Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
September 2012 Activity Highlights
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Topics covered in the September activity report.
Aquatic Ecosystem Health
Immediate-Release Sedative
- Jeff Meinertz, Scott Porcher, Justin Smerud, and Mark Gaikowski (UMESC), delivered a report for the project to develop a compound that would safely and effectively sedate fish to a handleable state and allow for their release immediately after sedation, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine, August 31. There is a critical need in U.S. public aquaculture and fishery management programs for an immediate-release sedative. AQUI-S® 20E (AQUI-S® New Zealand Ltd., Lower Hut, New Zealand) is being pursued for approval as an immediate-release sedative. There was a lack of information characterizing absorption and depletion of AQUI-S® 20E residues in freshwater fish fillet tissue. Therefore studies were conducted to fill this data gap, specifically studies that would determine an AQUI-S® 20E concentration and exposure duration that would maximize AQUI-S® 20E residue concentrations in fish fillet tissue and a study that would characterize the depletion of AQUI-S® 20E residues from fillet tissue.
- Meinertz, J.R., S.T. Porcher, J.R. Smerud, and M.P. Gaikowski. 2012. Determining exposure parameters that maximize eugenol residues in the fillet tissue and determining the sample times that will adequately characterize the depletion of eugenol residues from the fillet tissue of rainbow trout exposed to AQUI-S® 20E. Final report submitted to FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. August 31, 2012. 1246 pages.
Pharmaceuticals and Freshwater Mussels
- Jeff Meinertz, Teresa Schreier, Karina Hess, and Jeff Bernardy (UMESC) published the results from their long-term (28-day) exposure testing of native freshwater mussels to a commonly used antihistamine product (Diphenhydramine hydrochloride), at concentrations typically found in their native environment. This was done to determine if anthropogenic stressors, like pharmaceutical products which find their way into rivers and streams via wastewater treatment plants, could be contributing to the decline of native mussels. Diphenhydramine hydrochloride is an over-the-counter compound commonly marketed as a treatment for sinus congestion or as a sleep aid. The long-term, low-dose, exposure tests were performed to determine if continuous exposure to the product would impact the survival and growth of 1-day old mussels.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Asian Carp
- Mark Gaikowski (UMESC) represented USGS at the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency (AFWA) Fisheries Water Resource Policy Committee Drug Approval Working Group, at the Association's Annual Meeting in Hilton Head, SC, September 10-14. Gaikowski also attended the AFWA's meetings on the use of eDNA as a monitoring tool for aquatic invasive species (e.g., bighead carp and silver carp).
- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) September 26, regarding proposed changes to Center’s Invasive Species permit. UMESC operates an indoors invasive species containment facility, used to conduct research on species such as Asian carp, zebra mussels, and sea lamprey. UMESC has applied to have its state and federal permits modified, to allow for experiments to be conducted on invasive species in the facilities outdoor pond complex. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already approved the modifications to the Center’s federal use permit. The state of Wisconsin requires a public hearing be held prior to such modifications, to allow for public input on the proposed permit changes. The hearing was held in UMESC’s conference facility. Background information on the hearing is available through the Wisconsin DNR’s Web site and La Crosse Tribune.
Sea Lamprey
- Mike Boogaard and Terry Hubert (UMESC) briefed attendees of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission Lampricide Control Task Force on progress of UMESC technical assistance projects for the sea lamprey control program for 2012 meeting and joint meeting with the Lamprey Assessment Task Force, in Mackinaw City, MI, September 10-12.
EcoSummit 2012
- Walt Sadinski (UMESC) and Alisa Gallant (EROS) co-organized and will co-chair the symposium, “Moving Integration Forward in Assessing Impacts of Global Change Across Scales and Processes,” during EcoSummit 2012 - Ecological Sustainability, September 30-October 5 in Columbus, OH. The symposium will feature presentations and a panel discussion on cutting-edge approaches to integrating scientific methods, disciplines, and organizations to address multiple facets of global change. Contact: Walt Sadinski (wsadinski@usgs.gov, 608-781-6337) or Alisa Gallant (gallant@usgs.gov, 605-594-2696).
- Walt Sadinski (UMESC) and Alisa Gallant (EROS) will give the presentation, “Assessing impacts of global change in wetland-upland landscape matrices along North American environmental gradients,” during EcoSummit 2012 in Columbus, OH, October 1. The presentation is associated with a symposium organized by Sadinski and Gallant, featuring progressive research integrated across organizations, methods, and scales to assess effects of global change. Sadinski and Gallant will present results from a USGS-led multidisciplinary research leveraged across U.S. and Canadian organizations, as part of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative and the Terrestrial Wetland Global Change Research Network.
Geospatial Sciences and Technology
- Joe Jakusz and Enrika Hlavacek (UMESC) will give a presentation on the uses of GIS, LiDAR, aerial photography, and the benefits of Geospatial Science and Technology to seventh grade social studies students at Lincoln Middle School, September 13, in La Crosse, WI.
- Jason Rohweder and Larry Robinson (UMESC) gave presentations on how high-resolution elevation and vegetation datasets are being created and used by the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center and its program partners, for a group of visiting USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service agricultural engineers and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade & Consumer Protection staff, September 12-13 in La Crosse, WI.
- Jason Rohweder (UMESC) gave a webinar presentation September 24, for scientists and managers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi Valley Division. The presentation discussed updates Rohweder is making to the geospatial Wind Fetch and Wave modeling tools created by UMESC.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Project #82, Characterize Habitat and Foodweb Structures across Great Lakes Rivermouth Estuaries.
- William Richardson, Jon Vallazza, James Larson (UMESC) traveled to Alpena, MI to sample benthic and water column fish and their prey in the Thunderbay River, it's rivermouth, the adjacent nearshore zone, and deepwater of Lake Huron, September 10-14. Fish and invertebrate tissues are being analyzed for stable isotopes of nitrogen, carbon, as well as fatty acids, which act as biomarkers of food source and organism health. This work is part of a larger study determining the role of landscapes as sources of nutrients and carbon supporting river, nearshore, and deepwater foodwebs. The UMESC team will be collaborating with scientists from the USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Alpena, MI).
Upper Mississippi River
Bird Habitat Use
- Eileen Kirsch (UMESC) discussed results from her 2008 study of bird habitat use in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain, at a field trip to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) timber sale area within Mississippi River navigation Pool 3, September 12. The field trip was sponsored by the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee to discuss objectives of the timber sale in the context of the Vermillion/Cannon River Bottoms Habitat Management Plan. Kirsch commented on potential habitat and bird responses to the treatments prescribed in the timber sale, as well as the need for monitoring and adoption of adaptive management for future forest management projects. Kirsch’s study was funded by the Minnesota DNR through a State Fish and Wildlife Grant.
Floodplain Science Network
- Ken Lubinski (UMESC) participated in a conference call with the Floodplain Science Network (Network), which is writing a science perspective in response to the many information needs related to river lateral connectivity, that were identified during the survey of 200 river experts and discussions at the June Workshop in St. Louis, MO. The Network includes representatives from three federal agencies (USGS, FWS, and USACE), several universities, and numerous state conservation offices. The science perspective is scheduled for completion, January 2013.
Upper Mississippi River Restoration – Environmental Management Program
Clean Water Act Monitoring Strategy Project
- Barry Johnson (UMESC) will participate in a work session for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, Water Quality Task Force, Clean Water Act Monitoring Strategy Project, September 18-19, in Davenport, IA. The Project is designed to help the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin develop an assessment strategy that can be used to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act, in a consistent manner along the full length of the Upper Mississippi River.
Large River Fisheries Monitoring Workshop
- Barry Johnson (UMESC) will participate in a workshop on large river fisheries monitoring in Hood River, OR, October 10-11. The workshop meeting will bring together USGS staff engaged in large river research and monitoring across the county to consider the potential to combine data from separate river monitoring programs for evaluating the status of river fishes across multiple systems. The group will develop an initial draft of a Powell Center proposal on this topic. Johnson is the Science Director for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, an element of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program. This multi-agency federal and state cooperative program is designed to monitor, restore, and enhance the multi-use functionality of the Upper Mississippi River System (Minneapolis, MN to Cairo, IL and the Illinois River).
Land Cover/Land Use
- Jenny Hanson and Erin Hoy (UMESC) conducted field reconnaissance for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program’s 2010/2011 land cover/land use mapping project, September 10-15. UMESC collected 16-inch/pixel digital color-infrared aerial photography within Mississippi River navigation Pools 15-17 (Moline to New Boston, IL) and 20-25 (Keokuk, IA to Winfield, MO). Hanson and Hoy compared the on ground vegetation to the aerial photography, then linked those data to positional information using ruggedized field laptops. These data will be used to develop a template of spectral photo-signatures for identifying patterns and types of vegetation. These data, along with others collected in other areas of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS), will be used to create a digital vegetation/land cover map for of the entire UMRS (the Mississippi River floodplain from Minneapolis, MN to Cairo, IL and the entire length of the Illinois River).
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Airspace Use by Night Migrating Landbirds
- Mike Wellik and Pete Boma (UMESC) began fall field work for the project, “Airspace use by night migrating landbirds in relation to the southern shore of Lake Erie, OH,” on September 4.
Monitoring and Mapping Avian Resources in Great Lakes
- Kevin Kenow, Steve Houdek, Luke Fara (UMESC), and Brian Lubinski (FWS) began monthly aerial surveys of selected portions of Lake Michigan to determine the distribution and abundance of waterbirds, September 17. Impact assessment of near-shore and off-shore wind turbine placement, characterization of sea duck wintering distribution, and elucidating factors that influence the outbreak of type-E avian botulism all require better understanding of the distribution, abundance, and temporal use patterns of waterbirds. These surveys will continue through April 2013 and support; Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) “Project #73: Avian Botulism in Distressed Great Lakes Environments Avian Botulism;” the USGS Wind Energy decision support study, “Evaluating Habitat Use by Pelagic Birds on the Western Great Lakes and Airspace Use of Migrant Songbirds Near and Over the Western Great Lakes;” and a new start funded through a Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act Regional Project under the coordination of the Great Lakes Commission, “Monitoring and Mapping Avian Resources in the Near-shore and Open Waters of Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan as an Evaluation Tool for Potential Offshore Wind Development and Conservation Planning.”
Indiana Bat Populations and White-nose Syndrome
- Wayne Thogmartin, Patrick McKann (UMESC), Andrew King, Jennifer Szymanski, and Lori Pruitt (FWS) published a manuscript describing spatio-temporally varying patterns in the abundance of the endangered Indiana bat. The authors found that just prior to the onset of white-nose syndrome, there was a 20% probability that the species had reached its recovery goal of 457,000 bats. Since onset of this quickly spreading fungal disease, the population declined at a rate of 10% per year, with no signs of abatement.
Other
Acronyms
AFWA – Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
DNR – Department of Natural Resources
EROS – Earth Resources Observation Systems
FDA – Food and Drug Administration
FWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
GIS – Geographic Information System
GLRI – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging
LTRMP – Long Term Resource Monitoring Program
UMESC – Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
UMRS – Upper Mississippi River System
UMRR-EMP – Upper Mississippi River Restoration - Environmental Management Program
USACE – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USDA – U.S. Department of Agriculture
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
WICCI – Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
WSC – Water Science Center
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/outreach/highlights/2012_sept_umesc_highlights.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified:
November 16, 2012
