Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
February 2014 Activity Highlights
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Topics covered in the February activity report.
Aquatic Ecosystem Health
Improved Bacterial Coldwater Disease Therapy
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental new animal drug application for AQUAFLOR® (active ingredient, florfenicol), to allow for an increase in the maximum daily dosage of 10 mg/kg bodyweight/day for 10 days in single-pass flow-through rearing systems, to 15 mg/kg body weight/day in recirculating aquaculture systems. Subsequent to the original approval to control bacterial coldwater disease (a bacterial disease that decimates fish stocks annually) certain isolates of bacterial coldwater disease did not respond to AQAUFLOR® therapy unless the infected fish received a dose of 15 mg/kg bodyweight/day. The increased dosage, and the capacity for use in multiple rearing systems, will enhance the ability of public aquaculture to maintain healthy fish stocks vital to the nation’s fishery. The supplemental approval was primarily based on data developed through the research efforts by Mark Gaikowski and Jeff Meinertz of the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC). For more information contact Jeff Meinertz, at jmeinertz@usgs.gov.
North Central Regional Aquaculture Center
- Mark Gaikowski (UMESC) participated in the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NCRAC) Annual Meeting in Toledo, OH, February 21. Gaikowski is on the board of directors for NCRAC, and provided updates on NCRAC-funded research on the use of iodophors to disinfect the eggs of cool and warmwater finfish, and the use of AQUI-S® 20E to lightly sedate yellow perch and tilapia. The NCRAC meeting was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Ohio Aquaculture Association.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Asian Carp
- Mark Gaikowski (UMESC) presented summaries of USGS research on the development of control tools for the management of Asian carps, at the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee meeting in Chicago, IL, February 19.
Geospatial Sciences and Technology
International LiDAR Mapping Forum
- Joe Jakusz (UMESC) attended the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) 2014, February 17-19 in Denver, CO. The ILMF was a three-day technical conference and exhibition focused on airborne, terrestrial, and bathymetric LiDAR. The event spotlighted the use of LiDAR to support transport, urban modeling, coastal zone mapping, utility asset management, 3D visualization, and GIS applications. Jakusz is working on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program (UMRR-EMP) project to create high-resolution elevation data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System from LiDAR data. He is attending for educational and networking opportunities, to gain a better understanding of the specific methodology, techniques, and programs essential to completing LiDAR data processing for Mississippi River.
ESRI GIS Summit
- Enrika Hlavacek (UMESC) attended the ESRI Partner Conference and International Developer Summit March 9-13, in Palm Springs, CA. The Partner Conference offered the opportunity to meet, collaborate with, and learn from ESRI staff and other partners and distributors from around the globe. The Developer Summit highlighted the latest advances in GIS technology through a series of technical sessions and expositions, including information on the latest ESRI software developments and product releases.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Project #80, Birds as Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in the Great Lakes
- Chris and Tom Custer (UMESC) participated in a Sheboygan River Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) working group’s webinar meeting and will discuss preliminary results from their Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Project (Project 80, Birds as Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in the Great Lakes) on February 14. The Custers collected data within the Sheboygan River Area of Concern (AOC) in the early 2010s, has been comparing them to similar data collected by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the mid-1990s, with an emphasis on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The Custers have prepared a manuscript on the changes in PCBs exposure within the Sheboygan River AOC and submitted it for publication in the journal Ecotoxicology. The Sheboygan River working group is also planning to use these data within their NRDA assessments. The Custers were invited to make this presentation by Jessica Winter, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Response and Restoration. Additional information on the Custer’s research is available at http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/wildlife_toxicology/glri_project80.html. For more information contact Christine Custer at ccuster@usgs.gov.
- Chris and Tom Custer (UMESC) provided an in depth summary of their contaminant exposure and effects data from two Milwaukee, WI area Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) study sites, during the Milwaukee Area of Concern (AOC) management team webinar meeting on February 20. The Custers began collecting data in the Milwaukee area in 2010, preceding a major dredging action in the Lincoln Park stretch of the Milwaukee River. This provided an opportunity to not only quantify exposure and effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), but also assess the efficacy and success of the 2011 AOC clean-up activities. Besides quantifying PDB exposure before and after the dredging project, the exposure and effects of dioxins, furans, 14 trace elements, a suite of legacy pesticides, and two emerging contaminants (perfluorinated chemicals and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) were also studied. The invitation to participate in the meeting was made by Brenda Jones, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, IL, Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). For more information contact Christine Custer at ccuster@usgs.gov.
Project #73, Avian Botulism in Distressed Great Lakes Environments
- Kevin Kenow (UMESC) attended the project planning meeting, “Avian botulism in distressed Great Lakes environments USGS/NPS GLRI Projects,” February 27-28 at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, MI. The purpose of the meeting was to share information among project participants on work completed during 2013, coordinate analyses and manuscript preparation, and finalize the 2014 workplan and budgets. Kenow provided an update on, “Waterbird distribution on Lake Michigan and carcass drift modeling,” and Shawn Crimmins updated the group (via WebEx) on, “Hierarchical modeling of Lake Michigan waterbird abundance from aerial surveys.”
Upper Midwest Stream Restoration Symposium
Stream Temperatures
- Brian Gray (UMESC), Yulia Gel (University of Texas at Dallas), and Slava Lyubchich (University of Waterloo) presented, “Estimating means and trends using stream temperatures from haphazard times and dates,” at the Upper Midwest Stream Restoration Symposium in La Crosse, WI, February 24.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Thermal Infrared Imagery – Detection and Counting of Wildlife
- Larry Robinson (UMESC) attended training in Minneapolis, MN for the collection and processing of thermal infrared imagery, February 27-28. UMESC is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Region 3 in the evaluation of a high-resolution, uncooled thermal infrared camera for wildlife/waterfowl detection and counting, muskrat lodge identification and counts, locating levee/dike seeps and Pleistocene snail habitat, and other resource-related targets well suited for analysis using thermal infrared imagery. This thermal infrared camera collects video and still imagery using a 1,024 by 768 pixel sensor. It is hoped that the thermal camera can integrate with the position and orientation system of USFWS Region 3's plane to produce GIS-ready thermal mosaics. These mosaics would include documenting migrating waterfowl, deer populations, and land/water temperature variations.
Effects of Climate on Indiana Bat Winter Colony Size
- Wayne Thogmartin and Patrick McKann (UMESC) published the results from their study of the power law relationship between winter group size of the endangered Indiana bat and the frequency of those winter groups. When winters were expected to be warmer, according to the North Atlantic Oscillation, Indiana bats formed smaller groups in winter. When winters were expected to be colder, Indiana bats formed larger groups. This relationship suggested wintering Indiana bats amend group size to modify metabolic efficiency. The quickly spreading fungal disease White-nose Syndrome likely disrupts this tuning of group size formation to expected winter weather conditions, increasing the risk faced by this endangered species. The manuscript is available online at http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1644/13-MAMM-A-098. For more information contact Wayne Thogmartin at wthogmartin@usgs.gov.
- Thogmartin, W. E., and P. C. McKann. 2014. Large-scale climate variation modifies winter group size in the endangered Indiana bat. Journal of Mammalogy. 95(1):117–127. DOI: 10.1644/13-MAMM-A-098.
Wisconsin Wetlands Conference
Pool-scale Drawdowns to Restore Wetland Habitat in the Upper Mississippi River
- UMESC scientists provided a series of presentations as part of a symposium, “Pool-scale Drawdowns to Restore Wetland Habitat in the Upper Mississippi River,” at this year's Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, February 18-20 in La Crosse, WI. The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) has been developed and subsequently managed for commercial navigation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), through the creation of a series of lock and dam structures. The navigation pools initially provided a complex of aquatic habitats which supported a variety of fish and wildlife habitats. Over time, however, alteration of the hydrologic regime, island loss, sedimentation, and sediment resuspension through wind and wave action have contributed to a decline in the amount of wetland habitats. Seasonal pool-scale drawdowns were implemented to restore some of the natural processes of the UMR, thereby improving conditions for the growth of aquatic vegetation. This symposium will provide background information on the complex social-political process involved in planning and implementing pool-scale drawdowns on the UMR, and summarize available information on abiotic and biotic responses associated with drawdowns. Insights are provided based on more than 17 years of experience in planning and implementing drawdowns on the UMR. UMESC presentations will include:
- Behavior of native mussels during a planned water level drawdown in Pool 6 of the Upper Mississippi River, by Theresa Newton, Steve Zigler, and Brian Gray (USGS).
- Breaking the rules: Tweaking water levels to benefit aquatic systems without impacting commercial navigation, by Gretchen Benjamin (The Nature Conservancy), Tim Schlagenhaft (Audubon Minnesota), Mary Stefanski (USFWS), and Kevin Kenow (USGS).
- Detecting the lasting effects of water level drawdown on aquatic vegetation in Upper Mississippi River Pool 8, by Yao Yin (USGS).
- Pool-scale drawdowns and nitrogen dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River, by William Richardson (USGS).
- Vegetation response to pool-scale drawdowns on the Upper Mississippi River, by Kevin Kenow, Larry Robinson, and James Rogala (USGS).
- Water level management and contaminant exposure to tree swallows nesting on the Upper Mississippi River, by Tom Custer and Christine Custer (USGS).
Migrating Birds and Tree Species Preferences on the Upper Mississippi River
- Eileen Kirsch (UMESC) presented, “Tree species preferences of foraging birds during spring migration in Upper Mississippi River floodplain forests,” at the 19th Annual Wisconsin Wetlands Association meeting in La Crosse, WI, February 18-20. Kirsch and Wellik studied songbird foraging behavior in Upper Mississippi River floodplain forests for four years, and noted differences in how birds used trees related to tree phenology, and that transient migrant bird species had different tree species preferences than species that breed locally.
Other
Adjunct Faculty Position
- Richard Erickson (UMESC) received an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL). Erickson has been collaborating with faculty from the Mathematics, Computer Science, and Biology Departments. This appointment will help continue these collaborations.
Acronyms
AOC – Area of Concern
EROS – Earth Resources Observation Systems
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute
FDA – Food and Drug Administration
GIS – Geographic Information System
GLNPO – Great Lakes National Program Office
GLRI – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
ILMF – International LiDAR Mapping Forum
LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging
NCRAC – North Central Regional Aquaculture Center
NPS – National Park Service
NRDA – Natural Resources Damage Assessment
PAHs – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls
UMESC – Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
UMR – Upper Mississippi River
UMRR-EMP – Upper Mississippi River Restoration - Environmental Management Program
USACE – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USFWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
UWL – University of Wisconsin at La Crosse
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/outreach/highlights/2014_feb_umesc_highlights.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified:
June 10, 2014
