Rocky reef habitats in lacustrine systems constitute important areas for lithophilic‐spawning fishes. Interstitial spaces created by the structure of rocky reefs form microenvironments where incubating embryos and juvenile fish are potentially protected from predators and physical displacement. However, if interstitial spaces are filled or blocked by sediment or biofouling, the reef structure may lose these benefits. Common practices to restore reef habitat include augmentation of existing reef structures or construction of new reefs, though these practices can be costly. We explored an alternative approach for reef remediation. In 2018, we developed two benthic sled cleaning devices that used either propulsion or pressurized water jets and were towed behind a small vessel to clean reefs. We used the devices to clean two impaired natural rocky reefs in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. We indexed effectiveness of cleaning by measured changes in substrate relative hardness before and after cleaning. A biological response to reef cleaning was also measured by egg deposition of fall (Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis) and spring (Walleye Sander vitreus) lithophilic spawners. We found that our propulsion cleaning device was more effective in increasing substrate relative hardness than was the water jet device, although this was not consistent among all study locations. We also found that egg deposition on study plots was variable, but in general, egg deposition was highest on study plots that had the greatest increases in relative hardness post‐cleaning. The practicality of cleaning devices is likely related to the magnitude of site‐specific degradation. Our results indicate that the use of these or similar devices can potentially increase the quality of spawning habitat by displacing sediments that have deposited on reef structures.

中文翻译：

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两种修复湖泊湖泊礁石产卵栖息地的技术评估

湖系中的岩石礁生境构成了嗜石卵产卵鱼类的重要区域。由礁石结构形成的间隙空间形成了微环境，在这种微环境中，可以保护孵化的胚胎和幼鱼免受掠食者和身体的位移。但是，如果间隙空间被沉积物或生物污损填充或阻塞，礁石结构可能会失去这些好处。恢复珊瑚礁栖息地的常规做法包括增加现有的珊瑚礁结构或建造新的珊瑚礁，尽管这些做法的成本可能很高。我们探索了一种替代性方法来进行珊瑚礁修复。在2018年，我们开发了两种底栖雪橇清洁设备，它们使用推进或加压水喷射装置，并拖在一个小船后面以清洁珊瑚礁。我们使用该设备清洁了休伦湖萨吉诺湾的两个受损的天然岩石礁。我们通过测量清洁前后基材相对硬度的变化来索引清洁的有效性。还通过秋天的卵沉积来测量对珊瑚礁清洁的生物学反应（白鲑湖）Coregonus clupeaformis）和春季（Walleye Sander vitreus）亲石性产卵器。我们发现我们的推进清洁装置在增加基材相对硬度方面比喷水装置更有效，尽管这在所有研究地点之间并不一致。我们还发现研究区域的鸡蛋沉积是可变的，但总的来说，在清洗后相对硬度增加最大的研究区域，鸡蛋沉积最高。清洁设备的实用性可能与特定地点的退化程度有关。我们的结果表明，使用这些或类似设备可以通过置换沉积在礁石结构上的沉积物来潜在地提高产卵栖息地的质量。