Objective 1: Determine cisco diets Because of their low populations until recently, cisco have been left out of planktivore diet analyses in recent literature (Darryl et al. 2005; Pothoven et al. 2014; Pothoven et al. 2016; Claramunt et al. 2010). Jillian will analyze diet content of larval, juvenile, and adult cisco from five sites on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. These sites have been chosen based on the following factors: adult cisco were seen at these locations between 2015 and 2013, a viable spawning reef is present, and the area is easy to access (2-5 access sites for each location). Each location (consisting of 2-5 access points) will be visited twice by either Jillian or colleagues at LTBB or Central Michigan University on weekends in March, April, May, and June. The first round of sampling at all five locations will happen with a neuston net - a net with very fine mesh because larval fish will have just hatched. A few weeks after the first round of sampling, Jillian and colleagues will return to the same five locations to sample again, this time with a beach seine net. Seine nets have larger mesh, as we expect to find larger larval fish and/or juveniles. See figure 2 for the dates and locations of the second round of sampling. It is likely that larval netting will capture both cisco and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). In an attempt to conduct diet content analyses on cisco instead of whitefish, Jillian and colleagues have developed a behavioral test to (hopefully) separate cisco from whitefish in the field. Based on observations of LTBB hatchery larval cisco and whitefish, we believe that larval cisco are photopositive - they will go towards light - while larval whitefish are photonegative. A researcher at LTBB has constructed a light box to behaviorally separate the larval samples we capture: all larvae captured are put into a cooler; a covering is placed over the cooler; one side of the covering has a whole, in which sits a flashlight. The larvae will be left alone to self-select for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, the cover is quickly removed and a foam divider is placed in the cooler. All larvae from both sides of the cooler are removed, placed in 95% ethanol, and taken back to the LTBB lab. Jillian will conduct stomach content analyses primarily on the photopositive larvae, but subsamples of both photopositive and photonegative larvae will be genetically analyzed. Stomach contents will be analyzed to major zooplankton groups: cyclopoid copepods, calanoid copepods, copepod nauplii, small cladocerans, large cladocerans, and chironomid larvae. Jillian will also set gill nets for juvenile and adult samples, as well as collecting these from anglers (tribal and non-tribal). Adult stomach contents will be identified to the species level. There is evidence that cisco are eating round goby primarily. Objective 2: Determine population structure of cisco Another part of the project is determining fish ages by counting the annuli (growth rings) on otoliths (ear bones) that will be extracted from frozen specimens. In adult fish, otolith aging is one of the most reliable techniques that fishers today use, as it may be more accurate than using scales (Stewart et al. 2016). Age estimation can have a variety of applications, such as evaluating differences in growth patterns between different species, between males and females of the same species, or between different populations in a lake. Ultimately, the age data from the fish will be used to estimate abundance of cisco in Lake Michigan, when paired with hydroacoustics. Since we only have adult samples, we cannot determine with confidence that we have a representative sample of the age classes across Lake Michigan. So synthesizing an age-abundance diagram would require more specimens of different age classes. Statistical analysis of aging individuals using otoliths will be following a Bayesian analysis of the probabilistic maturation reaction norm (PMRN) method (Ficker et al. 2014; Ogle et al. 1996). Objective 3: Estimate cisco biomass in Little Traverse Bay Hydroacoustic data will be collected using BioSonic DT-X with a 120khz transducer to determine the community composition of the Little Traverse Bay, including cisco population and sizing distribution. Hydroacoustic data will be collected for one week in June and one week in August. June data collection will allow us to refine our methods for data collection that occurs in August (standardized for hydroacoustic data collection) when the lake is stratified and young-of-year are catchable. Data is recorded using biosonics software, Visual Acquisition. Data collection will occur at night when the weather is calm because these conditions are best for cisco detection (Yule et al. 2007). Using a custom built alluette pelagic trawl we will collect biological samples within a week of hydroacoustic data collection. Echoview software will be used for acoustic data analysis. We will collect biological data from all fish we collect for a comparison of prey species. This data will contribute to lake wide population estimates. Objective 4: Examine tribal perspectives on the conditions of Lake Michigan and cisco restoration and document and privilege the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the LTBB Using semi-structured interviews we will examine tribal members perspectives on Lake Michigan conditions and cisco restoration. In addition, we will collect local and traditional ecological knowledge. We will interview four primary groups: tribal leaders, fishermen and others that utilize treaty rights for hunting and gathering, other tribal members, and some non-tribal members.