management and conservation. If you have questions or would like to know more about my research, please contact: David.J.Janetski.1@nd.edu. Publications and presentations: Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, S.D. Tiegs, and G.A. Lamberti. 2009. Pacific salmon effects on stream ecosystems: a quantitative synthesis. Oecologia 159: 583-595. Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. Ecosystem effects of Pacific salmon spawners in a Great Lakes tributary stream. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Santa Fe, NM, 5-11 June 2010. Janetski, D.J., A.H. Moerke, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. Brook trout movement patterns during a Chinook salmon run in a Lake Michigan tributary. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009. Kratschmer, E.M., D.J. Janetski, D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. Disturbance effects of Pacific salmon spawning on benthic communities in Upper Great Lakes tributaries. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009. Sura, S.A., D.J. Janetski, D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, R.R. Rediske, J.P. O’Keefe, and G.A. Lamberti. Uptake of contaminants derived from Pacific salmon by resident fish in Pine Creek, Michigan. Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Grayling, MI, 24-25 Feb 2009. (Poster) Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, and G.A. Lamberti. The role of environmental context on salmon-benthos interactions in Great Lakes tributaries. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Grand Rapids, MI, May 2009. Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, S.D. Tiegs, and G.A. Lamberti. 2008. Influences of Pacific salmon on stream ecosystems: A quantitative literature synthesis. North American Benthological Society annual meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2008.

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