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D. J. Sullivan

Publications and source records attributed to D. J. Sullivan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1998

Surface-water quality at fixed sites in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages, Wisconsin and Michigan, and the effects of natural and human factors, 1993-95

Streamwater samples were collected from April 1993 through July 1995 at 11 fixed sites in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages Study Unit of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Water samples were collected monthly at all Fixed Sites, and an additional two to four samples were collected each year during periods of high flow. Streamflow was monitored continuously at the Fixed Sites for the duration of the study period. This report describes field techniques used to collect the water samples, and the analytical methods used for laboratory analyses, statistical analyses of the data, and an attempt to determine the effect of natural and anthropogenic factors on concentrations of nutrients and selected major ions and suspended solids. Locations of eight of the Fixed Sites were selected to represent areas with unique combinations of land use/land cover, surficial deposits, and bedrock geology and are referred to as 'indicator sites.' The remaining three sites were located near the mouths of major rivers and are referred to as 'integrator sites.' The integrator sites represent a large part of the total flow from the Study Unit to Green Bay and western Lake Michigan, and drain various combinations of land use, bedrock, and surficial deposits. These data indicate that land use and surficial deposits may be the primary factors affecting nitrate and total phosphorus concentrations in this Study Unit. Median concentrations of nitrate at the forested sites were less than the National Median Concentration (NMC), and those at urban fixed sites were similar to the NMC. Median nitrate concentrations at the Tomorrow River, North Branch Milwaukee River, and Duck Creek agricultural indicator sites were twice the NMC, but median concentrations at the remaining agricultural indicator sites were similar to the NMC. Nitrate concentrations at one agricultural indicator site exceeded the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum contaminant level in three run-off samples in the growing seasons of 1994 and 1995. Median concentrations of total phosphorus at the forested indicator sites were below the NMC. Tomorrow River was the only agricultural indicator site where the median total-phosphorus concentration was less than the NMC; median concentrations at the remaining agricultural Fixed Sites were similar to the NMC and exceeded 0.1 mg/L, the USEPA suggested total-phosphorus concentration in flowing water. The USEPA recommends that total-phosphorus concentration not exceed this limit to discourage excessive aquatic plant growth in flowing waters. Median total-phosphorus concentration at the urban indicator site was less than the urban NMC. Median concentrations for both nitrate and total phosphorus at the mouth of the Fox River and the Milwaukee River integrator sites were similar to the NMC for the dominant land use, agriculture, within their basins, and were lower than that at the Menominee River integrator site with a dominant forest land use. During this study, potassium concentrations were generally highest in areas of clay-dominated surficial deposits, silica was generally highest in areas of sandy surficial deposits, iron generally highest in areas of igneous/metamorphic bedrock, and calcium generally highest in areas of carbonate bedrock. The highest median fluoride concentration occurred at an urban site that receives treated water.

Michigan, Wisconsin↗
USGS1997

Fish communities of fixed sites in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages, Wisconsin and Michigan, 1993-95

Fish communities were surveyed at 20 wadable stream sites during 1993-95 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program's assessment of the Western Lake Michigan Drainages. Part of the NAWQA design is to incorporate ecological data into an overall environmental assessment. Collection of fish-community data was part of this ecological assessment. The Western Lake Michigan Drainages study area is located in eastern Wisconsin and parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. To isolate the effects of individual factors on stream quality, the study area was subdivided into 28 environmental settings, or relatively homogeneous units (RHUs), on the basis of land use/land cover, texture of surficial deposits, and bedrock geology. A fixed monitoring site was established on a wadable stream within 8 of these RHUs to determine the status and trends of water quality in a representative stream. Water-quality characteristics, ecological- community data, and stream-habitat factors were measured at these sites during 1993- 95. Fish communities were sampled at the 8 wadable fixed sites once a year during 1993-95. At three of these sites, multiple-reach samples were collected in 1994 to determine within-site variation. Fish communities also were sampled at an additional 12 sites, 11 in 1993 and one in 1995, within the 6 largest RHUs. The sites, 1-3 per each of the 6 RHUs, were located on streams with drainage basins of similar size as the fixed sites within the same RHUs. A total of 44 fish species from 12 families were collected at the 20 sites. The family with the most species represented were the minnows. The number of species per site ranged from one at a small urban site (Lincoln Creek) in 1995 to 21 at an agricultural site (North Branch Milwaukee River) in 1995. The number of individuals collected in one sampling pass ranged from 21 at a stream in the forested northwest part of the study area (Peshekee River) in 1995 to 498 at an agricultural site (East River) in 1995. White sucker (Catostomus commersoni) were collected at 17 sites, the most of any species. Species that are indicative of a coldwater environment were collected at 12 sites. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of multiple-reach and multiple-year data indicated that species composition at each of these sites were fairly consistent between reaches and years. Thus, for simplicity, most analyses were done using 1993 data only. Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores on 1993 data ranged from very poor at a channelized urban site to excellent at 3 sites; 2 in primarily agricultural areas and 1 in a forested area. Seven sites each scored good or fair, and two sites scored poor. Sites with multiple-year or multiple-reach data did not vary significantly within the error factor of the IBI. DCA of fish-community data from 19 sites indicated that coldwater sites were tightly grouped, whereas warmwater sites showed a larger gradient. This was expected, given the potential for greater diversity among warmwater sites. Fixed sites were shown to be representative of the study area as a whole, while specific fish communities could not be attributed to particular RHUs. Cluster analysis revealed two major groups of sites and two outlier sites. The two groups represented coldwater and warmwater streams, while the outlier sites were the urban site and a species- rich site with high biotic integrity that drains primarily agricultural land. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that soil credibility was a significant predictor of species composition. Though not statistically significant, land use, soil permeability, and bedrock permeability also were indicated as predictors of fish-species composition by CCA.

Michigan, Wisconsin↗
USGS1997

Fish communities of benchmark streams in agricultural areas of eastern Wisconsin

Fish communities were surveyed at 20 stream sites in agricultural areas in eastern Wisconsin in 1993 and 1995 as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. These streams, designated "benchmark streams," were selected for study because of their potential use as regional references for healthy streams in agricultural areas, based on aquatic communities, habitat, and water chemistry. The agricultural benchmark streams were selected from four physical settings, or relatively homogeneous units (RHU's), that differ in bedrock type, texture of surficial deposits, and land use. Additional data were collected along with the fish-community data, including measures of habitat, water chemistry, and population surveys of algae and benthic invertebrates. Of the 20 sites, 19 are classified as trout (salmonid) streams. Fish species that require cold or cool water were the most commonly collected. At least one species of trout was collected at 18 sites, and trout were the most abundant species at 13 sites. The species with the greatest collective abundance, and collected at 18 of the 20 sites, were mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi), a coldwater species. The next most abundant species were brown trout (Salmo trutta), followed by brook trout (Salvelinusfontinalis), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), and longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae). In all, 31 species of fish were collected. The number of species per stream ranged from 2 to 14, and the number of individuals collected ranged from 19 to 264. According to Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores, 5 sites were rated excellent, 10 sites rated good, 4 rated fair, and 1 rated poor. The ratings of the five sites in the fair to poor range were low for various reasons. Two sites appeared to have more warmwater species than was ideal for a high-quality coldwater stream. One was sampled during high flow and the results may not be valid for periods of normal flow; the other may have been populated by migrating warmwater species. Two sites had insufficient deep-water habitat to support large numbers offish, especially top carnivores. Finally, one stream may be too cool to support enough warmwater species and too warm to support trout. In general, two methods of evaluating site habitat indicate that habitat is not a limiting factor for fish communities. However, two sites were rated as fair according to both habitat evaluation methods due to low base flow. Two sites rated below good according to one habitat evaluation method but rated good or excellent according to the other. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of data for 17 sites showed three station groupings. These groupings fell along RHU divisions and each group was associated with one of three trout species. A species-richness gradient was evident on the station-ordination diagram. Intolerant species were associated with each grouping, a reflection of the generally high water quality at the sites. However, no significant differences were found between IBI scores or habitat indices among the site groupings. The DCA axis 1 and 2 scores correlated with average velocity and percent pool as well as RHU factors percent sandy surficial deposits, percent wetland, percent agriculture, and bedrock. Average velocity was highest at three sites which also had among the highest measured flow and largest drainage areas. Percent pool was generally lower at sites with smaller percentages of sandy surficial deposits, with one exception. The usefulness of ordination methods in conjunction with more traditional methods of defining biotic integrity (IB I) has been noted in previous studies. In this study, however, perhaps because of the relative homogeneity of the benchmark streams, the IBI did not correlate with the same kinds of factors as the DCA axis scores did.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1997

Trace elements and synthetic organic compounds in biota and streambed sediment of the Western Lake Michigan Drainages, 1992-1995

Sampling was conducted in 1992,1994, and 1995 to determine the occurrence of a broad suite of trace elements and synthetic organic compounds in biota and streambed sediment in selected streams in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages a study unit of the National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. Sediment was sampled at 31 sites for trace elements and 23 sites for synthetic organic compounds; biota were collected at a subset of sites. Some of the variability in trace elements and synthetic organic compounds was related to land use, and many differences in trace element concentration by land use category were statistically significant. The spatial distribution of some trace elements was related to a combination of land use and surficial deposits and (or) bedrock type. Urban land use was likely the dominant factor influencing high sediment concentrations of Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb. Forested land use was related to high concentrations of As in sediment and biota and high Se in sediment; however, bedrock type was an additional factor for As and surficial deposits type was a factor for Se. Land use, surficial deposits, and bedrock type appeared to influence Ni and Zn concentrations, and Cr concentrations did not directly reflect any of these factors. Most occurrences of organochlorine compounds in sediment and biota were related to urban land use. DDT and related compounds were detected at sites spanning all land uses. PCBs were detected in sediment at large-river sites and at one urban site in the Milwaukee area; the highest concentrations of PCBs in fish were found at two of four large river sites. A larger number of SVOCs were detected at urban sites and large river sites compared to agricultural and forested sites.

Michigan, Wisconsin↗
USGS1995

Environmental setting of fixed sites in the western Lake Michigan drainages, Michigan and Wisconsin

This report describes selected environmental- setting features for 11 fixed surface-water sites in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment Pro- gram. The study unit, which includes 10 major river systems draining to Lake Michigan, is bounded on the south by the Illinois State line and extends north to about 31 miles north of Escanaba, Mich. The fixed sites are on the following streams: Peshekee River, Popple River, Menominee River, Pensaukee River, Duck Creek, Tomorrow River, East River, Fox River, North Branch Milwaukee River, Lincoln Creek, and Milwaukee River. Drainage basins above these sites receive runoff from land uses and land covers, bedrock types, and surficial deposits representative of the main types of each of these characteristics in the study unit. Data types collected at the fixed sites include water chemistry; organic compounds and trace elements in streambed sediment and biological tissues; algal, benthic-invertebrate, and fish communities; and aquatic habitat. Field measurements include water temperature, pH, specific conductance, alkalinity, and dissolved oxygen. Results of water- quality field measurements indicate little variation in temperature among the fixed sites. Specific conductance and alkalinity were generally higher at sites underlain by carbonate bedrock than at sites underlain by igneous/metamorphic bedrock. Differences in pH among the fixed sites were less than those for specific conductance and alkalinity, but pH seemed to increase slightly from north to south. Dissolved-oxygen concentration varied more at agricultural sites than at forested and urban sites, perhaps because of higher nutrient inputs at agricultural sites. The information included in this report has been assembled as reference material for ongoing studies at the fixed sites.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗