Mark Ebener

Education Background Research Publications Curriculum Vitae

Ebener_photo Research Technician
On Campus Location : 101C UPLA Building
Off Campus Location : Sugar Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783
Phone : 517-242-8314 or 517-432-5099
E-mail : tflwc@yahoo.com
Area of Expertise/Interest: Great Lakes fish ecology and management; population dynamics; linking research and management

Education

M.S. – Fishery Management, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1980
B.S. – Fishery Management, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1977

Background

I have spent the last four decades as a fishery assessment and research biologist working for Native American Inter-Tribal organizations in the Great Lakes basin. I helped create research and assessment programs for two inter-tribal organizations with much of that work focused on monitoring commercial fishery harvests by tribal members exercising treaty-reserved fishing rights in lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan. Information collected during the monitoring of commercial harvests has been instrumental in development of statistical catch-at-age stock assessments for lake trout and lake whitefish and projecting total allowable catch for both species.

I represented tribal governments on inter-agency technical committees for most of my career. I participated in activities of the lake Superior, Huron, and Michigan technical committees and was chairman of the Superior and Huron technical committees. The technical committees strive to monitor the status of fish populations and habitat in each Great Lake and conduct coordinated research activities that help evaluate progress toward achieving management objectives established by the lake committees.

I also spent a substantial amount of time participating in sea lamprey control activities. I helped establish an in-stream trapping program for adult sea lamprey that was used to extrapolate lake-wide abundance. I worked for the Great Lakes Fishery Commissions to quantify sea lamprey-induced mortality of fish in the Great Lakes and helped create the current sea lamprey marking targets being used to evaluate efficacy of the sea lamprey control program on the Great Lakes. While at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission I helped lay the groundwork for the current salmonid Mass Marking Program.

Research Interests

Fish stock assessments
Estimating sustainable harvest levels
Recruitment dynamics

Publications

Ebener, M. P. [editor]. 2007. The state of Lake Superior in 2000. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Special Publication 07-2.
Ebener, M. P. [editor]. 2005. The state of Lake Huron in 1999. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Special Publication 05-02.
Ebener, M. P. [editor]. 1998. A lake trout rehabilitation guide for Lake Huron. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Miscellaneous Publication.
Ebener, M.P. 1997. Recovery of lake whitefish populations in the Great Lakes: a story of successful management and just plain luck. Fisheries 22(7):18-20
Ebener, M. P. [Editor]. 1995. The state of Lake Huron in 1992. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Special Publication 95-1.
Ebener, M. P., and F. A. Copes. 1985. Population statistics, yield estimates, and management considerations for two lake whitefish stocks in Lake Michigan. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 5:435-488.
Ebener, M. P. and F. A. Copes. 1982. Loss of Floy anchor tags from lake whitefish. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 2:90-93.
Ebener, M. P., J. R. Bence, R. A. Bergstedt, and K. M. Mullett. 2003. Classifying sea lamprey marks on Great Lakes lake trout: observer agreement, evidence on healing times between classes, and recommendations for reporting of marking statistics. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(Supplement 1):283-296.
Ebener, M. P., T. O. Brenden, G. M. Wright, M. L. Jones, and M. Faisal. 2010. Spatial and temporal distributions of lake whitefish spawning stocks in northern lakes Michigan and Huron, 2003-2008. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):38-51.
Ebener, M. P., T. O. Brenden, and M. L. Jones. 2010. Estimates of fishing and natural mortality rates for four lake whitefish stocks in northern lakes Huron and Michigan. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):110-120.
Ebener, M. P., R. E. Kinnunen, P. J. Schneeberger, L. C. Mohr, J. A. Hoyle, and P. Peeters. 2008. Management of commercial fisheries for lake whitefish in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. Pages 99-143 in M.G. Schechter, W. W. Taylor, and N.J. Leonard, editors. International governance of fisheries ecosystem: learning from the past, finding solutions for the future. American Fisheries Society Symposium 62, Bethesda, Maryland.
Ebener, M. P., E. L. King, Jr., and T. A. Edsall. 2006. Application of a dichotomous key to the identification of sea lamprey marks on Great Lakes fish. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Miscellaneous Publication 2006-02.
Ebener, M. P., J. R. Bence, K. R. Newman, P. J. Schneeberger. 2005. Application of statistical catch-at-age models to assess lake whitefish stocks in the 1836 treaty-ceded waters of the upper Great Lakes. Pages 271-309 in L.C. Mohr, and T.F. Nalepa, editors. Proceedings of a workshop on the dynamics of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and the amphipod Diporeia spp. in the Great Lakes. Great Lake Fishery Commission, Technical Report 66.
Ebener, M. P., J. E. Johnson, D. M. Reid, N. P. Payne, R. L. Argyle, G. M. Wright, K. Krueger, J. P. Baker, T. Morse, and J. Weise. 1995. Status and future of Lake Huron fish communities. Pages 125-169 in M. Munawar, T. Edsall, and J. Leach, editors. The Lake Huron Ecosystem: Ecology, Fisheries, and Management. Ecovision World Monograph Series, SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bence, J. R., and M. P. Ebener. [editors]. 2002. A summary status of lake trout and lake whitefish populations in the 1836 treaty-ceded waters of lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan in 2000, with recommended yield and effort levels for 2001. Technical Fisheries Committee, 1836 treaty-ceded waters of lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan.
Bence, J. R., C. P. Madenjian, J. X. He, D. G. Fielder, S. A. Pothoven, N. E. Dobiesz, J. E. Johnson, M. P. Ebener, R. A. Cottrill, L. C. Mohr, and S. R. Koproski. 2016. Reply to comments by Riley and Dunlop on He et al. (2015). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 73:736-753.
Bence, J. R., R. A. Bergstedt, G. C. Christie, P. A. Cochran, M. P. Ebener, J. F. Koonce, M. A. Rutter, and W. D. Swink. 2003. Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) parasite-host interactions in the Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(Supplement 1):253-282.
Brenden, T. O., R.W. Brown, M. P. Ebener, K. Reid, and T. J. Newcomb. 2012. Great Lakes commercial fisheries: historical overview and prognoses for the future. Pages 339-397 in W.W. Taylor, A.J. Lynch, and N.J. Leonard, editors. Great Lakes fisheries policy and management: a binational perspective, 2nd edition. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan.
Brenden, T. O., M. L. Jones, and M. P. Ebener. 2010. Sensitivity of tag-recovery mortality estimates to inaccuracies in tag shedding, handling mortality, and tag reporting. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1): 100-109.
Brenden, T. O., M. P. Ebener, T. M. Sutton, M. L. Jones, M. T. Arts, T. B. Johnson, M. A. Koops, G. M. Wright, and M. Faisal. 2010. Assessing the health of lake whitefish populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes: lessons learned and research recommendations. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):135-139.
Bronte, C. R., M. P. Ebener, D. R. Schreiner, D. S. DeVault, M. M. Petzold, D. A. Jensen, C. Richards, and S. J. Lozano. 2003. Fish community change in Lake Superior, 1970-2000. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60: 1552-1574.
Bronte, C. R., J. Jonas, M. H. Holey, R. L. Eshenroder, M. L. Toneys, P. McKee, B. Breidert, R. M. Claramunt, M. P. Ebener, C. C. Krueger, G. Wright, and R. Hess. 2003. Possible impediments to lake trout restoration in Lake Michigan. A report prepared by the Lake Michigan Lake Trout Task Group for the Lake Michigan Committee, Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Bronte, C. R., M. E. Holey, C. P. Madenjian, J. L. Jonas, R. M. Claramunt, P. C. Mckee, M. L. Toneys, M. P. Ebener, B. Breidert, G. W. Fleischer, R. Hess, A. W. Martell, Jr., and E. J. Olsen. 2007. Relative abundance, site fidelity, and survival of adult lake trout in Lake Michigan from 1999-2001: implications for future restoration strategies. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 7(1): 137-155.
Brown, R.W., M. Ebener, and T. Gorenflo. 1999. Great Lakes commercial fisheries: historical overview and prognosis for the future. Pages 307-354 in W.W. Taylor, and C.P. Ferreri, editors. Great Lakes Fisheries Policy and Management: A Binational Perspective. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan.
Brown, R.W., M. P. Ebener, T. J. Sledge, and W. W. Taylor. 1995. Forage fish assemblage structure in the littoral and nearshore areas of St. Martin Bay, Lake Huron. Pages 207-222 in M. Munawar, T. Edsall, and J. Leach. The Lake Huron Ecosystem: Ecology, Fisheries, and Management. covision World Monograph Series, SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Blukacz, E. A., M. A. Koops, T. M. Sutton, M. T. Arts, J. D. Fitzsimons, A. M. Muir, R. M. Claramunt, T. B. Johnson, R. E. Kinnunen, M. P. Ebener, C. Suski, and G. Burness. 2010. Linking lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) condition with male gamete quality and quantity. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):78-83.
Claramunt, R. M., A. M. Muir, T. M. Sutton, P. J. Peters, M. P. Ebener, J. D. Fitzsimons, and M. A. Koops. 2010. Measures of larval lake whitefish length and abundance as early predictors of year class strength in Lake Michigan. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1): 84-91.
Dobiesz, N. E., D. A McLeish, R. L. Eshenroder, J. R. Bence, L. C. Mohr, M. P. Ebener, T. F. Nalepa, A. P. Woldt, J. E. Johnson, R. L. Argyle, and J. C. Makarewicz. 2005. Ecology of the Lake Huron fish community, 1970-1999. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62(6): 1432-1451.
Eshenroder, R. L., N. R. Payne, J. E. Johnson, C. Bowen II, and M. P. Ebener. 1995. Lake trout rehabilitation in Lake Huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research 21 (Supplement 1):108-127.
Faisal, M., W. Fayed, T. O. Brenden, A. Noor, M. P. Ebener, G. M. Wright, and M. L. Jones. 2010. Widespread Infection of Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis with the Swimbladder Nematode Cystidicola farionis in Northern Lakes Michigan and Huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):18-28.
Faisal, M., T. P. Loch, T. O. Brenden, A. E. Eissa, M. P. Ebener, G. M. Wright, and M. L. Jones. 2010. Assessment of Renibacterium salmoninarum Infections in Four Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) Stocks from Northern Lakes Huron and Michigan. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1):29-37.
Gorman, O. T., M. P. Ebener, and M. R. Vinson. [editors]. 2010. The state of Lake Superior in 2005. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Special Publication 10-1.
Hansen, M. J., M. P. Ebener, R. G. Schorfhaar, S. T. Schram, D. R. Schreiner, J. H. Selgeby, and W. W. Taylor. 1996. Causes of declining survival of lake trout stocked in U. S. waters of Lake Superior in 1963-1996. Transaction of the American Fisheries Society 125(6): 831-843.
Hansen, M. J., M. P. Ebener, R. G. Schorfhaar, S. T. Schram, D. R. Schreiner, and J. H. Selgeby. 1994. Declining survival of the 1963-1986 year classes of lake trout stocked in U. S. waters of Lake Superior. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 14:395-402.
Harvey, C. J., M. P. Ebener, and C. K. White. 2008. Spatial and ontogenetic variability of sea lamprey diets in Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research 34:434–449.
He, J. X., J. R. Bence, E. F. Roseman, D. G. Fielder, and M. P. Ebener. 2016. Using time-varying asymptotic length and body condition of top piscivores to indicate ecosystem regime shift in the main basin of Lake Huron: a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 73:1092-1103.
He, J. X. J. R. Bence, C. P. Madenjian, S. A. Pothoven, N. E. Dobiesz, D. G. Fielder, J. E. Johnson, M. P. Ebener, R. A. Cottrill, L. C. Mohr, S. R. Koproski. 2014. Coupling age-structured stock assessment and fish bioenergetics models: a system of time-varying models for quantifying piscivory patterns during the rapid trophic shift in the main basin of Lake Huron. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 72(1):7-23.
He, J. X., M. P. Ebener, S. C. Riley, A. Cottrill, A. Kowalski, S. Koproski, L. Mohr, J. E. Johnson. 2012. Lake trout status in the main basin of Lake Huron, 1973-2010. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 32:402-412.
He, J. X., J. R. Bence, J. E. Johnson, D. F. Clapp, and M. P. Ebener. 2011. Modeling variation in mass-length relations and condition indices of lake trout and Chinook salmon in Lake Huron: a hierarchical Bayesian approach. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137(3): 801-817.
Johnson, J. E., M. P. Ebener, K. Gebhardt, and R. Bergstedt. 2004. Comparison of catch and lake trout bycatch in commercial trap nets and gill nets targeting lake whitefish in northern Lake Huron. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Research Report 2071.
Kitchell, J. F., S. P. Cox, C. J. Harvey, T.B. Johnson, D. M. Mason, K. K. Schoen, K. Aydin, C. Bronte, M. Ebener, M. Hansen, M. Hoff, S. Schram, D. Schreiner, and C.J. Walters. 2000. Sustainability of the Lake Superior fish community: interactions in a food web context. Ecosytems 3:545-560.
Kratzer, J. F., W. W. Taylor, C. P. Ferreri, and M. P. Ebener. 2005. Factors affecting growth of lake whitefish in the upper Laurentian Great Lakes. Biology and management of coregonid fishes – 2005. Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on the Biology and Management of Coregonid fishes. Advances in Limnology 60:459-470.
Krueger, C.C., and M. Ebener. 2004. Rehabilitation of lake trout in the Great Lakes: past lessons and future challenges. Pages 37-56 in J.M. Gunn, R.J. Steedman, and R.A. Synder, editors. Boreal Shield Watersheds: Lake Trout Ecosystems in a Changing Environment. Lewis Publishers, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Madenjian, C. P., M. P. Ebener, and T. J. Desorice. 2008. Lake trout population dynamics at Drummond Island Refuge in Lake Huron: implications for future rehabilitation. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28: 979-992.
Madenjian, C. P, M. P. Ebener, M. S. Sepulveda. 2015. PCB concentrations of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) vary by sex. Journal of Great Lakes Research 41(4):1185-1190.
Madenjian, C. P., G. L. Fahnenstiel, T. H. Johengen, T. F. Nalepa, H. A. Vanderploeg, G.W. Fleischer, P. J. Schneeberger, D. M. Benjamin, E. B. Smith, J. R. Bence, E.S. Rutherford, D. S. Lavis, D. M. Robertson, D.J. Jude, and M. P. Ebener. 2002. Dynamics of the Lake Michigan food web, 1970-2000. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59:736-753.
Madenjian, C. P., S. A. Pothoven, P. J. Schneeberger, M. P. Ebener, L. C. Mohr, T. F. Nalepa, and J. R. Bence. 2010. Dreissenid mussels are not a “dead end” in Great Lakes food webs. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1): 73-77.
Mohr, L. C., and M. P. Ebener. 2005. Status of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Lake Huron. Pages 105-125 in L.C. Mohr, and T. F. Nalepa, editors. Proceedings of a workshop on the dynamics of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and the amphipod Diporeia spp. in the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Technical Report 66.
Mohr, L. C., and M. P. Ebener. 2005. Evaluation of two harvest policies for managing lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) populations in Laurentian Great Lake, Lake Huron. Biology and management of coregonid fishes – 2005. Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on the Biology and Management of Coregonid fishes. Advances in Limnology 60:471-483.
Morse, T. J., M. P. Ebener, E. M. Koon, S. B. Morket, D. A. Johnson, D. W. Cuddy, J. W. Weisser, K. M. Mullett, and J. H. Genovese. 2003. A case history of sea lamprey control in Lake Huron: 1979-1999. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(Supplement 1): 599-614.
Muir, A. M., M. P. Ebener, J. X. He, and J. E. Johnson. 2008. A comparison of the scale and otolith methods of age estimation for lake whitefish in Lake Huron. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28(3): 625-635.
Myers, J. T., D. L. Yule, M. L. Jones, T. G. Ahrenstorff, T. R. Hrbik, R. M. Claramunt, M. P. Ebener, E. R. Bergland. 2015. Spatial synchrony in cisco recruitment. Fisheries Research 165:11-21.
Ray, B. A., T. R. Hrabik, M. P. Ebener, O. T. Gorman, D. R. Schreiner, S. T. Schram, S. P. Sitar, W. P. Mattes, and C. R. Bronte. 2007. Diet and prey selection by Lake Superior lake trout during spring, 1986-2001. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33(1): 104-113.
Riley, S. C., J. Rinchard, M. P. Ebener, D. E. Tillit, K. R. Munkittrick, J. L. Parrott,and J. D. Allen. 2011. Thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs from the upper Great Lakes are related to maternal diet. Journal of Great Lakes Research 37:732-737.
Schleen, L. P., G. C. Christie, J. W. Heinrich, R. A. Bergstedt, R. J. Young, T. J. Morse, D. S. Lavis, T. D. Bills, J. E. Johnson, M. P. Ebener. 2003. Development and implementation program for control of sea lampreys in the St. Marys River. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(1): 677-693.
Schneeberger, P. J., M. P. Ebener, M. Toneys, and P. J. Peeters. 2004. Status of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Lake Michigan. Pages 67-86 in L.C. Mohr and T.F. Nalepa, editors. Proceedings of a workshop on the dynamics of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and the amphipod Diporeia spp. in the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Technical Report 66.
Sitar, S. P., J. R. Bence, J. E. Johnson, M. P. Ebener, and W. W. Taylor. 1999. Lake trout mortality and abundance in southern Lake Huron. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 19(4): 881-900.
Stapanian, M. A., C. P. Madenjian, C. R. Bronte, M. P. Ebener, B. F. Lantry, and J. D. Stockwell. Status of burbot populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes. American Fisheries Society Symposium 59: 111-130.
Stewart, T. J., J. R. Bence, R. A. Bergstedt, M. P. Ebener, F. Lupi, M. A. Rutter. Recommendations for assessing sea lamprey damages: toward optimizing the control program in the Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(Supplement 1): 783-793.
Stockwell, J. D., M. P. Ebener, J. A. Black, O. T. Gorman, T. R. Hrabik, R. E. Kinnunen, W. P. Mattes, J. K. Oyadomari, S. T. Schram, D. R. Schreiner, M. J. Seider, S. P. Sitar, and D. L. Yule. 2009. A synthesis of cisco recovery in Lake Superior: implications for native fish rehabilitation in the Laurentian Great Lakes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 29:626-652.
Stott, W., M. P. Ebener, L. Mohr, J. Schaeffer, E. F. Roseman, W. J. Harford, J. E. Johnson, and C. Fietch. 2012. Genetic structure of lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, populations in the northern main basin of Lake Huron. Advances in Limnology 63:241-260.
Stott, W., M. P. Ebener, L. Mohr, T. Hartman, J. Johnson, and E. F. Roseman. 2013. Spatial and temporal genetic diversity of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis (Mitchill)) from Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Advances in Limnology 64:205-222.
Tuesdell, S. B., J. R. Bence, J. M. Syslo, and M. P. Ebener. In press. Estimating multinomial effective sample size in catch-at-age and catch-at-size models. Fisheries
Wagner, T. M. L. Jones, M. P. Ebener, M.T. Arts, T. O. Brenden, D. C. Honeyfield, G. M. Wright, and M. Faisal. 2010. Spatial and temporal dynamics of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) health indicators: linking individual-based indicators to a management-relevant endpoint. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(Supplement 1): 121-134.
Wang, H., T. O. Hook, M. P. Ebener, and L. C. Mohr, and P. J. Schneeberger. 2008. Spatial and temporal variation of maturation schedules of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Great Lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65(10): 2157-2169.
Wright, G. M., and M. P. Ebener. 2005. Potential effects of dietary lipid reduction on growth and reproduction of lake whitefish in northern Lake Michigan. Biology and management of coregonid fishes – 2005. Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on the Biology and Management of Coregonid fishes. Advances in Limnology 60:311-330.
Zischke, M. T., D. B. Bunnell, C. D. Troy, E. K. Berglund, D. C. Caroffino, M. P. Ebener, J. X. He, S. P. Sitar, and T. O. Hook. 2017. Asynchrony in the inter-annual recruitment of Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis in the Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research 43(2):359-369.

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Quantitative Fisheries Center