Great Lakes
Lake Superior's ecosystems are running along fairly smoothly, while Lake Erie is having some problems. This may seem like nothing new, but a study of ecological indicators led by UMD's Natural Resources Research Institute has determined the best ways to measure what stresses the Great Lakes.
The $7.5 million research effort was the largest of its kind and the first study to look at the entire U.S. side of the Great Lakes about 762 watersheds and 5,000 miles of shoreline stretching from the Twin Ports to Watertown, N.Y
The research shows which parts of nature best reflect the environment's reaction to human derived stressors"such as agriculture, development, runoff from cities and air pollution.
The study found that the lowly eelpout, a fish most anglers spurn, is a great indicator of environmental health because it thrives only in high-quality ecosystems. Diatoms, are even better indicators, and carry a history of water quality inside their silica shells.
Scientists also documented that areas with more exotic species are more likely to have a degraded ecosystem. More than 100 species of birds were studied as indicators. European transplanted rock doves, house sparrows and starlings all are more common in areas hit hard by the stresses of development, pollution and agriculture.
If you find black-throated green warblers, chances are the surrounding environment is mostly unspoiled. More than 100 researchers at 500 different sites across the Great Lakes looked at birds, amphibians, fish, wetland plants and diatoms a kilometer inland and a kilometer out on the lakes.
Scientists conducted the study from 2001-03 and are now publishing their findings. It has already been an academic force, with segments of the conclusions appearing in 23 peer-reviewed publications, 20 technical reports, two book chapters and 172 public presentations. The full report is expected to be published next year in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.
The study is being heralded as a base from which to judge the health of the lakes, declining or improving, for decades to come not just a single species of fish or birds or algae, but the ecosystems of 762 watersheds across the region.
Scientists have found there are at least 207 variables that stress the Great Lakes environment all of them caused by humans that fall into five general categories: land use, agriculture, point source pollution (such as factories, power plants and sewage plants), airborne pollution that falls into the lakes and human population density.
June 27, 2006 7:19 AM | Category: Great Lakes