Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
July 2012 Activity Highlights
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Topics covered in the July activity report.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Asian Carp
- Terrance Hubert attended QTOF (quadrupole-time of flight) liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer training, conducted by Agilent Technologies in Wood Dale, IL, July 24-27 in preparation of using new equipment for invasive species research.
Zebra Mussels
- Jim Luoma (UMESC) traveled to St. Charles, IL July 16-19 to assist in the conduct of an experimental field trial to assess the efficacy and environmental impact of Zequanox®, an EPA registered molluscicide for defined discharges, for controlling zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in open water. The field trial is being conducted in Deep Quarry Lake, DuPage County, IL by Marrone BIO Innovations, IL Department of Natural Resources and Southern Illinois University. Deep Quarry Lake is a 40-acre lake located in the West Branch Forest Preserve near Bartlett, IL. The lake has a maximum depth of 40 feet and has been infested with zebra mussels for at least 5 years. The application technique and mesocosm barrier performance is of particular interest for application to future UMESC research activities planned in zebra mussel-infested lakes in Minnesota which were recently selected for funding by the Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources.
- Kerry Weber (UMESC) and Catherine Sykes (FWS) traveled to the New York State Museum Field Research Laboratory (NYSM-FRL) in Cambridge, NY July 16-20, to learn and compare zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) veliger collection, handling, assessment, and toxicity testing techniques. The UMESC invasive species research program is currently involved in dreissenid mussel control research and will be expanding the Center’s capabilities into early life stage research with the training and experience gained during this trip. Future center plans include research to control dreissenid veligers in transport water used to haul fish, such as the endangered Razorback sucker (Xrauchen texanus) and bonytail (Gila elegans). Currently, the movement and propagation of these species is impacted by the prohibited transport of the animals from waters that contain dreissenid mussels.
Geospatial Sciences and Technology
- John (JC) Nelson (UMESC) will attend the USGS Science Data Coordination Network (SDCN) Face-to-Face meeting at the Denver Federal Center, July 25-26. The vision for the SDCN is to promote increased communication, education, cooperation, and information-sharing across and within Geographic and Mission Areas, by developing a networked community of practitioners among researchers and information management specialists. The network will provide a conduit and framework for activities that help connect information investments across multiple discipline, geographic, temporal, and political boundaries, while assisting with identification and prioritization of local science and information management requirements. Nelson is one of two Midwest Area representatives on the network.
- John (JC) Nelson (UMESC) is hosting a visit from Sebastian Martinuzzi (Univ. of WI-Madison) July 23 to discuss LiDAR data within the State of Wisconsin and along the Upper Mississippi River. Nelson and Marinuzzi are working on developing a study of LiDAR and birds on federal lands in Wisconsin.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Common Loon Overwintering Habitat and Foraging Behavior
- Kevin Kenow (UMESC) and the loon capture crew were joined by author and educator Adele Porter as they captured and banded common loons in northern Minnesota, July 17. Porter is developing articles accompanied by teacher guides for regional and national children’s publications. Curriculum with emphasis on the Common Loon Movements and Migration Study will be developed and made available to educators. The curriculum will support the National Science Education Standards and New Generation NSE Core Concepts.
National Park Service
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
- Kevin Hop (UMESC) will conduct a close-out meeting and deliver the final mapping products for the National Park Service (NPS) Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) vegetation mapping project, July 17-18 at the SACN Headquarters in St. Croix Falls, WI. The SACN vegetation mapping project is in support of the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The meeting's agenda includes: presentations on the NPS VIP Inventory and Monitoring Program (Ulf Gafvert, NPS Great Lakes Network), SACN project overview (Kevin Hop), vegetation classification (Jim Drake, NatureServe), vegetation mapping (Kevin Hop), accuracy assessment (Kevin Hop), and final products (Kevin Hop and Jim Drake). A discussion on future product applications will be facilitated by Ulf Gafvert. A field workshop will be conducted to showcase first hand some of the data products. The primary objective of the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program is to produce data sets of vegetation occurring within national park units. This information fills and complements a wide variety of resource assessment, national park management, and conservation needs.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Andrew Strassman, Joe Jakusz and Kevin Hop (UMESC) will spend 11 days surveying vegetation in the Lower New England (LNE) ecoregion of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA) July 24-August 3, for the APPA Vegetation Mapping Project, part of the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). They will be accompanied for 5 days by Mark Hall (NatureServe), who will assist with vegetation identification, field key application, and application of the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) to the local flora. The data collected on this trip will be used during the vegetation mapping process this winter (FY 2013). The primary objective of the NPS VIP is to produce data sets of vegetation occurring within national park units. This information fills and complements a wide variety of resource assessment, national park management, and conservation needs.
Tree Swallows and PCBs on the Hudson River
- Christine Custer, Thomas Custer, and James Hines published the results their survival assessment of adult tree swallows exposed to a river basin highly contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Survival rates were less in first-year females compared to older females, but there was no effect of differential PCB exposure. Between the breeding season of 2006 and 2007 survival rates were half that found in subsequent over winter intervals. Cool, wet weather during spring 2007 most likely caused severe mortality in returning tree swallows.
Upper Mississippi River Restoration – Environmental Management Program
Connectivity Influence on Nutrient Distribution
- Nate De Jager (UMESC) will give the presentation, “Variation in water mediated connectivity influences patch distributions of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP) and TN:TP ratios in the Upper Mississippi River, USA” by Nathan De Jager and Jeffrey Houser, at the 97th Ecological Society of America meeting in Portland, OR, August 9. The study’s results suggest that spatial and temporal variation in connectivity and hydrologic exchange, indicated by proximity to channels and local current velocities, alter rates of nutrient delivery and biochemical transformation across the riverine landscape. A series of maps and empirical relationships will be presented that reveal important locations, scales, and degrees of hydrologic exchange, sufficient to create patchy nutrient distributions in a large river.
UMR Imagery
- The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) completed the color infrared Orthophoto mosaics of the Upper Mississippi River, for the Long Term Resource Monitoring component of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program. Navigation Pools 1 through 13 (Minneapolis, MN to Clinton, IA), were collected at a resolution of 8-inches per pixel, and Lock and Dam 13 (near Clinton, IA) to the Ohio River (near Cairo, IL) and the Illinois River were photographed at 16-inches per pixel. Both sets of images were collected using a mapping-grade Applanix DSS439 digital aerial camera. The flights occurred during times of peak vegetation biomass, from late August through early September. UMESC is using the photography to develop its third systemic Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) data set for the UMRS. Both data sets are available to download at UMESC’s Web site, www.umesc.usgs.gov. For additional information contact John (JC) Nelson (jcnelson@usgs.gov, 608-781-6370).
Statistical Analyses
- Brian Gray gave two presentations at the Joint Statistical Meeting in San Diego, CA, July 28-August 2. These presentations are associated with studies funded in part by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) for the Upper Mississippi River System. The LTRMP is a component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program (UMRR-EMP), implemented by USGS’s Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC).
- Brian Gray, James Rogala, and Xiaoqiao Wei. 2012. Modeling clustered river water temperature from haphazard times and random spatial locations. Joint Statistical Meetings, San Diego, CA, July 2012.
- Jun Park, Katherine St. Clair, and Brian Gray. 2012. Spatially modeling occupancy for detection data collected using alternating survey methods. Joint Statistical Meetings, San Diego, CA, July 2012.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
- Erin Hoy, Larry Robinson (UMESC), and Brian Lubinski (FWS Region 3) groundtruthed and collected color infrared aerial photography at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas July 16. This project support the Great Lakes Science Center's vegetation monitoring program, funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
- Erin Hoy, Jenny Hanson (UMESC), and Darrin Welchert (Squaw Creek NWR) completed field reconnaissance of Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Missouri, July 23-27. Information collected will be used to develop a template of spectral photo-signatures, used to identify patterns and types of vegetation. The signatures will be used to develop a digital vegetation/land cover map of the Refuge. Squaw Creek NWR is one of the oldest refuges in the nation.
Other
Acronyms
APPA – Appalachian National Scenic Trail
EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
FWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
LCU – Land Cover/Land Use
LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging
LNE – Lower New England
NPS – National Park Service
NVCS – National Vegetation Classification System
NWR – National Wildlife Refuge
NYSM-FRL – New York State Museum Field Research Laboratory
PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls
QTOF – quadrupole-time of flight
SACN – Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
SDCN – Science Data Coordination Network
TP – total phosphorous
TN – total nitrogen
UMESC – Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
UMRR-EMP – Upper Mississippi River Restoration - Environmental Management Program
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
VIP – Vegetation Inventory and Monitoring Program
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/outreach/highlights/2012_july_umesc_highlights.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified:
November 27, 2012
