MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
PROJECT TITLE ENABLING THE FUTURE OF GREAT LAKES BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENTPROJECT PERIOD 9 1 2022 8 31 2023THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE PROPOSED USGS MTU MTRI COLLABORATION IS TO RESEARCH NEW AND EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS THAT IMPROVE THE SPATIAL COVERAGE, ACCURACY, PRECISION, AND USEFULNESS OF USGS S GREAT LAKES SCIENCE PROGRAM THREE SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL UNDERWATER AND SURFACE AUTONOMY, UNDERWATER IMAGING, AND MACHINE LEARNING THESE INNOVATIONS COMBINED WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE THAT IS USEFUL TO GREAT LAKES NATIONAL RESOURCE MANAGERS THESE INNOVATIONS WILL ENABLE USGS TO COLLECT AND PROCESS LAKE WIDE SURVEYS OF PREY FISH ABUNDANCES, ANSWERING DISCRETE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FISH, LIMNOLOGY, AND ECOSYSTEMS MAP HABITATS AND DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO PERSISTENT SAMPLING PROBLEMS TO AID IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THIS GOAL, MICHIGAN TECH WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH USGS SCIENTISTS ON THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES ENGINEER, COORDINATE, AND DEPLOY ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES TO AUTONOMOUSLY COLLECT DATA ABOUT FISHERIES AND LAKE ECOSYSTEMS ASSIST WITH THE DELIVERY OF ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS FOR BENTHIC FISHES FROM USGS S AUV IMAGERY DEVELOP AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS FOR INTERPRETATION AND PROCESSING OF BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES IN UNDERWATER IMAGERY, VIDEO, AND ACOUSTIC DATA ADVANCE TECHNIQUES FOR LARGE SCALE UNDERWATER MAPPING OF PHYSICAL HABITAT AND GEOMORPHOLOGY USING ACOUSTIC TECHNOLOGIES AUTOMATE THE INTERPRETATION OF SATELLITE AND AERIAL REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE LAKE ENVIRONMENT DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES, WORKFLOWS, AND SOFTWARE TO ACCELERATE DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND DELIVERY TO PARTNERS ASSIST WITH PRODUCTION OF OPEN SOURCE TOOLS AND DATA THAT CAN BE EASILY ASSIMILATED BY THE PUBLIC AND USGS S PARTNERS THE DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR ROUND GOBY OBJECT IDENTIFICATION CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION PERCENT COVER ESTIMATION CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR DREISSENID MUSSEL COVER AND COUNT PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS ON RESEARCH RESULTS MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRY, BACKSCATTER, AND DERIVED PRODUCTS FOR GEOGRAPHIES OF INTEREST ANNOTATED IMAGE DATA SETS LABELLED FOR FISH, ALGAE, AND MUSSELS PUBLICLY RELEASED DATA SETS USED IN ANALYSES AND REPORTS ON RESEARCH OUTCOMES THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE USGS STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING NATURAL RESOURCE AND LAND MANAGERS IN THE GREAT LAKES MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY MTU AND MICHIGAN TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE MTRI HAVE BEEN ASSISTING THE USGS IN THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF ASSISTING NATURAL RESOURCE AND LAND MANAGERS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH SOUND BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING THE INFORMATION TO THEIR NEEDS
$3,519,968U.S. Geological Survey
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM
TITLE: CAN NATIVE PREDATORS CONTROL THE ABUNDANCE AND IMPACT OF AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES?PROJECT PERIOD: AUGUST 1, 2026, TO JULY 31, 2029 PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INVASIVE SPECIES AND THEIR PREDATORS. THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE INVASIVE SPINY WATER FLEA IN THE MADISON LAKES (WISCONSIN). SPINY WATER FLEA ARE A PREDATORY ZOOPLANKTON THAT HAS CAUSED A REDUCTION IN DAPHNIA ABUNDANCE AND A LOSS OF WATER QUALITY STEMMING FROM A TROPHIC CASCADE. HERE THE RESEARCHERS ASK, HAS SPINY WATER FLEA INVASION AFFECTED FISH POPULATIONS?, AND IS FISH PREDATION A FACTOR IN THE DECLINE OF SPINY WATER FLEA? THIS WORK EXPLORES THE IDEA THAT INVASIVE ANIMAL IMPACTS DAMPEN OVER TIME DUE TO FOOD WEB ASSIMILATION, AND EXAMINES IF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT CAN REDUCE INVASIVE SPECIES IMPACTS.ACTIVITIES: PROJECT WILL EMPIRICALLY TEST WHETHER INVASIVE SPINY WATER FLEA HAS HAD IMPACTS ON NATIVE FISHES BY COMPARING PRE-POST FISHERIES DATA FROM LAKES MENDOTA AND MONONA. PROJECT WILL ASSESS WHETHER PREDATION BY NATIVE FISHES IS REGULATING THE ABUNDANCE IMPACT OF INVASIVE SPINY WATER FLEA USING GUT CONTENT STUDIES, LAB FEEDING TRIALS, AND FIELD DATA, INFERENCES WILL BE BASED ON BIOENERGETIC AND POPULATION MODELS. BUILDING ON PREDATION WORK, PROJECT WILL USE FOOD WEB MODELS TO EVALUATE HOW FISHERIES MANAGEMENT (FISHERIES BAG LIMITS) COULD BE A TOOL FOR INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL.OUTCOMES: DELIVERABLES INCLUDE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS CORRESPONDING WITH THE KEY SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES. THERE WILL BE A BROAD SYNTHESIS PAPER ON THE ROLE OF FOOD WEB ASSIMILATION AND INVASIVES, A PAPER ON HOW SPINY WATER FLEA AFFECT FISH IN THE MADISON LAKES, AND A PAPER EXAMINING WHETHER FISH PREDATION REDUCES THE ABUNDANCE OF SPINY WATER FLEA. THE PROJECT WILL FUND A GRADUATE THESIS PROJECT AND WILL PROVIDE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR 6UNDERGRADUATES. THE RESEARCHERS WILL HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS AND CONSULTATIONS WITH MANAGERS, PARTNERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS. THE AWARD WILL SUPPORT A PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATION, AS WELL AS PUBLIC OUTREACH PRESENTATIONS (SCIENCE ON TAP, YAHARA 101). WORK WILL BE FEATURED ON THE CENTER FOR LIMNOLOGY BLOG AND WILL BE BOOSTED BY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS RUN BY THE CENTER FOR LIMNOLOGYBENEFICIARIES: THIS PROJECT HAS BENEFICIARIES AT MULTIPLE LEVELS. THE FIRST RELATES TO THE MADISON LAKES LAKE ASSOCIATIONS, MANAGERS, LAKE USERS, AND CITIZENS WHO BENEFIT FROM HEALTHY LAKES. THE WORK WILL DIRECTLY INFORM LAKE MANAGEMENT AND WILL INFORM FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS THAT REDUCE THE IMPACT OF INVASIVE SPINY WATER FLEA AND IMPROVE WATER QUALITY. BEYOND THE MADISON LAKES, INSIGHTS ARE RELEVANT TO LAKES IMPACTED BY SPINY WATER FLEA A WELL KNOWN HARMFUL INVASIVE IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI BASIN AND ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WORLD. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE BROADER SOCIETAL BENEFITS THAT COME FROM EXPLORING IMPORTANT IDEAS ABOUT INVASIVE SPECIES. WHILE INVASIVE SPECIES ARE UNDOUBTEDLY AN IMPORTANT DRIVER OF ECOLOGICAL CHANGE, RESEARCHERS RARELY CONSIDER HARNESSING NATIVE SPECIES TO REDUCE THEIR ABUNDANCE AND IMPACT. THIS RESEARCH WILL LEND INSIGHTS INTO BOOM-BUST DYNAMICS FOLLOWING INVASIONS AND REVEAL HOW INVASIVE SPECIES BECOME INTEGRATED INTO FOOD WEBS POSSIBLY DAMPENING IMPACTS THAT ARE OBSERVED EARLY IN THE INVASION PROCESS. THIS WORK LOOKS DEEPER INTO THE IDEA THAT INVASIVE SPECIES IMPACT DISSIPATES OVER TIME AND SUGGESTS THE USE OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT FOR INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL.SUB-RECIPIENT: THIS PROJECT DOES NOT HAVE A SUB-RECIPIENT.
$341,086U.S. Geological Survey
REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
PROJECT PERIOD: 8 1 24-7 31 25PROJECT TITLE: ICE COVER AND TURBULENCE IN THE GREAT LAKESPLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS A CHALLENGE FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTAGENCIES AS WARMING TEMPERATURES MAY REDUCE THE QUALITY OF FISH HABITATS. IN NORTHERNREGIONS, THE SURFACE OF FRESHWATER LAKES COMMONLY FREEZES DURING THE WINTER WHICH MAY PROVIDEIMPORTANT BENEFITS FOR COLDWATER FISH HABITATS. LAKE ICE MAY PROTECT AQUATIC LIFE BENEATH THE SURFACEFROM BEING BATTERED BY WIND DRIVEN CURRENTS AND SURFACE WAVES. IN THE LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKES,FISHERY MANAGERS ARE INTERESTED LAKE WHITEFISH AND CISCO, WHICH ONCE SUPPORTED LARGE FISHERIES, BUTTHEIR POPULATIONS HAVE DECLINED THROUGH TIME. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS ICE COVER MAY BEAN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN YEAR-TO-YEAR REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN THE GREAT LAKES. FURTHER, THERE HASBEEN DISCUSSION OF STOCKING CISCO TO LAKE ERIE TO REESTABLISH A POPULATION. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OFHABITAT QUALITY IS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND CURRENT CONDITIONS, POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ANDTO EXPLAIN LARGE DIFFERENCES IN THE SUCCESS OF COLDWATER FISH REPRODUCTION ACROSS YEARS. THE GOALOF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ICE COVER AND MOVEMENT OF WATER IN LAKEERIE, PARTICULARLY ON FISH SPAWNING REEFS. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL DEPLOY SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT INLAKE ERIE TO MEASURE WATER SPEED, TURBULENCE, WAVE HEIGHT, ICE COVER, AND THE MOVEMENT OF ICE.THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK CAN BE USED IN MODELS TO EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES WATER MOVEMENT IN LAKE ERIERELATED TO VARYING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS. THE RESULTS OF THISPROJECT WILL IMPROVE CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION BY IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CONDITIONSDURING THE WINTER WHEN ICE IS AND IS NOT PRESENT. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE APPLIED TO HABITATRESTORATION OR ENHANCEMENT EFFORTS TO CONSTRUCT SPAWNING HABITATS IN AREAS WITH LOW RISK OF HIGHWAVES AND CURRENTS.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE CENTRAL OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF ICE COVERON MEAN CURRENTS, WAVE-INDUCED CURRENTS, AND BOTTOM STRESS AT ONE OR TWO SPAWNING REEFS DURING AWIDE VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. EACH WINTER, WE WILL DEPLOY TWO TURBULENCE MOORINGSON THE REEF AND AN ENVIRONMENTAL MOORING IN SLIGHTLY DEEPER WATER OFFSHORE OF THE REEF. THEMOORINGS WILL BE RELOCATED FOR THE SECOND FIELD YEAR TO PROVIDE DATA AT A REEF WITH A DIFFERENT DEPTH,SHAPE, AND HYDRODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT (WAVE FETCH, ETC.). AS THE SEASONS EVOLVE, THE MOORINGS WILLSAMPLE TURBULENCE DURING A RANGE OF ICE, ICEFREE, WINDY, AND CALM CONDITIONS.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS, SUCH AS LIMNOLOGYAND OCEANOGRAPHY, THE JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, AND THE JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH.ALL DATA WILL BE PERMANENTLY ARCHIVED IN A PUBLIC DATABASE WITH APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION ANDMETADATA. SOFTWARE USED TO PROCESS DATA, RUN NUMERICAL MODELS, AND PLOT FIGURES WILL ALSO BEARCHIVED. DATA ACCESSIBILITY WILL FOLLOW USGS POLICY AND BE AVAILABLE VIA SCIENCEBASE.GOV. WEALSO PLAN TO PUBLISH A WEBPAGE WITH A CLIMATOLOGICAL INDEX OF NEAR BOTTOM CURRENTS AND BOTTOMSTRESS DURING WINTER IN THE GREAT LAKES.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THIS PROJECT WILL BENEFIT COLDWATER FISH RESTORATION IN THE GREAT LAKES.WE PLAN TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE LAKE ERIE COMMITTEE HABITAT TASK GROUP.
$238,644U.S. Geological Survey