Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
October 2013 Activity Highlights
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Topics covered in the Octoberr activity report.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Asian Carp
- Jon Amberg and Mark Gaikowski (UMESC) co-authored a publication on the analysis of the gut microbial of invasive Asian carps and the gizzard shad, as understanding the microbial communities can provide useful information on how to monitor and better manage Asian carp populations. If host specific biomarkers can be discovered and designed to determine the presence and quantity of Asian carp and native fishes, the biomarkers could be used to increase the detection sensitivity of environmental DNA tests. The study’s abstract is available at http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ismej2013181a.html.
- Ye, L., J. Amberg, D. Chapman, M. Gaikowski, W-T. Liu. 2013. Fish gut microbiota analysis differentiates physiology and behavior of invasive Asian carp and indigenous American fish. ISME. DOI:10.1038/ismej.2013.181
- Mark Gaikowski (UMESC) was interviewed by Rebecca Williams from Michigan public radio regarding the scientific publication “Fish gut microbiota analysis differentiates physiology and behavior of invasive Asian carp and indigenous American fish” published in ISME October 17, 2013. The interview was a result of a press release sent by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign cooperator, and will air on October 24.
Sea Lamprey
- Terry Hubert and Jane Rivera (UMESC) attended the training class, “A Practical Primer on Pesticides,” October 23-24, in Indianapolis, IN. The two-day course focused on the legal and scientific perspectives of pesticide regulation, at the federal and state level. UMESC manages the state and federal registrations for the lampricides TFM and niclosamide. These products are used to control sea lamprey in the Great Lakes basin, for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Integrated Management of Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Control Program, a binational program funded by the United States and Canadian governments. UMESC serves as the regulatory agents for the registrant, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Congressional Visit
National Park Service
Vegetation Mapping Program
- Over the summer and fall of 2013 the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center’s Park Mapping Team (Kevin Hop, Erin Hoy, Joe Jakusz, Andrew Strassman) conducted field work in three parks: The Mississippi National River & Recreation Area in Minnesota; the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire and Maine; and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. NatureServe (Jim Drake; Brett Engstrom) and Maine DOC (Andy Cutko) staff accompanied UMESC staff on these trips to assist in the identification of vegetation and explain the local ecology. A total of eight weeks was spent in the field collecting field data that compares the ground vegetation in the parks to aerial imagery. The mapping team will use these data over the fall and winter to map the vegetation of each park.
Native Freshwater Mussels
Climate Change and Effects of Elevated Water Temperatures
- Teresa Newton (UMESC) co-authored a publication on the effects of elevated water temperatures on native juvenile mussels. Native freshwater mussels are a diverse but imperiled group of animals that may be especially sensitive to increasing water temperatures because many species may already be living near their upper thermal limits. They found that elevated water temperatures adversely affected the survival and physiology of several species of juvenile mussels in laboratory tests. Environmentally relevant estimates of upper thermal tolerances in native mussels are urgently needed to assess the extent of assemblage changes that can be expected in response to global climate change. Available at http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1899/12-132.1.
- Ganser, A.G., T.J. Newton, and R.J. Haro. 2013. The effects of elevated water temperatures on native juvenile mussels: implications for the effects of climate change. Freshwater Science 32(4):1168-1177. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1899/12-132.1.
- Teresa Newton and Jennie Sauer (UMESC) co-authored a publication on water and sediment temperatures at known mussel beds in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Surface waters were generally warmer than sediments in summer and were cooler than sediments in winter, suggesting that sediments may act as a thermal buffer for mussels. Elevated water temperatures resulting from global warming, thermal discharges, water extraction, and/or droughts have the potential to adversely affect native mussel assemblages. Available at http://molluskconservation.org/Walkerana_CurrentCont.html.
- Newton, T., J. Sauer, and B. Karns. 2013. Water and sediment temperatures at mussel beds in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Walkerana 16:53-62.
Use of Biochemical Tracers in Mussel Research
- Teresa Newton (UMESC) co-authored a publication on patterns in biochemical tracers in native freshwater mussels across a broad geographic range. Because the effects of mussel communities on ecosystem processes result largely from their feeding behavior, we need to understand how they sample and process particulate matter. We sampled a suite of biochemical markers in 2 species from 4 rivers and found that stable isotopes were able to differentiate mussels among rivers and sometimes species and that mussels fed across multiple trophic levels. Fatty acid biomarkers suggested that bacterial and detrital resources might be as important as algae in many habitats. Understanding nutritional profiles in mussels may help restore native mussel communities, which may lead to the reestablishment of their critical role as nutrient recyclers in freshwater food webs. Available at http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2983/035.032.0229.
- Newton, T., J., D.E. Spooner, C.C. Vaughn, S.J. Nichols, and M.T. Arts. 2013. Profiles of biochemical tracers in unionid mussels across a broad geographic range. Journal of Shellfish Research 32(2):497-507. DOI:10.2983/035.032.0229
Other
Government Shutdown
From October 1 through 16, 2013, the United States federal government entered a shutdown until a federal budget deal was resolved. During this period the UMESC was unable to conduct research.
Acronyms
DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid
TFM – 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol
UMESC – Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/outreach/highlights/2013_oct_umesc_highlights.html
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Page Last Modified:
November 16, 2012
