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USGS1986

Dynamics of alewives in Lake Ontario following a mass mortality

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation assessed the population of alewives Alosa pseudoharengus in U.S. waters of Lake Ontario during 1976–1982 with bottom trawls. Alewives were abundant in 1976 but a die-off greatly reduced their numbers during the winter of 1976–1977. The population quickly recovered, however, adult abundance increasing nearly sevenfold during 1978–1981. In spring 1981 the bottom population in southern Lake Ontario was estimated to be 5.25 × 10 9 fish weighing 128,500 t. Estimated average alewife biomass per hectare during 1978–1982 far exceeded the estimates for either Lake Michigan during 1967–1982 or western Lake Huron during 1973–1982. Recruitment of age-II fish to the population was affected by abundance of adults in two ways: (1) the number of yearlings produced was directly related to adult abundance at low population levels but inversely related at high population levels; and (2) survival of yearlings to age II was inversely related to adult abundance. Growth in 1977 was exceptional, leaving a wide, unmistakable band on scales of the previously slow-growing adults. This wide growth zone served as a marker to identify survivors of the 1976–1977 die-off and to show that each year after 1978 a successively larger proportion of survivors was failing to grow in length or to form an annulus (54% in 1979, 96% in 1980, and 100% in 1981). There was no marker on scales of alewives recruited after the die-off, but the apparent age composition of our catches strongly suggested that most of them also failed to grow in 1981.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS2015

Development of an assessment tool for agricultural best management practice Implementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative priority watersheds—Alger Creek, tributary to Saginaw River, Michigan

The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies increasingly point to phosphorus (P) runoff from agricultural lands as the cause of these HABs. In 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was launched to revitalize the Great Lakes. The GLRI aims to address the challenges facing the Great Lakes and provide a framework for restoration and protection. As part of this effort, the Priority Watersheds Work Group (PWWG), cochaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA–NRCS), is targeting Priority Watersheds (PWs) to reduce the amount of P reaching the Great Lakes. Within the PWs, USDA–NRCS identifies small-scale subbasins with high concentrations of agriculture for coordinated nutrient reduction efforts and enhanced monitoring and modeling. The USDA–NRCS supplies financial and/or technical assistance to producers to install or implement best management practices (BMPs) to lessen the negative effects of agriculture to water quality; additional funding is provided by the GLRI through USDA–NRCS to saturate the small-scale subbasins with BMPs. The watershed modeling component, introduced in this fact sheet, assesses the effectiveness of USDA–NRCS funded BMPs, and nutrient reductions because of GLRI or other funding programs are differentiated. Modeling scenarios consider BMPs that have already been applied and those planned to be implemented across the small-scale subbasins.

Michigan↗

USGS2006

Ground-Water Levels in Huron County, Michigan, 2004-05

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a study of the hydrogeology of Huron County, Michigan (Sweat, 1991). In 1993, Huron County and the USGS entered into a continuing agreement to measure water levels at selected wells throughout Huron County. As part of the agreement, USGS has operated four continuous water-level recorders, installed from 1988 to 1991 on wells in Bingham, Fairhaven, Grant, and Lake Townships (fig. 1) and summarized the data collected in an annual or bi-annual report. The agreement was altered in 2003, and beginning January 1, 2004, only the wells in Fairhaven and Lake Townships retained continuous waterlevel recorders, while the wells in Grant and Bingham Townships reverted primarily to periodic or quarterly measurement status. USGS also has provided training for County or Huron Conservation District personnel to measure the water level, on a quarterly basis, in 25 wells. USGS personnel regularly accompany County or Huron Conservation District personnel to provide a quality assurance/quality control check of all measurements being made. Water-level data collected from the 25 periodically or quarterly-measured wells is summarized in an annual or bi-annual report. In 1998, the USGS also completed a temporal and spatial analysis of the monitoring well network in Huron County (Holtschlag and Sweat, 1998). The altitude of Lake Huron and precipitation are good indicators of general climatic conditions and, therefore, provide an environmental context for ground-water levels in Huron County. Figure 2 shows the mean-monthly water-level altitude of Lake Huron, averaged from measurements made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at sites near Essexville or Harbor Beach, or both (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2003-05), and monthly precipitation measured in Bad Axe (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2003-05). In March 2003, a new low-water level for the period from 1991 through 2005 was measured in Lake Huron. There was almost no net change in the water level of Lake Huron from January 2004 through December 2005. In 2004, annual precipitation measured in Port Hope was about 3.7 inches above normal, but precipitation measured in Bad Axe was about 1.4 inches below normal. About 14.5 inches of precipitation was measured in Bad Axe during the 2004 summer growing season (May through August), which is about the same as was measured in Port Hope during the same period. Provisional precipitation totals for 2005 were 30.7 inches for January through November in Port Hope, and about 31.7 inches for the year in Bad Axe. About 10.6 inches of precipitation was measured in Bad Axe during the 2005 summer growing season, which is about 0.2 inches more than was recorded at Port Hope during the same period. Two wells equipped with continuous-data recorders are completed in the Saginaw and Marshall aquifers in Fairhaven and Lake Townships, respectively. From January 2004 through December 2005, the net rise in the water level in the Fairhaven Township well was 0.71 ft, and the net rise in the Lake Township well was 0.98 ft. The Fairhaven Township well is drilled adjacent to Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron), and, as previously noted, there was almost no net change in the water level in Saginaw Bay over the same period. Hydrographs showing water levels are presented for the two wells equipped with continuous-data recorders. Continuous-data recorders were discontinued in the Grant and Bingham Township wells at the end of 2003 due to budget constraints. The decision of which two wells to discontinue was based on an analysis of the intrinsic value to Huron County of data from each well. The Grant Township well was selected for periodic or quarterly measurement at that time because it is completed in the glacial aquifer, which is little used for drinking water purposes or absent in much of Huron County. The Bingham Township well, which is completed in the Marshall aquifer, was selected for periodic or quarterly measurement because water levels in the well are often perturbed as a result of pumpage from nearby production wells and do not reflect baseline conditions within the aquifer. Twenty five wells were measured on a periodic or quarterly basis in 2004-05. These wells are completed in the glacial, Saginaw, and Marshall aquifers, and the Coldwater confining unit. Although each quarterly measurement only provides a “snapshot” water level (measured in feet below land surface), the data adequately define the generalized water-level trend in the aquifer near the well. Water levels in 15 quarterlymeasured wells had a net rise ranging from 0.20 to 1.31 ft for the period from January 2004 to December 2005, while water levels in 10 of the wells had a net decline ranging from 0.07 to 0.99 ft over the same period (fig. 3; table 1). Period-of-record (the time period when water levels have been measured by U.S. Geological Survey or their cooperators) minimum depths to water (high-water levels) were measured in March 2004 in two quarterly-measured wells completed in the Marshall aquifer in Lake and Hume Townships. Period-of-record maximum depths to water were measured in September 2005 in three wells completed in the Marshall aquifer near Bad Axe. Water levels in those three wells recovered about 3 to 5 ft between September and December 2005. No period-of-record minimum or maximum depths to water were measured for the period from January 2004 through December 2005 in wells completed in either the glacial and Saginaw aquifers, or the Coldwater confining unit. Hydrographs showing water levels measured in each well are presented for the 25 wells measured on a quarterly basis. Water-level trends measured for the period from January 2004 through December 2005 in other wells in Lower Michigan have similarities to those measured in Huron County wells. Several external factors influence water-level trends including proximity to nearby production wells, amount and timing of precipitation events, evapotranspiration and type of prevalent ground cover, proximity of aquifer to the surface, and hydraulic characteristics of overlying geologic materials.

Michigan↗

USGS2008

Ground-water levels in Huron County, Michigan, 2002-03

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a study of the hydrogeology of Huron County, Michigan (Sweat, 1991). In 1993, Huron County and the USGS entered into a continuing agreement to collect water-level altitudes (hereafter referred to as water levels) at selected wells throughout Huron County. As part of the agreement, USGS has operated four continuous water-level recorders, installed from 1988 to 1991 on wells in Bingham, Fairhaven, Grant, and Lake Townships (fig. 1) and summarized the data collected in an annual or bi-annual report. The agreement was altered in 2003, and beginning January 1, 2004, only the wells in Fairhaven and Lake Townships will have continuous water-level recorders, while the wells in Grant and Bingham Townships will revert to quarterly measurement status. USGS has also provided training for County or Huron Conservation District personnel to measure the water level, on a quarterly basis, in 23 wells. USGS personnel regularly accompany County or Huron Conservation District personnel to provide a quality assurance/quality control check of all measurements being made. Water-level data collected from the 23 quarterly-measured wells is also summarized in the annual or bi-annual report. In 1998, the USGS also completed a temporal and spatial analysis of the monitoring well network in Huron County (Holtschlag and Sweat, 1998). The altitude of Lake Huron and precipitation are good indicators of general climatic conditions and, therefore, provide an environmental context for groundwater levels in Huron County. Figure 2 shows the mean-monthly water-level altitude of Lake Huron, averaged from measurements made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at sites near Essexville and Harbor Beach, and monthly precipitation measured in Bad Axe (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2002-04; Danny Costello, NOAA hydrologist, written commun., 2003-04). In March 2003, a new low-water level for the period of this study was measured in Lake Huron (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2003; 2004). The net decline in the water level of Lake Huron from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003 was about 0.3 ft. Annual precipitation in 2002 was about 0.3 inches above normal, with much of it occurring during summer months. The provisional precipitation total for 2003 is about an inch below normal (NOAA, 2003, 2004; Danny Costello, NOAA hydrologist, written commun., 2003, 2004). Four wells equipped with continuous-data recorders are completed in the glacial, Saginaw, and Marshall aquifers. Water levels in three of the four wells equipped with continuous-data recorders experienced a net decline over the period from January 2002 to December 2003, while the level in well H9r, completed in the Saginaw aquifer in Fairhaven Township adjacent to Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron), rose about 1.3 ft over the same period. Interestingly, the water level in Saginaw Bay declined about 0.3 ft over the same period. A period-ofrecord maximum depth to water was recorded in September 2003 in well H25Ar, completed in the Marshall aquifer in Lake Township. Hydrographs showing altitude of the water surface are presented for each of four wells equipped with continuous-data recorders. Twenty three wells were measured on a quarterly basis in 2002-03. These wells are completed in the Saginaw and Marshall aquifers, and Coldwater confining unit. Although each quarterly measurement only provides a “snapshot” water level, the data adequately define the “generalized” water-level trend in the aquifer near the well. The water level in one quarterly-measured well completed in the Saginaw aquifer near Saginaw Bay, had a net rise for the period from January 2002 to December 2003, while levels in the other 22 quarterly-measured wells declined about 0.5 to 2.0 ft during the same period. A period-of-record minimum depth to water (high) was measured in 2002 in two quarterly-measured wells completed in the Saginaw aquifer, although the level in one of those wells had a net decline over the period from January 2002 through December 2003. Conversely, period-of-record maximum depths to water (low) were measured in 2002 in one well completed in the Saginaw aquifer and two wells completed in the Marshall aquifer; and in 2003, in 6 of 16 wells completed in the Marshall aquifer. Near period-ofrecord maximum depths to water were measured in 2003 in two additional wells completed in the Marshall aquifer. No period-of-record minimum or maximum depths to water were measured in 2002-03 in wells completed in the Coldwater confining unit. Hydrographs showing water levels measured in each well are presented for the 23 wells measured on a quarterly basis. Water-level trends measured in 2002-03 in other wells in Lower Michigan have similarities to those measured in Huron County wells. Several external factors appear to influence water-level trends including proximity to nearby production wells, amount and timing of precipitation events, evapotranspiration and type of prevalent ground cover, proximity of aquifer to the surface, and hydraulic characteristics of overlying geologic materials.

Michigan↗

USGS2006

Ground-water levels in Huron County, Michigan, 2004-05

Michigan↗

USGS2020

Visualizing the ecological importance of pre-Euro-American settlement fire across three Midwestern landscapes

Bearing-tree data were used to calculate an index, pyrophilic percentage, depicting the importance of fire before Euro-American settlement on three landscapes, two within the Prairie Peninsula and one outside the region. Based on functional traits, bearing trees were classified as either pyrophilic or pyrophobic, applied to Public Land Survey points, and the pyrophilic percentage was calculated for each point. Kriging was applied to this point database to create a continuous surface of pyrophilic percentages. Regression analysis was used to relate this surface to environmental factors. Regression models created separately for each study area explained 38 to 53% of the variation in pyrophilic percentage. A positive association between pyrophilic percentage and distance to water and summer potential evapotranspiration was consistent across all study sites. The consistently high values and spatial patterns of pyrophilic percentage revealed fire-dominated landscapes interspersed with patches of pyrophobic vegetation. The restriction of pyrophobic areas to the leeside (east) of waterbodies indicated these served as firebreaks in a fire-swept landscape. Lake Michigan must have had a profound effect on pre- Euro-American settlement fire environments, serving as a massive physical firebreak while casting a moist maritime climate eastward. In southern and southwestern Illinois, the Mississippi River and associated tributaries along with an increase in topographic complexity also served as firebreaks, with pyrophobic forests restricted to riparian zones which progressively graded to pyrophilic vegetation on surrounding uplands. Our analysis expands the use of Public Land Survey data by converting bearing trees into a meaningful fire ecology index. While much of the landscape included in our study area is now in agriculture or urbanized, pyrophilic percentage maps can help guide land managers in the application of fire for restoration, conservation, and forestry purposes.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin↗

USGS2001

Hydrology of C-3 watershed, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan

Proposed changes to watershed management practices near C-3 Pool at Seney National Wildlife Refuge will affect surface-water flow patterns, ground-water levels, and possibly local plant communities. Data were collected between fall 1998 and spring 2000 to document existing conditions and to assess potential changes in hydrology that might occur as a consequence of modifications to water management practices in C-3 watershed. Minimum and maximum measured inflows and outflows for the study period are presented in light of proposed management changes to C-3 watershed. Streamflows ranged from 0 to 8.61 cubic meters per second. Low or zero flow was generally measured in late summer and early fall, and highest flows were measured during spring runoff and winter rain events. Ground-water levels varied by about a half meter, with levels closest to or above the land surface during spring runoff into the early summer, and with levels generally below land surface during late fall into early winter. A series of optional management practices that could conserve and restore habitat of the C-3 watershed is described. Modifications to the existing system of a drainage ditch and control structures are examined, as are the possibilities of reconnecting streams to their historical channels and the construction of additional or larger control structures to further manage the distribution of water in the watershed. The options considered could reduce erosion, restore presettlement streamflow conditions, and modify the ground-water gradient.

Michigan↗

USGS2014

Report of Committee on Glaciers, 1942–43

The personnel of the Committee at present is as follows: Harry Fielding Reid, Professor Emeritus of Geology, Johns Hopkins University, 608 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland William H. Hobbs, Professor Emeritus of Geology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Colonel Lawrence Martin, Chief, Division of Maps, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. James E. Church, Professor of Meteorology and President, International Commission of Snow and Glaciers, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada First Lieutenant William Osgood Field, Jr., home address, 18 West Twelfth Street, New York City Oliver Kehrlein, Chairman, Committee on Glacier Studies, Sierra Club, 1050 Mills Tower, San Francisco, California Kenneth N. Phillips, Associate Hydraulic Engineer, Water Resources Branch, Geological Survey, Chairman, Research Committee of the Masamas, 606 Post‐Office Building, Portland, Oregon William S. Cooper, Professor of Botany, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota Lieutenant Colonel Gerald FitzGerald, Army Air Corps, Washington, D.C. Laurence M. Gould, Professor of Geology, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota Arthur Johnson, Hydraulic Engineer, Conservation Branch, Geological Survey, 1105 Washington Building, Tacoma, Washington François E. Matthes (Chairman), Senior Geologist, Section of Glacial Geology, Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. The Committee is fortunate in having its membership reinforced by the addition of ARTHUR JOHNSON, who for several years has had charge of the repetitive plane‐table surveys of the lower Nisqually Glacier, on Mount Rainier—a project which the Geological Survey is carrying on in cooperation with the city of Tacoma, Washington. To him the Committee is indebted for data concerning the losses in volume of ice which the Nisqually Glacier is sustaining from year to year.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗

USGS2023

Dive characteristics of Common Loons wintering in the Gulf of Mexico and off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast

Common Loons ( Gavia immer ) winter primarily in marine coastal areas and utilize a forage base that is poorly defined, especially for offshore areas. Information on dive activity is needed for describing foraging strategies and for inferring prey distribution. Archival geolocator tags were used to determine the wintering locations and dive characteristics of adult Common Loons captured and marked on breeding lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Among loons that completed fall migration, most wintered in the Gulf of Mexico, with smaller proportions wintering off the southern Atlantic Coast or impoundments in the southeastern United States. Adult Common Loons tended to occupy offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and, on average, spent about 60% of daylight hours foraging. Dive depths were as deep as 50 m (Gulf of Mexico) and dive characteristics indicated that loons were primarily foraging on benthic prey. Total dive duration, time at maximum depth, and post-dive surface intervals increased with dive depths among wintering Common Loons. Our results are expected to contribute to the understanding of the wintering ecology of Common Loons and be useful in informing regional and national conservation planning efforts.

Journal of Field Ornithology↗

USGS1995

Genetic strategies for lake trout rehabilitation: a synthesis

The goal of lake trout rehabilitation efforts in the Great Lakes has been to reestablish inshore lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) populations to self-sustaining levels. A combination of sea lamprey control, stocking of hatchery-reared lake trout, and catch restrictions were used to enhance remnant lake trout stocks in Lake Superior and reestablish lake trout in Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Genetic diversity is important for the evolution and maintenance of successful adaptive strategies critical to population restoration. The loss of genetic diversity among wild lake trout stocks in the Great Lakes imposes a severe constraint on lake trout rehabilitation. The objective of this synthesis is to address whether the particular strain used for stocking combined with the choice of stocking location affects the success or failure of lake trout rehabilitation. Poor survival, low juvenile recruitment, and inefficient habitat use are three biological impediments to lake trout rehabilitation that can be influenced by genetic traits. Evidence supports the hypothesis that the choices of appropriate lake trout strain and stocking locations enhance the survival of lake trout stocked into the Great Lakes. Genetic strategies proposed for lake trout rehabilitation include conservation of genetic diversity in remnant stocks, matching of strains with target environments, stocking a greater variety of lake trout phenotypes, and rehabilitation of diversity at all trophic levels.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗

USGS1996

Detecting trends in raptor counts: power and type I error rates of various statistical tests

We conducted simulations that estimated power and type I error rates of statistical tests for detecting trends in raptor population count data collected from a single monitoring site. Results of the simulations were used to help analyze count data of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from 7 national forests in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin during 1980-1989. Seven statistical tests were evaluated, including simple linear regression on the log scale and linear regression with a permutation test. Using 1,000 replications each, we simulated n = 10 and n = 50 years of count data and trends ranging from -5 to 5% change/year. We evaluated the tests at 3 critical levels (alpha = 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10) for both upper- and lower-tailed tests. Exponential count data were simulated by adding sampling error with a coefficient of variation of 40% from either a log-normal or autocorrelated log-normal distribution. Not surprisingly, tests performed with 50 years of data were much more powerful than tests with 10 years of data. Positive autocorrelation inflated alpha-levels upward from their nominal levels, making the tests less conservative and more likely to reject the null hypothesis of no trend. Of the tests studied, Cox and Stuart's test and Pollard's test clearly had lower power than the others. Surprisingly, the linear regression t-test, Collins' linear regression permutation test, and the nonparametric Lehmann's and Mann's tests all had similar power in our simulations. Analyses of the count data suggested that bald eagles had increasing trends on at least 2 of the 7 national forests during 1980-1989.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗

USGS2008

Ground-water levels in Huron County, Michigan, 2006-07

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a study of the hydrogeology of Huron County, Michigan (Sweat, 1991). In 1993, Huron County and the USGS entered into a continuing agreement to measure water levels at selected wells throughout Huron County. As part of the agreement, USGS initially operated four continuous water-level recorders, installed from 1988 to 1991 on wells in Bingham (H5r), Fairhaven (H9r), Grant (H2r), and Lake Townships (H25Ar) and summarized the data collected in an annual or bi-annual report (fig. 1). The agreement was altered in 2003, and beginning January 1, 2004, only wells H9r and H25Ar retained continuous water-level recorders, while wells H2r and H5r reverted to quarterly or periodic measurement status due to budget constraints. The decision of which two wells to discontinue was based on an analysis of the intrinsic value to Huron County of data from each well. Well H2r was selected for periodic measurement at that time because it is completed in the glacial aquifer, which is absent in much of Huron County and well H5r, which is completed in the Marshall aquifer, was selected because the water level in the well is often perturbed as a result of pumpage from nearby production wells and does not always reflect baseline conditions within the aquifer. USGS also has provided training for County or Huron Conservation District personnel to measure the water level in 24 of the wells on a quarterly basis. USGS personnel accompany County or Huron Conservation District personnel on a semi-annual basis to provide a quality assurance/quality control check of all measurements being made. Water-level data collected from the wells is summarized in an annual or bi-annual report. The altitude of Lake Huron and precipitation are good indicators of general climatic conditions and, therefore, provide an environmental context for groundwater levels in Huron County. Figure 2 shows the meanmonthly water-level altitude of Lake Huron, averaged from measurements made at Essexville and Harbor Beach (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2008), and monthly precipitation measured in Harbor Beach, Sebewaing, and Bad Axe (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Danny Costello, written commun., 2007-08). In December 2007, the water level in Lake Huron dropped to a new monthly mean low of 576.38 ft for the period from 1988 through 2007 (the previous lowwater level of 576.57 ft was measured in March 2003). The net decline in the water level of Lake Huron from January 2006 through December 2007 was 0.68 ft. In 2006, annual precipitation measured at Harbor Beach was 3.2 in. above the long-term average of 31.1 in., with 10.6 in. measured during the 2006 growing season (May through August). In 2007, annual precipitation measured at Harbor Beach was 1.4 in. below normal, with 9.7 in. measured during the growing season. In the two wells equipped with continuous waterlevel recorders, the water level rose 0.32 ft from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007 in well H9r, but declined 1.11 ft in well H25Ar. Curiously, well H9r is drilled adjacent to Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron), and, as previously noted, there was a 0.68 ft decline in the water level in Saginaw Bay during that period. Twenty four wells were measured on a quarterly or periodic basis from December 2005 through December 2007 (well H26 was destroyed during summer 2007 reducing the total number of wells from 25). These wells are completed in the glacial, Saginaw and Marshall aquifers, and the Coldwater confining unit. Although each quarterly or periodic measurement only provides a “snapshot” water level (measured in ft below land surface, and altitude, in ft above sea level), the data adequately define the generalized water-level trend in the aquifer near the well. Water levels in 6 quarterly-measured wells had net rises ranging from 0.09 to 1.45 ft for the period, while water levels in 18 of the wells had net declines ranging from 0.26 to 2.19 ft (tables 1 and 2; fig. 3). Period-of-record (the time period during which water levels have been measured by U.S. Geological Survey or their cooperators) minimum depths to water (high-water levels) were measured in March and December 2006 in two quarterly-measured wells completed in the Saginaw aquifer in Oliver and Sebewaing Townships, respectively. A period-of-record minimum depth to water was also recorded June 5, 2007 in well H9r, completed in the Michigan Formation/Marshall aquifer in Fairhaven Township. Period-of-record maximum depths to water were measured in September 2007 in two wells completed in the Marshall aquifer in Oliver and Dwight Townships. Notably, water levels in those two wells recovered about 1 to 3 ft between September and December 2007. No period-of-record minimum or maximum depths to water were measured in wells completed in either the glacial aquifer or the Coldwater confining unit from December 2005 through December 2007. Several external factors influence water-level trends including proximity to nearby production wells, amount and timing of precipitation events, evapotranspiration and type of prevalent ground cover, proximity of aquifer to the surface, and hydraulic characteristics of overlying geologic materials.

Michigan↗

USGS2003

Relative contributions of sampling effort, measuring, and weighing to precision of larval sea lamprey biomass estimates

We developed two weight-length models from 231 populations of larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) collected from tributaries of the Great Lakes: Lake Ontario (21), Lake Erie (6), Lake Huron (67), Lake Michigan (76), and Lake Superior (61). Both models were mixed models, which used population as a random effect and additional environmental factors as fixed effects. We resampled weights and lengths 1,000 times from data collected in each of 14 other populations not used to develop the models, obtaining a weight and length distribution from reach resampling. To test model performance, we applied the two weight-length models to the resampled length distributions and calculated the predicted mean weights. We also calculated the observed mean weight for each resampling and for each of the original 14 data sets. When the average of predicted means was compared to means from the original data in each stream, inclusion of environmental factors did not consistently improve the performance of the weight-length model. We estimated the variance associated with measures of abundance and mean weight for each of the 14 selected populations and determined that a conservative estimate of the proportional contribution to variance associated with estimating abundance accounted for 32% to 95% of the variance (mean = 66%). Variability in the biomass estimate appears more affected by variability in estimating abundance than in converting length to weight. Hence, efforts to improve the precision of biomass estimates would be aided most by reducing the variability associated with estimating abundance.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗

USGS2024

Synthesizing professional opinion of Lake Whitefish and Cisco recruitment drivers across the Great Lakes

Disentangling the suite of ecological drivers that explain recruitment variability for Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis and Cisco C. artedi is of critical importance for their conservation, management, and stewardship in the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, recruitment is inherently variable and can be regulated by many interacting processes, the relative importance of which can vary spatially, temporally, and ontogenetically. Given this complexity, comparisons across lakes and species that identify overarching hypotheses could efficiently guide future research. Using facilitated deliberations among fishery professionals (n = 57) with expertise in Great Lakes Coregonus spp., we synthesized current knowledge regarding (1) which biophysical processes are most important for driving contemporary recruitment between species, among lakes, and across life stages and (2) mechanisms by which those drivers regulate recruitment at key life stages. Participants affirmed the hypothesis that many drivers interact in complex ways to regulate Lake Whitefish and Cisco recruitment. Large-scale climatic processes affecting early life-stage growth and survival were consistently considered important. Other drivers were only deemed influential in certain lakes, highlighting perceived context-dependent recruitment dynamics. Notably, recruitment in Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron was considered limited during larval and early juvenile life stages by low productivity, whereas spawning-habitat degradation and reduced metapopulation diversity were hypothesized to limit recruitment during embryonic and larval stages in Lakes Erie and Ontario. Several drivers were hypothesized to similarly impact Lake Whitefish and Cisco during early life stages, while drivers acting on post-larval life stages were typically distinct between species. The hypotheses synthesized herein can guide future research on Lake Whitefish and Cisco recruitment dynamics in the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes↗

USGS2026

Using structured decision making to evaluate the tradeoffs of selective fish passage

Dams have dramatically altered rivers and are a major contributor to native fish population declines. However, many dams serve important ecological, social, and economic functions, such as flood control, invasive species control, and provision of recreational opportunities. Therefore, dam removal is often contentious among stakeholders and involves making tradeoffs among multiple competing objectives. This research uses structured decision making to evaluate the ecological, social, and economic consequences and tradeoffs of enhancing connectivity for migratory fishes in the Boardman River, Michigan. We describe efforts to engage a diverse group of stakeholders to elicit their objectives under various fish passage alternatives. We used multi-attribute tradeoff methods to help stakeholders weigh the costs and benefits of enhancing connectivity for several fish species with varying life history traits and initial distributions. We found that the optimal alternative was passage of native fishes only; however, the optimal alternative varied based on the weight stakeholders might place on each objective. We created four objective weighting scenarios to evaluate the sensitivity of the optimal alternative to changes in objective weights. This research will help inform decision-makers on fish passage alternatives that are preferred by stakeholders and that are likely to achieve their objectives.

Michigan↗

USGS2023

Challenges and solutions for automated avian recognition in aerial imagery

Remote aerial sensing provides a non-invasive, large geographical-scale technology for avian monitoring, but the manual processing of images limits its development and applications. Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods can be used to mitigate this manual image processing requirement. The implementation of AI methods, however, has several challenges: (1) imbalanced (i.e., long-tailed) data distribution, (2) annotation uncertainty in categorization, and (3) dataset discrepancies across different study sites. Here we use aerial imagery data of waterbirds around Cape Cod and Lake Michigan in the United States to examine how these challenges limit avian recognition performance. We review existing solutions and demonstrate as use cases how methods like Label Distribution Aware Marginal Loss with Deferred Re-Weighting, hierarchical classification, and FixMatch address the three challenges. We also present a new approach to tackle the annotation uncertainty challenge using a Soft-fine Pseudo-Label methodology. Finally, we aim with this paper to increase awareness in the ecological remote sensing community of these challenges and bridge the gap between ecological applications and state-of-the-art computer science, thereby opening new doors to future research.

Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation↗

USGS2011

A survey of bees (hymenoptera: Apoidea) of the Indiana dunes and Northwest Indiana, USA

The Indiana Dunes, and nearby natural areas in northwest Indiana, are floristically rich Midwest U.S. locales with many habitat types. We surveyed bees along a habitat gradient ranging from grasslands to forests in these locales, collecting at least 175 bee species along this gradient plus 29 additional species in other nearby habitats. About 25% of all species were from the genus Lasioglossum and 12% of the species were associated with sandy soils. Several bumblebee ( Bombus ) species of conservation concern that should occur in this region were not collected during our surveys. Similarity of the northwest Indiana bee fauna to other published U.S. faunas decreased about 1.3% per 100 km distance from northwest Indiana. Thirty percent of bees netted from flowers were males. Males and females differed significantly in their frequency of occurrence on different plant species. For bees collected in bowl traps, the percentage captured in fluorescent yellow traps declined and in fluorescent blue traps increased from spring to late summer. Capture rates for different bee genera varied temporally, with about a quarter of the genera being captured most frequently in late spring and a quarter in late summer. Capture rates for most genera were higher in more open than in more closed canopy habitats. The maximum number of plant species on which a single bee species was captured plateaued at 24, on average. Forty-nine percent of bee species known to occur in Indiana were found at these northwest Indiana sites. Having this relatively high proportion of the total Indiana bee fauna is consistent with Indiana Dunes existing at a biogeographic crossroads where grassland and forest biomes meet in a landscape whose climate and soils are affected by proximity to Lake Michigan. The resulting habitat, plant, edaphic, and climatic diversity likely produces the diverse bee community documented.

Indiana↗

USGS2022

A call to action: Standardizing white-tailed deer harvest data in the Midwestern United States and implications for quantitative analysis and disease management

Recreational hunting has been the dominant game management and conservation mechanism in the United States for the past century. However, there are numerous modern-day issues that reduce the viability and efficacy of hunting-based management, such as fewer hunters, overabundant wildlife populations, limited access, and emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. Quantifying the drivers of recreational harvest by hunters could inform potential management actions to address these issues, but this is seldom comprehensively accomplished because data collection practices limit some analytical applications (e.g., differing spatial scales of harvest regulations and harvest data). Additionally, managing large-scale issues, such as infectious diseases, requires collaborations across management agencies, which is challenging or impossible if data are not standardized. Here we discuss modern issues with the prevailing wildlife management framework in the United States from an analytical point of view with a case study of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in the Midwest. We have four aims: (1) describe the interrelated processes that comprise hunting and suggest improvements to current data collections systems, (2) summarize data collection systems employed by state wildlife management agencies in the Midwestern United States and discuss potential for large-scale data standardization, (3) assess how aims 1 and 2 influence managing infectious diseases in hunted wildlife, and (4) suggest actionable steps to help guide data collection standards and management practices. To achieve these goals, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources disseminated a questionnaire to state wildlife agencies (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin), and we report and compare their harvest management structures, data collection practices, and responses to chronic wasting disease. We hope our “call to action” encourages re-evaluation, coordination, and improvement of harvest and management data collection practices with the goal of improving the analytical potential of these data. A deeper understanding of the strengths and deficiencies of our current management systems in relation to harvest and management data collection methods could benefit the future development of comprehensive and collaborative management and research initiatives (e.g., adaptive management) for wildlife and their diseases.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minne↗