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Home > Research by Programs > Aquatic Invasive Species > AIS Projects List
Complete Listing of Aquatic Invasive Species Projects
Biomass, Condition of Western Lake Erie Dreissenids The
introduction and expansion of dreissenid mussels (zebra and quagga mussel)
has led to large-scale changes in nutrient dynamic and food webs in the
Great Lakes. A fundamental need in assessing present and potential impacts
is knowledge of dressenid abundance and biomass, and rates of population
change. The latter can be predicted by examining trends over time, and
by assessing the relative physiological condition of the population. This
project will estimate dreissenid biomass and assess relative physiological
condition of populations in western Lake Erie. Comparisons will be made
to the condition of mussel populations in other regions of the Great Lakes.
+ Read more
Changes in the Pelagic Food Web of Southern Lake Michigan: A
Food Web Under Stress from Non-indigenous Species? There has
been a decline of the commercially valuable inshore fishery for perch
and a decline in a number of forage fishes important for salmon and lake
trout in Southern Lake Michigan. This project examines whether invasive
species are the cause of these declines, studying events such as the disappearance
of Diporeia, increases in nearshore benthic algae, alewives washing
up on beaches, and taste and odor problems at municipal water intakes.
+ Read more
Computational Modeling of Ballast Tanks to Improve Understanding
and Maximize Effectiveness of Management Practices and Treatment Mechanisms
Ballast water is one of the main ways that aquatic invasive species are
introduced to the Great Lakes. The objective of this project is to develop
an experimentally-validated computational fluid dynamics model of flow
in a typical Great Lakes bulk carrier ballast tank, so that scientists
may fully understand the ballast water exchange process and what occurs
inside a ballast tank during exchange.
+ Read more
Evaluation of the Hazard of Microcystis Blooms for Human
Health through Fish Consumption This project will establish methods
at GLERL for the analysis of microcystin in fish and begin an exploratory
phase to determine whether concentration in popular sports fish can exceed
the total daily intake (TDI) concentrations based on a normal daily meal.
+ Read more
Genetic and environmental factors influencing Microcystis
bloom toxicity The toxicity of blooms of the cyanobacteria Microcystis
is related to both environmental factors (such as light, nutrients, grazing)
and the proportion of toxic vs. nontoxic strains present. This project
seeks to identify and quantify the toxic Microcystis strains present
in western Lake Erie using molecular-based methods.
+ Read more
Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Database This project
aims to develop a database detailing all aquatic invasive species in the
Great Lakes. The project will seek informal or formal partnership with
the SERC-USGS national database program and merge the Great Lakes regional
database, when developed sufficiently, with their national database.
+ Read more
Implications of Cercopagis and Bythotrephes to Alewife Recruitment
and Stability of the Lake Michigan Pelagic Food Web The proposal
of this project is to develop a general model from experimental observations
of prey selection and feeding for the invading predatory cercopagid cladocerans
Cercopagis pengoi and Bythotrephes longimanus that will
be useful for predicting predatory impact of these cercopagids. The information
will be combined with field observations of population dynamics, production
and spatial distribution of zooplankton and fishes collected in this and
related projects to describe and understand invasion dynamics of Cercopagis
and determine if these cercopagids have disrupted the Lake Michigan food
web.
+ Read more
Invertebrate Resting Eggs As Secondary Aquatic Invasion Vectors
Resting eggs of aquatic organisms are fertilized embryos enclosed in one
or more layers of protective casing, making them extremely resistant to
various adverse conditions. They are known to survive burial in sediments
for decades to centuries (Hairston et al, 1995; Hairston 1996), desiccation
(Arnott & Yan, 2002), and passage through digestive tracts of fish
(Jarnagin et al., 2000) and waterfowl. Resting eggs are often found in
ballast water. This project studies these resting eggs and is developing
a way to identify them and to test the effectiveness of biocide treatments.
+ Read more
Long Term Trends in Benthic Populations in Lake Michigan
This is a long term monitoring project that documents changes in the benthic
macroinvertebrate community in the southern basin of Lake Michigan. The
decline in the amphipod Diporeia is a unique event that was discovered
in this project.
+ Read more
NOBOB-B: Identifying, Verifying, and Establishing Options for
Best Management Practices for NOBOB Vessels This is a demonstration
project using an operational vessel to examine the effectiveness of the
following practices on reducing new aquatic invasive species introductions:
(1) avoidance, when possible, of loading ballast from shallow, turbid,
or algal bloom locations, (2) flushing muddy water out of tanks as soon
as possible, and (3) regular use of saltwater rinses during transits.
+ Read more
