Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
May 2013 Activity Highlights
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Topics covered in the May activity report.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Zebra Mussel Biopesticide Effects on Native Mussels
- Jim Luoma, Kerry Weber, Jeremy Wise, and Hugh McMath (UMESC) will conduct a field trial to assess exposure effects of a candidate open-water zebra mussel control agent on seven species of native sub adult and/or adult unionid mussels, May 28-30. The work is being conducted as part of a multi-year Great Lakes Research initiative (GLRI) Grant to evaluate the potential use a commercially formulated Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A) product to aid in native mussel restoration programs. Research under the GLRI grant is being conducted with a multi-agency partnership which includes: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State Museum Field Research Laboratory, the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, as well as Non-Government Organization (NGO) partners. The field exposures will be conducted in a USGS research trailer stationed along the Black River in LaCrosse, WI, and the mussels will be held in the river for a 30-d observation period. Information on the grant activities can be found on the project page at http://cida.usgs.gov/glri/projects/invasive_species/zm_control.html.
Climate Change
- Barry Johnson (UMESC) will participate in a meeting of the Science Council for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) in Madison, WI, May 6. The meeting will focus on updates to downscaled modeling for the US east of the Rocky Mountains being conducted at the University of Wisconsin, a case study of planning for driftless area stream management, and strategic planning for the Science Council. WICCI is a partnership of the University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and other state agencies and institutions that assesses climate change impacts in the upper Midwest and develops adaptation strategies that can be implemented by stakeholders.
Geospatial Sciences and Technology
- Jason Rohweder, Timothy Fox, and Jack Waide (UMESC) will participate in a Gulf Hypoxia USGS GAP Project Development Meeting on May 9th, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago, IL (Metcalf Federal Building). Meeting participants are developing a plan for targeting agricultural conservation in the Mississippi River basin, by mapping the most cost-effective and receptive places for implementing multiple benefit practices.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Birds as Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in the Great Lakes
- Field work for GLRI Project 80, Birds as Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in the Great Lakes, has begun at all study locations across five Great Lakes. All sites have been visited at least once and collection of egg samples has begun at those sites where egg laying has been initiated. The late spring weather has not delayed the initiation of tree swallow nesting, except for several of the far north sites where ice remained on the lakes and embayments until just recently. For additional information contact Christine Custer (UMESC, ccuster@usgs.gov).
Chromosome Damage Assessment
- Thomas Custer and Christine Custer (UMESC) received notification from Cole Matson (Baylor University) their cooperative project, “Birds as indicators of contaminant exposure in the Great Lakes: chromosomal damage assessment via flow cytometry,” has received funding from the University of Michigan Water Center. The cooperative project will assess chromosomal damage in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings collected from contaminated areas across the Great Lakes region. These efforts are designed to complement, and directly integrate into, the existing USGS Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Project #80: Birds as Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in the Great Lakes. The GLRI project is quantifying exposure to, and some of the effects of, historical and emerging contaminants on Great Lakes food chains using tree swallows as a sentinel indicator species. The cooperative project with Baylor University will focus on quantifying the exposure to, and uptake of, contaminants into tree swallow nestlings, as well as the examination of biomarkers of chemical exposures.
National Park Service
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Andrew Strassman, Kevin Hop (UMESC), Mark Hall, and Brett Engstrom (NatureServe) will perform vegetation surveys and conduct imagery verification support along the New Hampshire section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA), June 3-14. The New Hampshire section is located in the APPA’s Northern Appalachian Ecoregion. USGS’s Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is mapping the vegetation of APPA to the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS), from Springer Mountain, GA to Katahdin Mountain, ME.
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
- Andrew Strassman, Erin Hoy, Joe Jakusz, Kevin Hop (UMESC), and Jim Drake (NatureServe) will meet May 22 at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, WI to review and discuss the vegetation classification scheme for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) vegetation mapping project. The goal of the meeting is to equip UMESC mappers with an understanding of the vegetation types of MISS in preparation for field reconnaissance during the 2013 field season. The MISS vegetation mapping project is part of the National Park Service’s (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The primary objective of the NPS VIP is to produce data sets of vegetation occurring within national park units. This information fills and complements a wide variety of resource assessment, national park management, and conservation needs.
- Janis Ruhser (UMESC) completed image processing, orthorectification, and mosaicking of two sets of imagery (color infrared at 6-inches/pixel, and natural color at 18-inches/pixel) for the Mississippi National River Recreation Area (MNRRA). Stereo models were also created for both sets of imagery which will be used by UMESC interpreters to complete a vegetation map of MNRRA for the National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program.
News Media and Outreach
- The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) in La Crosse, WI was featured in the 2012 Annual Report from the University of Wisconsin’s Extension Division of Continuing Education, Outreach, and E-Learning. The UW-La Crosse campus featured their >20-year collaboration with UMESC on the La Crosse campus page. Through the cooperative partnership, UMESC and the University have successfully provided over 20 years of scientific conferences, workshops, training classes, and environmental youth programs, to effectively deliver scientific information to a wide range of audiences. The 2012 Annual report is available at http://ce.uwex.edu/files/2012AnnualReport.pdf. To access the entry featuring UMESC activate the Content button and select UW-La Crosse. For more information contact Randy Hines (rkhines@usgs.gov).
- Andrew Strassman and Larry Robinson (UMESC) participated in the La Crosse School District’s 2013 Science and Math Expo, May 2, as a non-competitive judge of math and science displays. The Science and Math Expo attracts over 600 6-8 grade students from public, private, and parochial schools in the La Crosse [WI] School District, for the purpose of exchanging scientific ideas and showcasing individual student projects.
- Erin Hoy (UMESC) and Kirsten Cahow-Scholtes (WI DNR) presented information on plants and the environment, and lead a botanical “scavenger hunt,” for 4th and 5th graders from Coulee Montessori and Northside Schools (La Crosse, WI) at their annual school outing to Perrot State Park (Trempealeau, WI), May 17. Hoy discussed how UMESC’s mapping group is using stereo aerial photography to map vegetation to ecological type, and demoed 3-D photography displayed using a 3-D laptop and aerial photography of the park.
Upper Mississippi River
Floodplain Connectivity
- Ken Lubinski (UMESC) will facilitate a gathering of land managers and scientists on May 2, near the Maquoketa River/Green Island Levee and Drainage District. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is purchasing floodplain agricultural lands previously enclosed by levees which were breached by a flood in 2010. The Iowa DNR intends to allow the river to reconnect with the floodplain in this region, and wants to hear about opportunities to promote hydrological and ecological research at the site. Increased river/floodplain connectivity in this region could result in reduced sediment transport into the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Savanna District) and the Mississippi River. Scientists and managers alike are interested in quantifying ecosystem services associated with the new management strategies. The gathering includes members of the recently formed Floodplain Science Network, as well as other scientists and agency and NGO representatives. The Green Island Levee and Drainage District is located at the confluence of the Maquoketa and Mississippi Rivers within Mississippi River navigation Pool 13, downstream from/ near Bellevue, IA.
Wildlife Ecology
- Wayne Thogmartin (UMESC) will serve on the doctoral committee of Jaymi LeBrun at the University of Missouri, Columbia, May 21-23. Thogmartin will also collaborate and discuss project details with LeBrun and her doctoral advisors, Frank R. Thompson III (US Forest Service) and Josh Millspaugh (Department of Fisheries and Wildlife).
Acronyms
APPA – Appalachian National Scenic Trail
DNR – Department of Natural Resources
GLRI – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
MNRRA – Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
NGO – Non-Government Organization
NPS – National Park Service
UMESC – Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
VIP – Vegetation Inventory Program
WICCI – Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/outreach/highlights/2013_may_umesc_highlights.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified:
May 31, 2013
