Distribution and foraging patterns of common loons on Lake Michigan with implications for exposure to type E avian botulism

Common loons (Gavia immer) staging on the Great Lakes during fall migration are at risk to episodic outbreaks of type E botulism. Information on distribution, foraging patterns, and exposure routes of loons are needed for understanding the physical and ecological factors that contribute to avian botulism outbreaks. Aerial surveys were conducted to document the spatiotemporal distribution of common loons on Lake Michigan during falls 2011–2013. In addition, satellite telemetry and archival geolocator tags were used to determine the distribution and foraging patterns of individual common loons while using Lake Michigan during fall migration. Common loon distribution observed during aerial surveys and movements of individual radiomarked and/or geotagged loons suggest a seasonal pattern of use, with early fall use of Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan followed by a shift in distribution to southern Lake Michigan before moving on to wintering areas. Common loons tended to occupy offshore areas of Lake Michigan and, on average, spent the majority of daylight hours foraging. Dive depths were as deep as 60 m and dive characteristics suggested that loons were primarily foraging on benthic prey. A recent study concluded that round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) are an important prey item of common loons and may be involved in transmission of botulinum neurotoxin type E. Loon distribution coincides with the distribution of dreissenid mussel biomass, an important food resource for round gobies. Our observations support speculation that energy transfer to higher trophic levels via gobies may occur in deep-water habitats, along with transfer of botulinum neurotoxin.     

Foredune dynamics at a Lake Michigan site during rising and high lake levels

On Great Lakes dunes, the link between foredune dynamics and coastal processes is seen in dune responses to changing lake levels. This paper investigates foredune dynamics during a recent period of rising and high lake levels. The study location was an active foredune in P.J. Hoffmaster State Park on the east coast of Lake Michigan, where field data were collected from 2000 through the final destruction of the foredune by wave removal in November 2019. Foredune dynamics were studied with erosion pins, direct observations, photographs, mapping, and on-site wind measurements. Regional climate and lake-level data were obtained from established data collection programs. The response of the foredune to rising lake levels was compared to several models of foredune behavior. During the study, the Lake Michigan-Huron level rose 1.89 m from January 2013 to July 2020. After an early transitional period, foredune activity was characterized by scarp retreat (4–19 m per year) and dune narrowing from 2014 to 2019. When the foredune completely disappeared in November 2019, erosion/scarping began on the next landward dune. The foredune activity fits Olson’s (1958) model for foredune growth and erosion through lake-level cycles. The foredune migration predicted by the revised Davidson-Arnott (2021) model of foredune response to relative water level rise did not occur, most likely because the rate of lake-level rise was too high. The six years of foredune narrowing before wave erosion started affecting the next landward dune represent a time-lag in Lake Michigan dune history models of increased dune activity during high lake-level stands.     

Larval lake whitefish distribution in the open waters of Green Bay,Lake Michigan

Most lake whitefish populations within Lake Michigan are experiencing widespread population declines due to low levels of recruitment. However, the stock within Green Bay is flourishing, and various assessment tools suggest consistent recruitment to the juvenile stage each year. The distribution of offshore and drifting lake whitefish larvae were last described in the 1970s, prior to the resurgence of the southern Green Bay stock and prior to increasing knowledge of adult spawning behavior. We conducted a Green Bay wide survey of lake whitefish larvae over three years to provide an update of larval abundance and distribution and to discern influential biotic and abiotic factors that correlate to larval densities. In contrast with historical studies, our sampling illustrated high densities of larvae in both offshore and nearshore environments. Offshore expansion may be a factor in the population increase, but long term survival effects are still unknown. This study also provides the first documentation of larvae within the southern end of the bay below Chambers Island, WI and near re-colonized rivers. Average overall densities were relatively consistent each year, ranging between 29.5 and 49.6 per 1000 m³. Lake whitefish larvae were patchy in distribution and were associated with warmer and more productive waters at small spatial scales. Larval lake whitefish appear to be distributed widely throughout the entirety of Green Bay during the drift life stage, and we discuss our results in light of re-established river spawning and the overall increase in abundance.     

Quasi-periodic decadal cycles in levels of lakes Michigan and Huron

While Great Lakes' seasonal water-level variations have been previously researched and well documented, few studies thus far addressed longer-term, decadal cycles contained in the 143-yr lake-level instrumental record. Paleo-reconstructions based on Lake Michigan's coastal features, however, hinted to an approximate 30-yr quasi-periodic lake-level variability. In the present study, spectral analysis of 1865–2007 Lakes Michigan/Huron historic levels revealed 8 and 12-yr period oscillations; these time scales match those of large-scale climatic signals previously found in the North Atlantic. While the existing paleodata are inadequate to the task of asserting significance of the 30-yr signal, it is suggested here that this cycle is due to intermodulation of the two near-decadal signals. Furthermore, water budget analysis argues that the North Atlantic decadal climate modes translate to the lake levels primarily through precipitation and its associated runoff.     

2007～2008年引江济太调水对太湖水质改善效果分析

在对引江济太调水工程前期研究的基础上,对2007年无锡供水危机事件和2008年冬春季引水中引江济太工程的作用进行了系统分析。在2007年无锡供水危机爆发1周内,随着引江济太调水工程的进行,贡湖水厂水源地溶解氧和氨氮等水质指标从劣Ⅴ类转变为Ⅲ类,小湾里水厂和锡东水厂水质也有好转;在2007年下半年和2008年上半年调水条件下,2008年5月与去年同期相比,贡湖高锰酸盐指数、总磷和总氮质量浓度分别从7.04 mg/L、0.106 mg/L、4.10 mg/L下降到3.35 mg/L、0.087 mg/L、2.87 mg/L,氨氮水质指标保持在Ⅲ类,表明引江济太调水工程对改善太湖局部湖区水质、保障太湖供水安全具有重要意义。最后提出了进一步推动引江济太调水工程长效化运行的对策措施建议。     

Shell-free Biomass and Population Dynamics of Dreissenids in Offshore Lake Michigan, 2001–2003

The USGS-Great Lakes Science Center has collected dreissenid mussels annually from Lake Michigan since zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) became a significant portion of the bottomtrawl catch in 1999. For this study, we investigated dreissenid distribution, body mass, and recruitment at different depths in Lake Michigan during 2001–2003. The highest densities of dreissenid biomass were observed from depths of 27 to 46 m. The biomass of quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) increased exponentially during 2001–2003, while that of zebra mussels did not change significantly. Body mass (standardized for a given shell length) of both species was lowest from depths of 27 to 37m, highest from 55 to 64 m, and declined linearly at deeper depths during 2001–2003. Recruitment in 2003, as characterized by the proportion of mussels < 11 mm in the catch, varied with depth and lake region. For quagga mussels, recruitment declined linearly with depth, and was highest in northern Lake Michigan. For zebra mussels, recruitment generally declined non-linearly with depth, although the pattern was different for north, mid, and southern Lake Michigan. Our analyses suggest that quagga mussels could overtake zebra mussels and become the most abundant mollusk in terms of biomass in Lake Michigan.     

Currents and Temperatures in Green Bay,Lake Michigan

Current velocities and water temperatures were measured in the four main passages between Green Bay and Lake Michigan and at several sites within the bay during summer and fall 1977. Monthly resultant currents indicate there is anticlockwise circulation in the bay during dominant southwesterly wind and a reversal of this pattern during episodes of northeasterly wind. It is common for two layers to flow through the mouth of the bay in opposite directions during the stratified season. Cold hypolimnetic lake water entering through the mouth and extending far into the bay maintains stratification and promotes flushing. The effects of resonance of forced and free long wave disturbances are prominent in current records; these oscillations are coherent and in phase across the mouth.     

Spatial,seasonal, and historical variation of phytoplankton production in Lake Michigan

There have been few direct measurements of phytoplankton production made in Lake Michigan since invasive dreissenid mussels became established in the lake. Here we report the results of 64 measurements of phytoplankton primary production made in Lake Michigan during 2016 and 2017. We conducted two lake-wide surveys, one in the spring 2016 isothermal period and one after summer stratification in 2017 and examined seasonal production with bi-weekly sampling between May and November 2017 at an offshore station in the southwestern part of the lake. We assessed nearshore-offshore gradients by sampling at three transect locations on three occasions in 2017. Spring 2016 production and production:biomass (P:B) ratios (reflective of growth rates) were similar across the lake and were higher than those reported before dreissenid mussels became established, suggesting that despite decreases in phytoplankton biomass, growth rates remain high. Summer 2017 production and growth rates increased from south to north. Areal production in 2017 peaked in late summer. Mean 2017 summer production (499 ± 129 mg C m^?2 day^?1) was lower than values reported prior to the mussel invasion, and the fraction of total production occurring in the deep chlorophyll layer was about half that measured pre-mussels. At the offshore site picoplankton accounted for almost 50 % of the chlorophyll. As spring P:B ratios have increased and summer P:B and seston carbon:phosphorus ratios have not changed, we conclude that the decrease in phytoplankton production in Lake Michigan is due primarily to grazing by mussels rather than to stronger nutrient limitation.     

A mercury transport and fate model (LM2-Mercury) for mass budget assessment of mercury cycling in Lake Michigan

LM2-Mercury, a mercury mass balance model, was developed to simulate and evaluate the transport, fate, and biogeochemical transformations of mercury in Lake Michigan. The model simulates total suspended and resuspendable solids (TSRS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and total, elemental, divalent, and methylmercury as state variables. Simplified processes among the mercury state variables including net methylation, net reduction of divalent mercury, and reductive demethylation are incorporated in the model. Volatilization of elemental mercury as a kinetic (phase transfer) process and partitioning of total, divalent, and methylmercury as a set of instantaneous equilibrium processes were also simulated. The model was calibrated to data collected in 1994 and 1995 and corroborated by comparing model output generated from a long-term model hindcast to total mercury measured in high quality sediment profiles. Model hindcast predictions of total mercury in the water column were within estimates of total mercury calculated from observed lake trout bioaccumulation factors. Using the model, a mass budget assessment of mercury cycling in the lake was conducted. Atmospheric deposition, including wet and dry (particle) deposition and absorption of gaseous divalent mercury, was the dominant source of total mercury to the lake, followed by sediment resuspension, and then tributary loads. The major loss mechanism of total mercury from the water was associated with the settling of solids, followed by net volatilization. Methylmercury loading associated with wet deposition was the dominant source to the lake, followed by tributary loadings, and in situ net methylation.     

Water level change of Lake Tana,source of the Blue Nile: Prediction using teleconnections with sea surface temperatures

Water level change of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile was analyzed. Correlations between the water level change and global sea surface temperature (GSST) were calculated and teleconnections were found. Prediction of water level was performed using a recurrent artificial neural network model. First, the seasonal change of water level was divided into three phases, the rising, recession 1, and recession 2 phases. The water level increased during the rising phase, decreased rapidly during the recession 1 phase, and decreased at a uniform rate during the recession 2 phase. To find teleconnections of the water level change in the rising phase with GSST, correlations between the level change and GSST were calculated. Sea regions on the Pacific Ocean indicated significant correlations with the level change at lag 0–1 month and lag 6–7 months. There was a strongly correlated sea zone over the western Pacific Ocean at time lags of 6–7 months. To predict water level change, SST time series of the correlated zone was applied to a recurrent neural network model. Predictions of changes of the rise of the water level of Lake Tana during the rainy season from teleconnections with SSTs via the neural network model simulated the observed changes well (r = 0.795). Prediction of the changes of Lake Tana’s water level with a lead time of 6–7 months can greatly facilitate management of the lake’s water resources.