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Land transformations occurring from energy development and agrarian use have altered the natural connectivity of fish communities inhabiting prairie waterways. The nation’s prairie waterways are obstructed by thousands of barriers that include road culverts, irrigation diversions, and dams. Connectivity is essential for the long term viability of aquatic species. One of the most promising adaptive management strategies for addressing impacts to aquatic systems by climate change and other landscape stressors is increasing connectivity. The purpose of this research is to characterize swimming abilities of three northern plains fish species; the sauger, the longnose dace, and the fathead minnow. The results of the...
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Completion of the National Wildlife Inventory has been identified as a top science priority for the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes-LCC (UMGL). Some areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin still have not been mapped to NWI standards. Completion of NWI is integral to developing geospatial models based on landscape-level land use. Completion of NWI will also aid in monitoring of wetlands to assess effects of climate change. Funding for this project has been leveraged with several other larger projects to improve digital wetland mapping infrastructure for Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. This project is targeting a portions of Wisconsin, at least six counties, for digital conversion and updating of Wetland Inventory maps....
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Online decision support tools are proliferating to serve the needs of environmental managers and conservation practitioners, but most are static after their creation. Aging software components and datasets can lead to rapid obsolescence or inoperable tools. In the Great Lakes basin, the Fishwerks webtool represents years of investment in database, website, and analytical development to support decisions about site selection for removing barriers to fish migrations. The website is approaching a critical juncture where usability assessments and long-term planning are needed to ensure its continued value to the user community. There are also technical needs for website refinement, database customization and management,...
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An experienced team of wetland ecologists, geographers, and software engineers used a geodesign process to develop and host a web-based geospatial application that will support the identification and restoration of potential coastal wetlands (i.e., areas that could be restored to coastal wetlands if hydrologically connected to the Great Lakes) along the U.S. coast of the Great Lakes. Techniques, data types, and analysis approaches used in the recent Western Lake Erie Restoration Assessment (WLERA) model are being extended to include other priority coastal areas of the Great Lakes. The first phase of the work produced three restoration assessments for the pilot area identified by the LCC Coastal Working Group (U.S....
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As a major threat to global biodiversity, climate change will alter where and how we manage conservation lands (e.g., parks, refuges, wildlife management areas, natural areas). As a new challenge with high uncertainty, many conservation practitioners have yet to consider how to minimize their greenhouse gas contributions (i.e., mitigation), or reduce the vulnerability of natural systems to climatechange (i.e., adaptation). This is particularly true for conservation land managers; because they are often pressed for time and resources, few have initiated long-term climate change planning and amended management activities. Furthermore, where available, climate change guidance is often coarse-level, vague, and beyond...
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Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat). Resource managers need information and tools to understand where fish species and stream habitats are expected to change under future conditions. Fish sample collections and environmental variables from multiple sources across the United States Great Lakes Basin were integrated and used to develop empirical models to predict fish species occurrence under present-day climate conditions. Random Forests models were used to predict the probability of occurrence of 13 lotic fish...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service, Shapefile; Tags: 2011, 2011, 2012, 2012, 2013, All tags...
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Great Lakes coastal wetlands provide critical habitat for many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, and provide essential spawning and nursery habitat for many fish species of ecologic and economic importance. Additionally, coastal wetlands trap, process, and retain nutrients and sediment. Unfortunately, half of the coastal wetland area that was present before European settlement has been converted to other land uses and many remaining wetlands are impacted by invasive species, fragmentation, nutrient loading, and hydrologic manipulation. Because of their ecological value and the extensive degradation that has occurred in coastal wetlands, interest in protection and restoration has increased dramatically...
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Brief:Under this project a collaborative and integrated geodatabase of inventoried connectivity barriers within the South Central Lake Superior Basin (SCLSB) was developed to prioritize restoration for more than 2,000 inventoried stream crossings. SUMMARY:KBIC Natural Resources Department received funding through the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop a collaborative and integrated geodatabase of inventoried connectivity barriers within the South Central Lake Superior Basin (SCLSB), to prioritize restoration for more than 2,000 inventoried stream crossings (see Figure 1). This project stemmed from KBIC’s participation in the Partnering for Watershed Restoration Group (PWR),...
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This project connects scientists and managers from federal, tribal and state agencies and nongovernmental organizations to exchange information and establish common priorities for management of terrestrial wildlife populations. To achieve these goals, we are organizing interactive workshops with partners across the region. In year 2, we will assess the risk posed by climate change and other major stressors to a subset of priority species (as identified by regional partners). This assessment will integrate available data and scientific understanding in a transparent process, detailing assumptions and uncertainties to project population-level responses of target species to climate change.
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The Nature Conservancy - Great Lakes Program is leading the development of a scalable (Great Lakes wide, individual lake basin, to coastal reach within a lake basin) rule-based spatial model for ranking the relative importance of coastal lands and waters as habitat for migrating birds. Results will guide conservation actions including land acquisition, land and water management and restoration, and development of wind energy facilities. Specifically, the team will: 1) refine, create and integrate migratory bird stopover habitat models which depict the distribution of potential stopover sites along or near the shorelines of Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario; and, 2) develop an online portal that will deliver...
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Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) (a.k.a. EPT taxa) are the most environmentally sensitive of freshwater insects. They are utilized the world over as indicators of water quality in flowing waters. Their decline has been documented in Asia, Europe, and North America. A 220,321 record dataset of new and museum EPT specimen records covering much of the Midwest and Maximum Entropy (Maxent) software were used construct to current and future, climate influenced distribution models. Nearly 100 physical and historic vegetation variables and 9 BIOCLIM variables derived from downscaled climate data for the region were employed in this process. A total of 426 EPT species were...
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Researchers downscaled projections of maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation across a large extent east of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast. The data is probabilistic in nature, providing flexibility in incorporating climate information into impact assessments. Statistical techniques were used for the downscaling and it retains a reasonable representation of daily extreme events, such as intense precipitation or extreme temperatures. A web-based client is in creation to host and distribute the data. This project produced: Statistically downscaled precipitation, and maximum and minimum temperature at approximately a 0.1° by 0.1° resolution, at daily time scales, for all global climate models...
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Waterfowl are ecologically, culturally, and economically important and their annual and long-term distributions in North America can substantially impact ecological relationships and have economic impacts. In Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana alone, recent annual sales of Federal Duck Stamps equal $2.4 million. An intensive study in Mississippi estimated the annual total economic impact of waterfowl hunting in that state was $86.8 million. North American waterfowl number in the millions, use a diversity of aquatic and terrestrial foraging niches, and can feed at rates capable of depleting local food resources. In recent years, waterfowl appear to be wintering at more northern latitudes. Sustained northern...
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With the ultimate goal of conserving and restoring threatened native grassland prairies and the wildlife that depend on them, the National Audubon Society (Audubon) is facilitating a landscape conservation design for the grassland birds in the greater Chicago region. As a first step in this process standardized avian point count surveys conducted primarily by citizen volunteers were combined with landcover composition and configuration, soils, and vegetation productivity data to model abundance of five grassland bird species. Models were updated with additional data and expert review in 2015 and now provide map outputs of existing grassland bird habitat and population estimates for species of conservation concern...
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The emerald ash borer (EAB) poses a tremendous threat to ash forest habitats across the upper Great Lakes. Of particular concern is the impact EAB will have on the ecology and functioning of black ash ( Fraxinus nigra) forested wetlands, which cover over 500,000 ha in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and represent the region’s most common ash forest habitat. Black ash often occurs in relatively pure stands on poorly drained sites where it serves as a foundation species exerting a strong control over ecosystem structure and functioning. Correspondingly, extirpation of this species by EAB could have negative cascading effects, including dramatic rises in water tables and shifts in vegetation composition towards...
Forest-dominated landscapes provide a wide range of ecosystem services to many different sectors of society, including forest products (e.g., timber), recreational opportunities and support of tourism, carbon sequestration, and habitat for fish and wildlife and other biodiversity. However, many forests and embedded aquatic systems in the Northwoods are in degraded condition due to land and resource management decisions, impacts of over-abundant deer populations, and the spread of nonnative forest pests and pathogens that have led to “surprise” losses of key tree species. The long-term viability of these vast expanses of forest-dominated systems has great potential to be further compromised as climatic changes...
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This project addressed regional climate change effects on aquatic food webs in the Great Lakes. We sought insights by examining Lake Erie as a representative system with a high level of anthropogenic impacts, strong nutrient gradients, seasonal hypoxia, and spatial overlap of cold- and cool-water fish guilds. In Lake Erie and in large embayments throughout the Great Lakes basin, this situation is a concern for fishery managers, as climate change may exacerbate hypoxia and reduce habitat volume for some species. We examined fish community composition, fine-scale distribution, prey availability, diets, and biochemical tracers for dominant fishes from study areas with medium-high nutrient levels (mesotrophic, Fairport...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, Academics & scientific researchers, CSC, Climate Change, Conservation NGOs, All tags...
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Control of invasive sea lamprey recruitment from tributary streams is a major management objective in the Great Lakes, and benefits from barriers that prevent access to spawning habitat. As society moves toward removal of more tributary barriers due to concerns about native migratory fishes, aging infrastructure, and vulnerability to climate-driven flooding, it is important to assess the costs of alternative options for sea lamprey control. This project is integrating cost estimates for application of a lamprey-specific pesticide into cost-benefit optimization models used to support decisions about barrier removals that maximize restoration of habitat for native species. By integrating lamprey control options...
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For management agencies, there is a growing need to understand (1) how climate change affects and will continue to affect wildlife populations of conservation concern, and (2) how the negative Upper Midwest Great Lakes Landscape Conservation Cooperative Request for Funding 2013 demographic effects of climate change can be mitigated through management strategies. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) integrates available data and scientific understanding in a transparent process, details assumptions and uncertainties, and ultimately projects population-level responses of target species to future climate change. Climate change is already influencing distributions and abundances of species throughout North...
map background search result map search result map On-a-wing and a (GIS) Layer: Prioritizing migratory bird habitat along Great Lakes shoreline Regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change Developing a Portfolio of Mitigation and Adaption Options for Land Managers in the Upper Great Lakes Moderization of National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) mapping Downscaling climate in the Great Lakes region for regional climate impact assessment Identification & Risk Assessment of Most Climate Vulnerable Terrestrial Species and Natural Communities and Climate Vulnerability Assessment in the UMGL LCC Predicting climate change effects on riverine aquatic insects in the Upper Midwest Maintaining migratory pathways of imperiled Large River and Small Stream Fishes in the Face of Climate Change and Energy Development Building partnerships and establishing consensus on regional priorities across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Landscape Cooperative Integrated models for estimating influences of climate change on waterfowl populations, waterfowl habitat, and hunter opportunity and demographics A decision support system for prioritizing protection & restoration of Great Lakes coastal wetlands Grassland Bird Conservation Design in the Chicago Region Collaborative Restoration of Aquatic Resources in the South Central Lake Superior Basin Guiding Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Restoration through Geodesign Integrating lampricide options into a decision support tool for barrier management in Great Lakes tributaries Quantifying and mitigating the impacts of emerald ash borer on black ash forests in the upper Great Lakes region Sustaining the FishWerks webtool: planning for long-term access and usability to support decisions on connectivity restoration Understanding How Climate Change will Impact Aquatic Food Webs in the Great Lakes Guiding Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Restoration through Geodesign Understanding How Climate Change will Impact Aquatic Food Webs in the Great Lakes Grassland Bird Conservation Design in the Chicago Region A decision support system for prioritizing protection & restoration of Great Lakes coastal wetlands Collaborative Restoration of Aquatic Resources in the South Central Lake Superior Basin Moderization of National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) mapping Developing a Portfolio of Mitigation and Adaption Options for Land Managers in the Upper Great Lakes Maintaining migratory pathways of imperiled Large River and Small Stream Fishes in the Face of Climate Change and Energy Development On-a-wing and a (GIS) Layer: Prioritizing migratory bird habitat along Great Lakes shoreline Regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change Identification & Risk Assessment of Most Climate Vulnerable Terrestrial Species and Natural Communities and Climate Vulnerability Assessment in the UMGL LCC Predicting climate change effects on riverine aquatic insects in the Upper Midwest Building partnerships and establishing consensus on regional priorities across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Landscape Cooperative Integrating lampricide options into a decision support tool for barrier management in Great Lakes tributaries Quantifying and mitigating the impacts of emerald ash borer on black ash forests in the upper Great Lakes region Sustaining the FishWerks webtool: planning for long-term access and usability to support decisions on connectivity restoration Downscaling climate in the Great Lakes region for regional climate impact assessment Integrated models for estimating influences of climate change on waterfowl populations, waterfowl habitat, and hunter opportunity and demographics