Thus, at the time this investigation was begun, the plants and ani- 

 mals of the lake were quite well known from a qualitative point of view; 

 quantitatively the situation was quite different. Almost nothing was 

 known of the actual or relative abundance of plankton, or of its vertical, 

 horizontal and seasonal distribution. Still less was known of the abundance 

 and distribution of the bottom organisms. The chemistry of the water with 

 respect to dissolved gases, particularly near sources of pollution, had not 

 been studied. In short there was a general lack of definite information 

 regarding the suitability of the lake for fishes. This report supplies some 

 information by which the suitability of the western part of the lake may be 

 judged. 



In 1928 a number of cooperating ai;encies began a limnological investi- 

 gation of Lake Erie east of Long Point, under the immediate direction of 

 Dr. C. J. Fish. In 1929 the program was extended to include all of th^-lake 

 east of Point Pelee, that is, east of Western Lake Erie, The results of the 

 first year of study have been published (Fish, I929) , and will be discussed 

 in some detail in the appropriate chapters of this report. In view of the 

 fact that the survey was made with special reference to the cause of the 

 decline of the fishery, it may be well to point out here that nothing was 

 found in the physical, chemical, and biological conditions to explain the 

 decline. 



History of the Present Investigation 



It seems advisable to present an historical account of the present 

 investigation, which was begun in 1926 and completed in 1930. In a sense it 

 was a series of investigations, rather than one investigation, for, although 

 the ultimate objective remained the same, the personnel of the scientific 

 staff, the base of operations, and the methods of procedure changed from 

 time to time. In the interests of simplicity of presentation, it has been 

 found convenient to include other than historical materials in the account 

 which follows. 



Season of 1926 



In the summer of 1926, at the urgent request of fishermen and others 

 interested in commercial and game fishing in Lake Erie, the Ohio Division of 

 Fish and Game (now the Division of Conservation) undertook a study of the 

 extent and degree of pollution in the lake, with special reference to the 

 effect of pollution upon the fishes. Dr. Raymond C. Osburn, Head of the 

 Department of Zoology and Entomology of Ohio State University, was asked to 

 direct the work, which he generausly agreed to do without remuneration. The 

 personnel of the scientific staff, and a note as to the field of investiga- 

 tion of each, follows: 



12 



