The following data release contains coordinates for suspected historical spawning locations of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) across the Lake Ontario basin, including the Niagara River and St. Lawrence River. These data were gathered from published and unpublished sources cited in the Atlas of the Spawning and Nursery Areas of Great Lakes Fishes (Goodyear et al. 1982) and other sources as described. We define "spawning locations" as areas having eggs or spawning fish present. When available the data also contain substrate and depth information. Pseudo-absence data used for comparison purposes are also provided in this data release. Data points were summarized using ArcGIS 10.5

This data contains coordinate locations for suspected historical spawning locations of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) across the Lake Erie basin, including the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River. Data points were summarized using ArcGIS 10.5. Data came from published and unpublished sources cited in the Atlas of the Spawning and Nursery Areas of Great Lakes Fishes (Goodyear et al. 1982) and other sources as described. Data points included were specific locations described as having the presence of eggs or spawning fish. Pseudo-absence data used for comparison purposes are also provided in this data release.

This data contains coordinate locations for suspected historical spawning locations of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (Coregonus artedi) across the Lake Erie basin, including the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River. Data points were summarized using ArcGIS 10.5. Data came from published and unpublished sources cited in the Atlas of the Spawning and Nursery Areas of Great Lakes Fishes (Goodyear et al. 1982) and other sources as described. Data points included were specific locations described as having the presence of eggs or spawning fish. Pseudo-absence data used for comparison purposes are also provided in this data release.

The dataset presented here, a historical coregonine spawning database, or CORHIST for short, is the result of several years of coordinated research in archives, libraries, and field stations, to track down evidence of spawning locations for the Coregoninae sub-family of ciscoes and whitefishes in the Great Lakes of North America and their tributaries. Our objective was to accurately identify location information to coordinates and add all associated data and metadata to a database built specifically for these types of records (a database capable of storing historical, geospatial, and biological data). Data for a total of 11 accepted species of coregonines are included in this dataset. Spawning or nursery habitat designations were assigned based on a wide-range of evidence from original sources, including descriptions of physiology, ontogeny, and behaviors, interviews, first-hand and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, and by our own examination of museum specimens. Georeferencing was completed using evidence from original records, including navigational information such as dead reckonings, landmarks like islands, lighthouses, reefs, and river mouths, and by using depth and substrate descriptions. Occasionally, supplemental sources including various historical maps and/or published bathymetry and substrate layers were used to assist in georeferencing points. Data points were summarized and quality-checked using ArcMap 10.8 and ArcGIS Pro (datum: WGS84). Reference tables are also included with this dataset.

The dataset presented here, a historical coregonine spawning database, or CORHIST for short, is the result of several years of coordinated research in archives, libraries, and field stations, to track down evidence of spawning locations for the Coregoninae sub-family of ciscoes and whitefishes in the Great Lakes of North America and their tributaries. Our objective was to accurately identify location information to coordinates and add all associated data and metadata to a database built specifically for these types of records (a database capable of storing historical, geospatial, and biological data). Data for a total of 11 accepted species of coregonines are included in this dataset. Spawning or nursery habitat designations were assigned based on a wide-range of evidence from original sources, including descriptions of physiology, ontogeny, and behaviors, interviews, first-hand and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, and by our own examination of museum specimens. Georeferencing was completed using evidence from original records, including navigational information such as dead reckonings, landmarks like islands, lighthouses, reefs, and river mouths, and by using depth and substrate descriptions. Occasionally, supplemental sources including various historical maps and/or published bathymetry and substrate layers were used to assist in georeferencing points. Data points were summarized and quality-checked using ArcMap 10.8 and ArcGIS Pro (datum: WGS84). Reference tables are also included with this dataset.

This dataset is the result of coordinated efforts to compile data associated with stocking events for whitefishes and ciscoes (members of the Coregoninae subfamily) of Great Lakes origin. The dataset includes more than 4,700 records associated with coregonine stocking, from over 150 information sources, spanning the years 1870 - 2022. The compiled information includes species, quantities, dates, source location, and stocked location when present. Records were georeferenced using evidence from the original sources and were quality checked in ArcGIS Pro (datum: WGS84) to ensure concordance between coordinates and cited locations.

To investigate the contemporary distribution of lake whitefish spawning and over-winter egg survival within western Lake Erie, potential spawning locations were sampled for eggs from 2016 to 2018. Eggs were collected using a 39-kg iron sled attached to a diaphragm pump towed for 2 - 5 minutes. The data describe the number, date of collection, and exact collection location of Lake Whitefish fish eggs collected in the western basin of Lake Erie from 2016-2018.

To investigate the contemporary distribution of lake whitefish spawning and over-winter egg survival within western Lake Erie, potential spawning locations were sampled for eggs from 2016 to 2018. Eggs were collected using a 39-kg iron sled attached to a diaphragm pump towed for 2 - 5 minutes. The data describe the number, date of collection, and exact collection location of Lake Whitefish fish eggs collected in the western basin of Lake Erie from 2016-2018.

This data release presents catch and effort data for Cisco Coregonus artedi and Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis commercial gill net fisheries in State of Michigan waters of Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron during 1929-1970. The data were used to determine if Cisco and Lake Whitefish relative abundance (commercial gill net catch per effort) were correlated (positive and negative) during the historical period. The file is in .csv format and contains columns for: (1) lake (LAKE); (2) commercial fishery management unit (MU); (3) year (YEAR); (4) gill net material used to target Lake Whitefish (WF_MAT); (5) gill net material used to target Cisco (CS_MAT); (6) gill net conversion factors (multipliers) used to convert effort into linen and cotton gill net equivalents for Lake Whitefish (WF_CF); (7) gill net conversion factors (multipliers) used to convert effort into linen and cotton gill net equivalents for Cisco (CS_CF); (8) catch (kg) of Lake Whitefish (WF_KG); (9) catch (kg) of Cisco (CS_KG); (10) corrected effort (km of net) for Lake Whitefish (WF_KM); (11) corrected effort (km of net) for Cisco (CS_KM); (12) corrected catch per effort (kg per km of net) for Lake Whitefish (WF_CPE); (13) corrected catch per effort (kg per km of net) for Cisco (CS_CPE); (14) loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Lake Whitefish (LN_WF_CPE); (15) loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Cisco (LN_CS_CPE); (16) standardized Z-scores based on loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Lake Whitefish (WF_Z); (17) standardized Z-scores based on loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Cisco (CS_Z); and (18) whether individual data points were removed prior to analyses based on values of corrected effort for either species (i.e., WF_KM or CS_KM) that fell outside the 2.5-97.5 percentile range for all available unit- and species-specific effort data pooled (E_FILTER). Gill net conversion factors were required because different gill net materials with different efficiencies were used throughout the historical period. Efficiencies increased over time with the introduction of each new gill net material (i.e., linen and cotton to nylon-multifilament to nylon-monofilament). All corrected data were expressed as linen and cotton gill net equivalents. To express data as linen and cotton gill net equivalents, nylon-monofilament and nylon-multifilament gill net effort were multiplied by species-, lake-, and year-specific gill net conversion factors (WF_CF and CS_CF). Efficiency curves can be generated for each species and lake by plotting gill net conversion factors over time (i.e., WF_CF and CS_CF vs. YEAR). It is worth noting that gill net conversion factors (WF_CF and CS_CF) were based on data collected prior to increases in water clarity throughout all three lakes and relative efficiencies may have changed in recent years. We encourage users to exercise caution when applying these conversion factors to more recent data (post-1970s). The effort filter was used to ensure that individual data points used for analyses (i.e., paired Cisco–Lake Whitefish catch per effort) were not based on unusually high or low levels of targeted effort for either species.

This data release presents catch and effort data for Cisco Coregonus artedi and Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis commercial gill net fisheries in State of Michigan waters of Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron during 1929-1970. The data were used to determine if Cisco and Lake Whitefish relative abundance (commercial gill net catch per effort) were correlated (positive and negative) during the historical period. The file is in .csv format and contains columns for: (1) lake (LAKE); (2) commercial fishery management unit (MU); (3) year (YEAR); (4) gill net material used to target Lake Whitefish (WF_MAT); (5) gill net material used to target Cisco (CS_MAT); (6) gill net conversion factors (multipliers) used to convert effort into linen and cotton gill net equivalents for Lake Whitefish (WF_CF); (7) gill net conversion factors (multipliers) used to convert effort into linen and cotton gill net equivalents for Cisco (CS_CF); (8) catch (kg) of Lake Whitefish (WF_KG); (9) catch (kg) of Cisco (CS_KG); (10) corrected effort (km of net) for Lake Whitefish (WF_KM); (11) corrected effort (km of net) for Cisco (CS_KM); (12) corrected catch per effort (kg per km of net) for Lake Whitefish (WF_CPE); (13) corrected catch per effort (kg per km of net) for Cisco (CS_CPE); (14) loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Lake Whitefish (LN_WF_CPE); (15) loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Cisco (LN_CS_CPE); (16) standardized Z-scores based on loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Lake Whitefish (WF_Z); (17) standardized Z-scores based on loge-transformed corrected catch per effort for Cisco (CS_Z); and (18) whether individual data points were removed prior to analyses based on values of corrected effort for either species (i.e., WF_KM or CS_KM) that fell outside the 2.5-97.5 percentile range for all available unit- and species-specific effort data pooled (E_FILTER). Gill net conversion factors were required because different gill net materials with different efficiencies were used throughout the historical period. Efficiencies increased over time with the introduction of each new gill net material (i.e., linen and cotton to nylon-multifilament to nylon-monofilament). All corrected data were expressed as linen and cotton gill net equivalents. To express data as linen and cotton gill net equivalents, nylon-monofilament and nylon-multifilament gill net effort were multiplied by species-, lake-, and year-specific gill net conversion factors (WF_CF and CS_CF). Efficiency curves can be generated for each species and lake by plotting gill net conversion factors over time (i.e., WF_CF and CS_CF vs. YEAR). It is worth noting that gill net conversion factors (WF_CF and CS_CF) were based on data collected prior to increases in water clarity throughout all three lakes and relative efficiencies may have changed in recent years. We encourage users to exercise caution when applying these conversion factors to more recent data (post-1970s). The effort filter was used to ensure that individual data points used for analyses (i.e., paired Cisco–Lake Whitefish catch per effort) were not based on unusually high or low levels of targeted effort for either species.