Title: Verification of a model for predicting the effect of inconstant temperature on embryonic development of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
Description: Eggs stripped from lake whitefish spawning in Lake Michigan were incubated in the laboratory at temperatures similar to those on whitefish spawning grounds in Lake Michigan during December-April. Observed times from fertilization to attachment of each of 21 developmental stages were used to test a model that predicts the rate of development at daily fluctuating temperatures; the model relates rate of development for any given stage j, expressed as the reciprocal of time (Rj), to temperature (T). The generalized equation for a developmental stage is Rj = abt ct[squared]. The model was used to predict the effects of small temperature increases (caused by a hypothetical waste-heat discharge) on the rate of development and time of hatching of lake whitefish eggs.
Subjects: Embryology, Lake whitefish, Physiological effect, Temperature, Thermal pollution of rivers, lakes