tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21916555302185458962024-03-22T06:34:24.723-04:00Michigan Sea Grant Fellows and InternsMichigan Sea Grant promotes knowledge of the Great Lakes through education, research and outreach.Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-33588809648694119632023-08-10T17:00:00.005-04:002023-08-10T17:01:41.244-04:00Announcement: Blog transition<p>Hello from Michigan Sea Grant (MISG) and the editorial staff behind this blog. We're grateful to all the previous MISG-affiliated fellows and interns who have contributed their insights and reflections to this blog since 2008. We're beginning to transition fellow and intern posts into <a href="https://www.michiganseagrant.org/newsroom/">MISG's online Newsroom</a>. This site will remain active as an archive, and some previously published content will also be added to the Newsroom. We will also create a dedicated archive page on our website to make it easier to find fellow and intern posts in one place. Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/miseagrant">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/miseagrant">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/miseagrant">Instagram </a>to see when new posts go live!</p><p>If you have any questions about the content transition, please contact miseagrant@umich.edu</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEvFr-N1m92NbQCMfIjDIdSaP-2w2ySj22LXAOtKGfDci8TILPW2DkMbsn5V3HedrfgO0hMf3ZXyFYud9kmb7AkMMGMAp8xGZMtGW47SvtR-_tZRH5MRVY-b7exxvItyl929_gCKJPS4uisvgiQyOAyt39z4MtvBJPubAIINDAKJEdDdf2t1JOtLSAMU/s1920/nature-g100cdc9c6_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEvFr-N1m92NbQCMfIjDIdSaP-2w2ySj22LXAOtKGfDci8TILPW2DkMbsn5V3HedrfgO0hMf3ZXyFYud9kmb7AkMMGMAp8xGZMtGW47SvtR-_tZRH5MRVY-b7exxvItyl929_gCKJPS4uisvgiQyOAyt39z4MtvBJPubAIINDAKJEdDdf2t1JOtLSAMU/w457-h304/nature-g100cdc9c6_1920.jpg" width="457" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-25760501651022733632023-07-18T11:19:00.003-04:002023-07-19T11:38:42.245-04:00Join us for a day on the S/V Steelhead!<div class="separator"><i>Editor's note: This post was jointly written by 2023 interns Hadley VandeVusse and Ava Tackabury. Photo credits go to Ava Tackabury.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>Hi! My name is <a href="mailto:hadvusse@umich.edu">Hadley VandeVusse</a>, and I am a rising senior at the University of Michigan. I am majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Oceanography. After completing my formal education, I plan to attend graduate school and pursue a career as an environmental scientist with a focus on freshwater or marine ecosystems, working at either the federal or local level. Some of my research interests include population dynamics, acidification, ecosystem services, community structure, and microbial ecology. During the school year, I work under Gregory Dick as a research assistant in the microbiology lab at the University of Michigan. I primarily focus on researching Microcystis-dominated harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie with the goal of furthering our understanding of bloom dynamics.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2di86RCSf0M0VrgZJZuCogaoqZ0QyQaFuiqld4RTmw4-ZYRDy6CSC5JBYV4PO7ukpWP7lXm8VcTc8z9SICQMgm9OjHm-ZFBvIBpMqjwAl-KPjsnUXRXwaqiNg6z_oP3K-rZQHftZXMX6v3uSffPptN-cpeBptx8djCGQxEfHU2slACcPC4LZv8U7aFg/s4608/IMG_1787.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2di86RCSf0M0VrgZJZuCogaoqZ0QyQaFuiqld4RTmw4-ZYRDy6CSC5JBYV4PO7ukpWP7lXm8VcTc8z9SICQMgm9OjHm-ZFBvIBpMqjwAl-KPjsnUXRXwaqiNg6z_oP3K-rZQHftZXMX6v3uSffPptN-cpeBptx8djCGQxEfHU2slACcPC4LZv8U7aFg/w400-h300/IMG_1787.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hadley VandeVusse</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />This summer I was given the opportunity to work with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) on a research project studying Lake Trout population dynamics in Northern Lake Michigan. The study involves the use of acoustic telemetry to track the movement of the fish. It is necessary to gather more information about the movement ecology of Lake Trout for effective fisheries management. If we know what habitat fish like to occupy and how they traverse across areas it allows us to better implement harvest limits, refuge boundaries, and so much more. I am so lucky to be able to work on such an interesting project with an amazing team and in one of the most beautiful places in the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-----</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0nPhrFw6xdGJ06mHLdwvJczLwWkx36Jmt7a51YQzWYEMVkOlEGZ6Y12n0Ub1X1fwlyhIhrOH_nMfEwbBs128_waoK-hZ-CDhozPUDe3rG49h9T4ztgW4ABVgVcwqeanHXKN9vby77RXwz2VybweQLj8QseAnqDYUHr6DG98F-38jRHDh4M8itEDkc8k/s4608/IMG_1784.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0nPhrFw6xdGJ06mHLdwvJczLwWkx36Jmt7a51YQzWYEMVkOlEGZ6Y12n0Ub1X1fwlyhIhrOH_nMfEwbBs128_waoK-hZ-CDhozPUDe3rG49h9T4ztgW4ABVgVcwqeanHXKN9vby77RXwz2VybweQLj8QseAnqDYUHr6DG98F-38jRHDh4M8itEDkc8k/w400-h300/IMG_1784.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Tackabury</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>My name is <a href="mailto:avatack@umich.edu">Ava Tackabury</a> and I am studying Earth & Environmental Sciences and Anthropology at the University of Michigan. I connected with Michigan Sea Grant earlier this year and am now stationed in Charlevoix, MI for a summer internship with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Throughout my academic and personal journey so far, I have found that my interests lie where the natural and anthropogenic worlds become entangled—where species meet. It was this intrigue that drew me to my current research project, a multi-faceted approach to understanding the potential for future Lake Whitefish river spawning in Lake Michigan tributaries. Historically, Lake Whitefish used to travel upstream in Lake Michigan tributaries to lay their eggs each fall. Following mass habitat destruction from 19th-century logging and damming activity, however, there has been a dramatic Lake Whitefish population decline including the near loss of river spawners. Through our research, we seek a better understanding of the remaining river spawning habitat potential for Lake Whitefish so that future efforts can help to reestablish these historic spawning runs. Working with all of my project partners (MDNR, WDNR, The Nature Conservancy, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians) has been a pleasure and I have quickly fallen in love with all that northern Michigan has to offer.</div><div><br />S/V <i>STEELHEAD</i> LAKEWIDE ASSESSMENT PLAN:<br /><br />This summer, we have also been able to participate in several research projects currently being conducted at the Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to accompany our boat crew on the S/V <i>Steelhead</i>, Michigan DNR's survey vessel in Charlevoix, during the annual Lakewide Assessment Plan (LWAP). Each year, the <i>Steelhead </i>studies adult yellow perch, lake whitefish, lake trout, Chinook salmon, and forage fish populations at a few Lake Michigan ports. The sampling year begins with the spring gill net survey in a collaborative assessment with other Lake Michigan agencies. Since 1997, the LWAP survey has provided MDNR with a comprehensive understanding of the status of adult Lake Michigan fish populations through a multispecies focus.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXu5I-WWy1jmYKE8RnAYX8JF5CtoWBLxyp9QkI1NTjl16-C4or0n2xzUC06BUXjoW-03lxwGz8F3U-gR4SrdZ9DREea9hSRS1SUwf-KVDwShE4iJ8y3PGrAqPgzUyHDqZYkLzXktvMgcfoBX97XomCuDFzvNStD9Om3O3_Y0B7yBxKsh_1H6IgKFniynU/s4032/IMG_1899%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXu5I-WWy1jmYKE8RnAYX8JF5CtoWBLxyp9QkI1NTjl16-C4or0n2xzUC06BUXjoW-03lxwGz8F3U-gR4SrdZ9DREea9hSRS1SUwf-KVDwShE4iJ8y3PGrAqPgzUyHDqZYkLzXktvMgcfoBX97XomCuDFzvNStD9Om3O3_Y0B7yBxKsh_1H6IgKFniynU/w300-h400/IMG_1899%20(1).jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-05e3e392-7fff-ff4b-a24a-3e1a9b5d29cc"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Click the links for more information on </span><a href="https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/fisheries/research/charlevoix" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SV Steelhead Assessment Work</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> or a video detailing </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeI4Ws7uzs" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SV Steelhead Bottom Gillnetting</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Photo: Ava Tackabury</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br />A DAY ON THE S/V <i>STEELHEAD</i>:<br /><br /><b>6:00 am:</b><br /><br />We started the day bright and early. At the research station before heading to port, we gathered our gear— personal floatation devices (PFDs), bibs, coats, boots, and lined gloves. We then loaded all of the coolers with ice to prepare them for fish collection later on. Once everything was loaded and ready to go, we hopped in the truck excited for the day ahead. It was a short drive from the station to the port where the <i>Steelhead </i>awaited our arrival. We quickly transferred all of our gear and the coolers onto the boat, untied the lines, and headed through the Pine River channel into Lake Michigan.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-utFQ2-fXPC1j-Y5v0VBB6IqZx-bINsFXBNjODLmCHcbCs7wOqSLX_h0qfS5UmjW_jnT9unU3cw-xBPO0XVcG1MKkrkOU-IptYI_rAc-RM7_j2N-XhEf9AHoPBNygzTux3e65dywzmyT5tYX3q4Xpuq5zjUKWB2e_9M7zShNwvpFzJBZMqDl99Ynw4c/s4608/IMG_1791.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-utFQ2-fXPC1j-Y5v0VBB6IqZx-bINsFXBNjODLmCHcbCs7wOqSLX_h0qfS5UmjW_jnT9unU3cw-xBPO0XVcG1MKkrkOU-IptYI_rAc-RM7_j2N-XhEf9AHoPBNygzTux3e65dywzmyT5tYX3q4Xpuq5zjUKWB2e_9M7zShNwvpFzJBZMqDl99Ynw4c/w400-h300/IMG_1791.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkrwZd3uY77CijNxwClvCg0DQXWMgY_gFfI-WYSvKKn7-OVwi9ovQ8hdE_PaTsCDAKGbGOqDDZ0cXYVHoesFOf3ruSjwZpKvuHZ-Jrl-pwyfSBarbM4r8paw3h7FBmFxbBEH4bYah0if_14IIabCQ2jjbe9AgnykD77gJn6f01QTg8j7MLpKpDW47q3c/s4608/IMG_1792.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkrwZd3uY77CijNxwClvCg0DQXWMgY_gFfI-WYSvKKn7-OVwi9ovQ8hdE_PaTsCDAKGbGOqDDZ0cXYVHoesFOf3ruSjwZpKvuHZ-Jrl-pwyfSBarbM4r8paw3h7FBmFxbBEH4bYah0if_14IIabCQ2jjbe9AgnykD77gJn6f01QTg8j7MLpKpDW47q3c/w400-h300/IMG_1792.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><b>8:00 am:</b><br /><br />Our destination was just north of the Charlevoix port, where the crew had set gill nets a day prior, so we had a little time to relax before the grunt work began. During the ride, we enjoyed some yummy donuts under the sun. We traveled until we could see our first buoy (marked by a red flag) that indicated the start of a gill net before springing into action. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AxAhQdmTcgzzs9MLMsC7BUwox1kqUGrVlH6A2xA9z0eI3GTt4T2bB7_ieNiAtEk0BHm9tbcjErezvOH7ADMQYyB1qdOR1SjN6yLi_DNKJrpVyxuEs1Izf2MUjImcsmVQh3rNdPA-qAIDtkHnkvc98bvZFK7BNm0RR7Vypqvl99Yf1myP3gU_tRt81hg/s4032/70731647095__171AD78C-F9C5-4810-8ABD-BB34021AF5A4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AxAhQdmTcgzzs9MLMsC7BUwox1kqUGrVlH6A2xA9z0eI3GTt4T2bB7_ieNiAtEk0BHm9tbcjErezvOH7ADMQYyB1qdOR1SjN6yLi_DNKJrpVyxuEs1Izf2MUjImcsmVQh3rNdPA-qAIDtkHnkvc98bvZFK7BNm0RR7Vypqvl99Yf1myP3gU_tRt81hg/w300-h400/70731647095__171AD78C-F9C5-4810-8ABD-BB34021AF5A4.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYo808W1Dq8JIadkjjdiGzVbg3YoP_dhqFn31tki6_wdnNArXJ3Xq6QH34-FSo3idYPe8cozzY_lZbn7JhngcI0vscE1PrVwR49bev9C_GNxXNWSDxPPp6EuAUarY-r0LPyPgWdBtqRcFQiKaH20TUrIO1n1SJStNxs_I2hg0Z-WKR68WSCG465QofdRc/s4032/IMG_1908.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYo808W1Dq8JIadkjjdiGzVbg3YoP_dhqFn31tki6_wdnNArXJ3Xq6QH34-FSo3idYPe8cozzY_lZbn7JhngcI0vscE1PrVwR49bev9C_GNxXNWSDxPPp6EuAUarY-r0LPyPgWdBtqRcFQiKaH20TUrIO1n1SJStNxs_I2hg0Z-WKR68WSCG465QofdRc/w300-h400/IMG_1908.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5S_AgF1SMwuaavlpqu8EATo0AC0f3lyJO30T1TmT4R07ezlTuwdtD1OLjUBzox8mkW9NwYbxRxDGurAvUSXdV14N9VALGZMexr2hFiHxQmqyEONN3V9FqpJv4mDF_YQS5T3KoF0aITXj1aCoqs8bbazJDl6tb7L0EhBX3vO2FKux06KtxHAijDAgCKw/s4608/IMG_1815.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5S_AgF1SMwuaavlpqu8EATo0AC0f3lyJO30T1TmT4R07ezlTuwdtD1OLjUBzox8mkW9NwYbxRxDGurAvUSXdV14N9VALGZMexr2hFiHxQmqyEONN3V9FqpJv4mDF_YQS5T3KoF0aITXj1aCoqs8bbazJDl6tb7L0EhBX3vO2FKux06KtxHAijDAgCKw/w400-h300/IMG_1815.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><b>9:00 am:</b><br /><br />Once we reached the first buoy, the captain skillfully aligned the vessel with the gill net. A gill net is a wall of netting that hangs in the water column designed to allow fish to get only their head through the netting, but not their body. Using the lift machinery in the hull of the boat, we were able to pull in the gill net catch for sample collection. As the nets were rolled up into the vessel, we had to work quickly alongside the crew to untangle the large adult fish from the net. <br /><br />Hadley: “Just when you thought you had them untangled from the nets, they would decide to wiggle around and you were back to ground zero again.”<br /><br />Suckers, Lake Trout, and Lake Whitefish made up the majority of our catch (though we did manage to score one Burbot). We placed the fish in designated bins correlated with the specific mesh size and net depth at which they were caught. The crew said that the amount of fish we caught was a typical light catch, but the fact we pulled up that many in one day still astounded us.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihl-TwikgnkWdnxw4xotE7YNqlZyUksVzNAH3sWyWP7Cyy6QEi-fro2nWfEX9aRvhHqe7ut8gWBZIPv_vgu4VpxLy3Uff_coFW9A6ysSLTI5L-J-NAWZaVqJhbOEDghVXwTQIxkAiukP_2Ajk0eFJNNF4O4XzD8WBRckXsxvAJyem59pE6ChPdOJhA6Kk/s4032/IMG_1779.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihl-TwikgnkWdnxw4xotE7YNqlZyUksVzNAH3sWyWP7Cyy6QEi-fro2nWfEX9aRvhHqe7ut8gWBZIPv_vgu4VpxLy3Uff_coFW9A6ysSLTI5L-J-NAWZaVqJhbOEDghVXwTQIxkAiukP_2Ajk0eFJNNF4O4XzD8WBRckXsxvAJyem59pE6ChPdOJhA6Kk/w300-h400/IMG_1779.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6LCDIIO1D4xPPoSAKN2SnSxdHoi-OAhZ5IqZVHO-1xSh1RfICMA0fuOgrirhs5n66EFL0mFtm39vprbnnsjyc_TQ5BlxxOWxRQva7LBl-Sg9Q4FQBuUEv4yjOVeQHfPeY7WjFNgrAADRxpf8oyzoA_JfGsWNjwfwpkQx0kac0IFwMcmA5kmp9xvHf4w/s4032/IMG_1781.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6LCDIIO1D4xPPoSAKN2SnSxdHoi-OAhZ5IqZVHO-1xSh1RfICMA0fuOgrirhs5n66EFL0mFtm39vprbnnsjyc_TQ5BlxxOWxRQva7LBl-Sg9Q4FQBuUEv4yjOVeQHfPeY7WjFNgrAADRxpf8oyzoA_JfGsWNjwfwpkQx0kac0IFwMcmA5kmp9xvHf4w/w300-h400/IMG_1781.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /><br /><b>12:00 pm:<br /></b><br />Once we finished pulling all the gill nets, set the day prior, we moved the fish to the stern, loaded them into coolers, and put them on ice. Then, we brought the fish coolers into the wet lab where we “worked-up” the fish, taking various measurements and samples to be sent to the labs for later analysis. We took size measurements, coded wire tagged snouts, stomachs, otoliths, and maxillaries for all the fish, depending on the species and algorithm count requirements per species. To ensure the fish were not completely wasted after being sampled, we filleted and bagged the fish to give to the local community. Fresh Lake Trout is even more delicious when it benefits the scientific world.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjbKzXAeQ4VdErWGcPJ27RCOEQ3Ejv-lc5C_dCkn2rmqgO1av3MLxfVJcO9kTUEIkBRus-f8xRMhJlB3yxP6Pn6upMgYF2WJ6Up9Nm8lYr3nopvlgVo6y99e6VEUzfmcQdSdlM7qv6o_mhOdfWIMOpwX7GGBH-YHvPl_yDyzRxhKPOgH6crXg0ndZGz8/s4608/IMG_1806.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjbKzXAeQ4VdErWGcPJ27RCOEQ3Ejv-lc5C_dCkn2rmqgO1av3MLxfVJcO9kTUEIkBRus-f8xRMhJlB3yxP6Pn6upMgYF2WJ6Up9Nm8lYr3nopvlgVo6y99e6VEUzfmcQdSdlM7qv6o_mhOdfWIMOpwX7GGBH-YHvPl_yDyzRxhKPOgH6crXg0ndZGz8/w400-h300/IMG_1806.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>3:00 pm:</b><br /><br />After taking all of the required fish samples, we ended the day cleaning everything. All coolers, mats, counters, scales, and floors were scrubbed and hosed down. We also cleaned out the whole gill net lift room in the hull of the vessel as we pulled up a lot of zebra and quagga mussels that made quite a mess. Finally, after all the cleaning was complete and a quick snack break, it was time to cap off the day. Tiredly, we unloaded all the equipment off the boat and headed home, both of us satisfied with our work from the day.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsASywoSSQu4wRnzI1IFW9N_k16689iHZbK-eLseOHNzzXI9cVFoVfiTy_Wz8WWn-fVe-Zy1IkeygovUqLj3j0YR9gSJ17bI2ix5_FAMfY6_pS1irZXyKtSHq14JPGVo9CxQW4MDIRbv1QK7agYcojKxn8Q_KfPh0H3d8iXRLSv6Fs4Q0_ULaynaLBJg/s4608/IMG_1783.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsASywoSSQu4wRnzI1IFW9N_k16689iHZbK-eLseOHNzzXI9cVFoVfiTy_Wz8WWn-fVe-Zy1IkeygovUqLj3j0YR9gSJ17bI2ix5_FAMfY6_pS1irZXyKtSHq14JPGVo9CxQW4MDIRbv1QK7agYcojKxn8Q_KfPh0H3d8iXRLSv6Fs4Q0_ULaynaLBJg/w400-h300/IMG_1783.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-60121381401438639442023-06-27T10:29:00.001-04:002023-06-27T10:29:11.293-04:00Tracking Didymo with Rae Mckechnie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy25e8P-BHFAXDELJkPrtZkXWo13f2zeE-V0vyQ0Shdr44mdf3IPW4eoNmCTV3VlwCA31-N-ynTHZFf9lW3J9z3Xi_BUhQyz7aNnsqZOgU9lHi2RPahG8qIDObAk7aH4JeDjdWeEjgO23AD8HHnvSPCKmT5f7HLJHrdCVzBL4joSpIN5tbUCOeurlCIk/s3088/IMG_1905.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy25e8P-BHFAXDELJkPrtZkXWo13f2zeE-V0vyQ0Shdr44mdf3IPW4eoNmCTV3VlwCA31-N-ynTHZFf9lW3J9z3Xi_BUhQyz7aNnsqZOgU9lHi2RPahG8qIDObAk7aH4JeDjdWeEjgO23AD8HHnvSPCKmT5f7HLJHrdCVzBL4joSpIN5tbUCOeurlCIk/s320/IMG_1905.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div>Hello! My name is Raven (Rae) Mckechnie and I am currently a double major at Lake Superior State University (LSSU). I am majoring in Animal Biology (Animal Health concentration) and Marketing with an E-Marketing certification. After graduation, I plan on continuing my education by attending graduate school. I am interested in a career that combines my passions for aquatic research, animal rehabilitation, and conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems. Last summer, I had the privilege to work for my tribe’s environmental department with the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, where I was able to learn about invasive species management and removal while assisting on clearing efforts of active dangerous invasive plants. I am also continuing to strengthen my knowledge about aquatic research through my current employment at Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education. It is here that I am fortunate to be able to conduct my senior research with my mentor Dr. Ashley Moerke on <i>Didymosphenia geminata</i> (hereafter, Didymo) through the Center for Freshwater Research and Education as well where I can tie in my previous experience with invasive species and their effect on the ecosystem and fisheries industry into my research and overarching career goals. </div><div><br /></div><div>Didymo is an invasive algae that has been detected in the St. Marys River since 2015. Didymo is a threat to the environment because the dense mats that it forms alter habitat availability and light penetration and thus biodiversity and lead to a decrease in available food sources for fish. These dense mats can also cause economic issues impacting the fishing industry by their stalk material getting caught and ruining fishing lures and boat motors. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Vox2NGlVyNq_tHoDh6UWDo-vqT6iwtD84J8so-qudtTJjDSWyW0peb9fB9elJqcfCYA7ePxQnKYVu4I6vOOCln3xROMKwlSuwGzeIxf9hOYkslFs2Y4PxBkzTAFwXZirrwEPnO48yuTA6EpV9NGi_ReK5peYAHzuFlfRtcLhNK3u2nBvE61nIkgytWI/s1406/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-20%20at%2012.13.35%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1034" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Vox2NGlVyNq_tHoDh6UWDo-vqT6iwtD84J8so-qudtTJjDSWyW0peb9fB9elJqcfCYA7ePxQnKYVu4I6vOOCln3xROMKwlSuwGzeIxf9hOYkslFs2Y4PxBkzTAFwXZirrwEPnO48yuTA6EpV9NGi_ReK5peYAHzuFlfRtcLhNK3u2nBvE61nIkgytWI/w294-h400/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-20%20at%2012.13.35%20PM.png" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A clump of Didymo prepared for an experiment. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>There is no current method available for management of Didymo. The main method of control against this invasive species is through prevention of the continued spread of Didymo. This species of diatom can be spread through contaminated water and fishing equipment and boats that carry microscopic Didymo cells to other water bodies if unwashed. Since the main method of control is stopping its spread, the importance of being able to map and detect this invasive species prevalence early on is ever-pressing. <br /><br />The basis of my senior research project is to determine the threshold level and sensitivity of environmental DNA (eDNA) testing for Didymo detection in Michigan waters. Since the sampling of Didymo with eDNA is a novel practice, there aren’t any established guidelines available. My project began by using eDNA methods established by a previous study (Cary et al. 2014). However, existing methods do not establish how the likelihood of detection of Didymo using eDNA would vary depending on the extent of Didymo populations, or the distance from the source of Didymo. The goal of my study is to understand, in a controlled environment, how eDNA “signals” differ under different distances and population sizes to enhance the interpretation of eDNA data. This is accomplished by sampling several sites spaced downstream from the main rapids in St. Marys River, a known Didymo infestation site, to determine the ability of the eDNA technology to detect Didymo at varying distances from a known positive source.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpe46SCs4qnhigdPKMpRAN0l-hPEkB1qtVSRp13xeAG6SGBe9MbK5yUnOuhrVWlUbFrQeUVsOwOXyEmKG44rCIoPxQt2rQcznp5xsHdkxYEeG-KyxZ6Ks_8pdJ-BHpTjOR8fJtNGux6wV2X8Ek0c2bA9ZSTVXNWhcH6hECzphEoYwqP6POusVGaAZuik/s4032/IMG_1897.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpe46SCs4qnhigdPKMpRAN0l-hPEkB1qtVSRp13xeAG6SGBe9MbK5yUnOuhrVWlUbFrQeUVsOwOXyEmKG44rCIoPxQt2rQcznp5xsHdkxYEeG-KyxZ6Ks_8pdJ-BHpTjOR8fJtNGux6wV2X8Ek0c2bA9ZSTVXNWhcH6hECzphEoYwqP6POusVGaAZuik/w300-h400/IMG_1897.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting water samples in the St. Marys River. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWjDpWG950oP3S2sBY66nzrG1wWXtkj_BWLMDXJtqGyZWDIs0fc3Cc1GxYDYdU27ynVsVGbF7DVtw7pPOVPFSAV5m9M0XrdGaFpSfuajH0dnavvmACLDlr1JkMSbQTxto3V3_D36ikJGakMHcOsAYkcFNHMKE8TABkznu5Ud9eRBzv93T1sEeYrrUSgw/s1018/IMG_2896%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="828" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWjDpWG950oP3S2sBY66nzrG1wWXtkj_BWLMDXJtqGyZWDIs0fc3Cc1GxYDYdU27ynVsVGbF7DVtw7pPOVPFSAV5m9M0XrdGaFpSfuajH0dnavvmACLDlr1JkMSbQTxto3V3_D36ikJGakMHcOsAYkcFNHMKE8TABkznu5Ud9eRBzv93T1sEeYrrUSgw/w325-h400/IMG_2896%20(1).jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicknamed "gumby suits," orange immersion suits keep researchers safe and warm during shipboard sampling runs. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgXJ8WwzHM8WGXtS5Kq5oyMeF7HKmGyXdodNZwivF0Le4uMoCOD7MoKbSkQUA8RSRmOksP2kQJpqJd2Z67CPkOKguJadEB0y5wI4W8EqYLpK0SJDwMNwTwhdX6JjZO-gKXHLMbtG8RCkfKWvpBvlJWgnWipSM_qM9ubmUoaZ4ZTCLJ4CyMc8rcfZGaAw/s4032/IMG_1906.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgXJ8WwzHM8WGXtS5Kq5oyMeF7HKmGyXdodNZwivF0Le4uMoCOD7MoKbSkQUA8RSRmOksP2kQJpqJd2Z67CPkOKguJadEB0y5wI4W8EqYLpK0SJDwMNwTwhdX6JjZO-gKXHLMbtG8RCkfKWvpBvlJWgnWipSM_qM9ubmUoaZ4ZTCLJ4CyMc8rcfZGaAw/w300-h400/IMG_1906.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample bottled up and ready to take to the lab. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4MwldhLa7Qhn1l7W9RHIJ5nfHDz6vv0NlLg-VSVuU6Sn2BtTlERFd1KtE7bggJcsIMhstz5LAViRFowaezbvtxpf4DZveLMkfgBtK-7Nlabp_Kp4hP07vvsRSPXUbhhwpuKyEohLPRyvmwE2uiVtH-6a7eLjjb5vWAvx9Lj0cxzcnQP2bAN5-b9Exlg/s4032/IMG_2715.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4MwldhLa7Qhn1l7W9RHIJ5nfHDz6vv0NlLg-VSVuU6Sn2BtTlERFd1KtE7bggJcsIMhstz5LAViRFowaezbvtxpf4DZveLMkfgBtK-7Nlabp_Kp4hP07vvsRSPXUbhhwpuKyEohLPRyvmwE2uiVtH-6a7eLjjb5vWAvx9Lj0cxzcnQP2bAN5-b9Exlg/w300-h400/IMG_2715.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Didymo cells under the microscope. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This summer I am also testing the effect of Didymo abundance on eDNA sample concentrations by utilizing a stream simulation system (outdoor experimental stream lab) and differing concentrations of positive samples of Didymo. This will help me understand if eDNA results are sensitive to changes in Didymo abundance and what is the threshold at which we can detect Didymo using eDNA. By researching the effect of the variables of eDNA samples, sampling guidelines can be formulated to better determine the concentration and source of Didymo in the St. Marys River and other tributaries. This information can then further be used to map positive Didymo samples in GIS software to map where it has been found and the resulting concentrations. Thus, helping aid in prevention of the spread, by knowing where Didymo is, we can more effectively work towards stopping its spread.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFtVI7eO9WiLBEt6kJfrwQSFCZdzn6U7rKdZbuq6rFsD9xtey164VZtOLDuTRA8jU6N13_tR8SkTIv5jKcXEkhKj-KX2nmImKQjnYxy06oCrhiRd4Z6ZmOb23OCCy3WrCoVvZHIQP60szHvRZ48S_bOMf_NwopOaVepcnTPnBNVZ80h2gmk2TAsFG3KSY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="1662" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFtVI7eO9WiLBEt6kJfrwQSFCZdzn6U7rKdZbuq6rFsD9xtey164VZtOLDuTRA8jU6N13_tR8SkTIv5jKcXEkhKj-KX2nmImKQjnYxy06oCrhiRd4Z6ZmOb23OCCy3WrCoVvZHIQP60szHvRZ48S_bOMf_NwopOaVepcnTPnBNVZ80h2gmk2TAsFG3KSY=w400-h297" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Didymo clumps resting in experimental stream lab channels. Photo: Rae Mckechnie </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcgpK7tqHuGReg0q6EBV4QrjvFD-WvcNH2WCEhE6aQWpR5ikewUjLN6npfwK3WrqTJKb-oPK1xlnKmu90buz0v4BQjaIq6txykIuT-tUZi4OvGBtlspYRW8xuczIkscROBU0YfpFBiESzj_PVSGzISkdWLRQd9J5spFs1FIVnvMtlujB5LnjH--o2IbQ/s4032/IMG_2007.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcgpK7tqHuGReg0q6EBV4QrjvFD-WvcNH2WCEhE6aQWpR5ikewUjLN6npfwK3WrqTJKb-oPK1xlnKmu90buz0v4BQjaIq6txykIuT-tUZi4OvGBtlspYRW8xuczIkscROBU0YfpFBiESzj_PVSGzISkdWLRQd9J5spFs1FIVnvMtlujB5LnjH--o2IbQ/w300-h400/IMG_2007.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water flows through each stream channel for collection and analysis. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMAUsgKkHqa-40MhSewGuEZRa_GjoTr35p1Qrfe0QZV_TaZOFLpRloLwrHSONG_7SwO8-b4sqy1UsAjZgu-Np5I69bgv9pzvvxF_PfMLb8uXURXKL1tYpdCYmgJhnue7-x9yPYxdH9Af3fHpljUsTDp99RHkojUzONUP6inTOtTr86lqg2PG6taa5o6U/s1424/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-20%20at%2012.14.13%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1424" data-original-width="1028" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMAUsgKkHqa-40MhSewGuEZRa_GjoTr35p1Qrfe0QZV_TaZOFLpRloLwrHSONG_7SwO8-b4sqy1UsAjZgu-Np5I69bgv9pzvvxF_PfMLb8uXURXKL1tYpdCYmgJhnue7-x9yPYxdH9Af3fHpljUsTDp99RHkojUzONUP6inTOtTr86lqg2PG6taa5o6U/w289-h400/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-20%20at%2012.14.13%20PM.png" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clumps of Didymo ready to do their part for science. Photo: Rae Mckechnie</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /><div>----- </div><div><br />Works Cited:<br /><br />Cary, S. C., Coyne, K. J., Rueckert, A., Wood, S. A., Kelly, S., Gemmill, C. E. C., Vieglais, C., &amp; Hicks, B. J. (2014). Development and validation of a quantitative PCR assay for the early detection and monitoring of the invasive diatom Didymosphenia Geminata. <i>Harmful Algae</i>, 36, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2014.04.003</div></div></div><br />Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-68477677733857227092022-10-14T11:57:00.001-04:002022-10-14T11:57:24.866-04:00Can audio attract rails to habitat? A fieldwork reflection<p><i>By Dustin Brewer, Graduate Student Fellow</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7XJp-xlXMrHFYmFQqK-piANH2Q81rEXlSh7RWg2PGPV0aZJ0xnUkBgic2txJe69fefj4SWtjFsuKOpvATMvAUU8TEvjXjMpxiPFHxQDrPV3agBEGMusUyQn5JQG7pkFJOl8Zb13QLBq4RPfL7geyk3-eGkacWqlZWqwTascdUZ7eVs3sH62DRSWo/s2046/IMG_1376.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dustin Brewer, wearing a hat and jacket, standing in front of a canoe on the waters of a foggy marsh" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2046" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7XJp-xlXMrHFYmFQqK-piANH2Q81rEXlSh7RWg2PGPV0aZJ0xnUkBgic2txJe69fefj4SWtjFsuKOpvATMvAUU8TEvjXjMpxiPFHxQDrPV3agBEGMusUyQn5JQG7pkFJOl8Zb13QLBq4RPfL7geyk3-eGkacWqlZWqwTascdUZ7eVs3sH62DRSWo/w400-h300/IMG_1376.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Can rails, a group of marsh birds, be attracted to appropriate Great Lakes coastal wetland habitat during spring migration by speakers that are broadcasting rail calls? That is the research question that I’ve been focusing on as a MISG Graduate Research Fellow. Now that the 2022 field season is over, I’m preparing to do my best to answer this question by analyzing data that I’ve collected in the field.</div><div>When I don’t tell myself to slow down, often I find myself moving forward to the next goal and forgetting what got me to where I am. For example, I might become laser-focused on completing steps needed to publish a scientific article after I’ve done the hard work of designing an experiment and collecting data. However, I’ve decided to take the time to reflect upon some initial field experiences that led to my current point of this research project. It has been an adventure!</div><div><br /></div><div>My goal was to get audio playback equipment set up in the marsh before the rails were migrating north this spring. That way, the nightly audio playback would be ready for them when they arrived from the south during their nocturnal migration. So, that meant that I had to get myself and the equipment out into the icy marsh in March (which I thought of as "marsh madness!"). <br /><br />Luckily, my dad offered his skills and designed a platform system for the audio gear which could easily be assembled and disassembled:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_54ceoiOpb5aQ-PR-XHxMkpBfhl8NOTc8Kh-ahzfEfo3VSO2ojwq19DLFPzWYLIDMk_KsgA2mV0sZbTCyHzKpIMmz2IKELYczBRTW1xxe5Jz5pZfTxmZGTkP0827mA3mMgYi2kchGGa_wzlwb7JIVR42rFRGgAf2yR8iqvOnW3ipH4LuJix87JKt/s2048/IMG_1236.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A black cart sits in the back of a truck full of tools for marsh fieldwork" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_54ceoiOpb5aQ-PR-XHxMkpBfhl8NOTc8Kh-ahzfEfo3VSO2ojwq19DLFPzWYLIDMk_KsgA2mV0sZbTCyHzKpIMmz2IKELYczBRTW1xxe5Jz5pZfTxmZGTkP0827mA3mMgYi2kchGGa_wzlwb7JIVR42rFRGgAf2yR8iqvOnW3ipH4LuJix87JKt/w400-h300/IMG_1236.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />So, I was able to cut my way through the ice in a canoe and then assemble the platform for the audio gear in the marsh. Here is what an assembled platform, in the marsh, looks like:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIg6lC27OoD2LLTywXm0p4U5NbaC29KmREy7Xnf-bGv5FRDogK3EcNKlbuxPUZ4UDQ5x_L_U3AZ0kkXd8cwKpWQ-Oq7wIBTgbQRKfNw8zFXLnIWfX-yLIuu1pTe4-HkZZk4BNIjhjtd1mO2RNuZMKJ7DEdohPKxptevPkboZr2FYBKNjwDV8-ydLV/s2048/IMG_1245.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A small green platform on metal legs sits among snow and ice in a wintery marsh" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIg6lC27OoD2LLTywXm0p4U5NbaC29KmREy7Xnf-bGv5FRDogK3EcNKlbuxPUZ4UDQ5x_L_U3AZ0kkXd8cwKpWQ-Oq7wIBTgbQRKfNw8zFXLnIWfX-yLIuu1pTe4-HkZZk4BNIjhjtd1mO2RNuZMKJ7DEdohPKxptevPkboZr2FYBKNjwDV8-ydLV/w300-h400/IMG_1245.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><div><br />I got some of these platforms set up on March 17, well before I expected the first rails to arrive. This allowed me to test them out and to make sure that the ice wouldn’t shift and break the platforms, etc. I also expected that there could be spring flooding. However, I didn’t expect that the flooding would be as extreme as it was! This is what I saw on March 25 when I was trying to access one of my field sites:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv6u5D7J3HI1Oo2HOah85Xp5V9on694OWMzxfkaDnZMrhhghca3wrFI817z-dd99TxHC3A5faDXQ0bZB7DeGqXJw7DHxH1_3DENIVO3QGwwIR9PIykJ-dFHINjxBzt8KpgGTRxNyRmMD_osjtiY55BWBWLlIVLpKbR3q80LSHZxZwxzifC8cHRNdY/s2048/IMG_1282.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A road flooded with water and ice, blocking a vehicle's access to surrounding marshlands" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv6u5D7J3HI1Oo2HOah85Xp5V9on694OWMzxfkaDnZMrhhghca3wrFI817z-dd99TxHC3A5faDXQ0bZB7DeGqXJw7DHxH1_3DENIVO3QGwwIR9PIykJ-dFHINjxBzt8KpgGTRxNyRmMD_osjtiY55BWBWLlIVLpKbR3q80LSHZxZwxzifC8cHRNdY/w400-h300/IMG_1282.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />So, for the day, I didn’t access that site. I drove to a nearby site and went out into the marsh and set up some more platforms as well as a couple autonomous recording units (ARUs). My plan was that by having these recording devices deployed, I’d be able to better pinpoint when the rails arrived. When I came back the next week, I was shocked to see that the already-high water had risen another 2 feet! As you can see in this picture, my platforms were submerged and my ARUs narrowly avoided inundation.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHYJ7XTu8H0JcPCfCAKQcJkA9Lfg8oxEENl1_ewUd1ESteb7nf64bte03hp9nlPmk-aUb2hNNX8nGJNIAu8xUYaaoEI8h1V0b0hl4NSALQUJ8lA_ggKz50-t1P5FSmHec0af4VqtWDxRS5bLqhYtOCIDLQk0lThSs3t9Ef9JMN0K6mzeXxv4zc5Vy/s2048/IMG_1307.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A small green platform sits just below the water, visible next to a green canoe on the surface of a marsh" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHYJ7XTu8H0JcPCfCAKQcJkA9Lfg8oxEENl1_ewUd1ESteb7nf64bte03hp9nlPmk-aUb2hNNX8nGJNIAu8xUYaaoEI8h1V0b0hl4NSALQUJ8lA_ggKz50-t1P5FSmHec0af4VqtWDxRS5bLqhYtOCIDLQk0lThSs3t9Ef9JMN0K6mzeXxv4zc5Vy/w300-h400/IMG_1307.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>For me, this was an important lesson about how dynamic wetlands are. Water levels can change fast. And year-to-year conditions are often different, which could be one reason that rails might need to pay attention to the calls of other rails when trying to find appropriate habitat (which there isn’t much of anymore) in a given spring. With my understanding of water level fluctuations better established, and some new sites chosen, I set up my audio playback gear on the platforms and (I think) succeeded at getting the calls going before the rails began arriving. Here is a playback station with the speaker, timer, and battery in a secure plastic tote:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1VmljOvhDsixHt3Y26rqhByZY426TCdT7P9yrjuIz_BHuMmMwp7VSD718IammPH0Flt9HVGO6YmVXDHntZWsyP0F4HHVFO59bVQxjgRlijhqbLFKDsyk_fSWO6ukiqO0bSdm2AUcF58sEhsA_G9imCCStlncTzRg4QlYiVK_EBG3doTb1fpwGDK/s2048/IMG_1288.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A small green platform stands in a marsh with a clear plastic tote on top of it, which is full of recording and broadcasting equipment" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1VmljOvhDsixHt3Y26rqhByZY426TCdT7P9yrjuIz_BHuMmMwp7VSD718IammPH0Flt9HVGO6YmVXDHntZWsyP0F4HHVFO59bVQxjgRlijhqbLFKDsyk_fSWO6ukiqO0bSdm2AUcF58sEhsA_G9imCCStlncTzRg4QlYiVK_EBG3doTb1fpwGDK/w400-h300/IMG_1288.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>For the rest of the field season, everything was more or less "smooth railing." Every week I arrived to my study sites before sunrise and then got to spend a morning with the birds. I hope that my time in the field will help determine if more rails occurred near the audio playback stations compared to sites where nightly audio playback didn’t occur. If so, that could indicate that audio playback might be a helpful tool for guiding rails to appropriate habitat. I look forward to finding out! </div><div><br /></div><div>If you are interested in learning more about this research, and don’t want to wait for the scientific article that I’m working on, you can check out this story by Interlochen Public Radio: <a href="https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/show/points-north/2022-08-19/thin-as-a-rail">Thin As A Rail | Interlochen Public Radio</a>.</div>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-71130799508604717822022-07-21T13:38:00.002-04:002022-07-22T14:16:57.838-04:00Adventures in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary<i>By Cassidy Beach, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Intern (learn more about Michigan Sea Grant's <a href="https://www.michiganseagrant.org/student-opportunities/michigan-sea-grant-environmental-internship/">summer internship program</a>)</i><br /><br />This summer I began my internship with the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS), a partner of Michigan Sea Grant. The sanctuary is located in northwestern Lake Huron and aims to protect a nationally significant collection of nearly 100 historic shipwrecks in Lake Huron. Through research, education, and community involvement, the sanctuary works to ensure future generations can enjoy these underwater treasures. TBNMS also facilitates other sciences to study climate change, invasive species, lake biology, geology and water quality.<div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98J5jNaRdy188QZvutrVruvvZV-g8AhcY0zi4R9W5sZvQsMhplZte7_Bwh51bSPRbjVS7ZGsxt0x7BQSfBS4BFY1k5DGSRzXG9SeK-fmt0LnlSVlFOO5OiukA1c85MIoAwSPW6OeAGiNHRityqxe6yK_OhQ5DYDNd0NdRNHiPE7upbx22EbOMpI6R/s2048/pasted%20image%200.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98J5jNaRdy188QZvutrVruvvZV-g8AhcY0zi4R9W5sZvQsMhplZte7_Bwh51bSPRbjVS7ZGsxt0x7BQSfBS4BFY1k5DGSRzXG9SeK-fmt0LnlSVlFOO5OiukA1c85MIoAwSPW6OeAGiNHRityqxe6yK_OhQ5DYDNd0NdRNHiPE7upbx22EbOMpI6R/w640-h456/pasted%20image%200.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb12d79f-7fff-b3a8-686e-0e09a03c07ad"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Map of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Shipwrecks. Credit: TBNMS</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Over the past few years I have really gotten to know the wonderful staff at the sanctuary. Two summers ago, I received my Open Water Dive certification with Stephanie Gandulla, who is now my research mentor here. She welcomed me like family into the sanctuary’s crew and now I get to play an important role here. Stephanie, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and I are working on the first ever acidification research in the Great Lakes! When I heard about the importance of this project, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. What makes this internship even more special is that we are researching and teaching the public about a very pressing topic right in my hometown!<br /><br />Acidification has been known to occur in the ocean and now we are beginning to research it in the Great Lakes. The process begins with an excess of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and large scale forest fires mainly. Over time, carbon dioxide is absorbed by oceans and lakes. It reacts with water to create carbonic acid which is known to be harmful in these ecosystems. It can promote the growth of harmful algal blooms which oftentimes block oxygen and sunlight from reaching deeper waters. Organisms below need these sources of nutrients to survive. Acidification can make it difficult for fish to grow, reproduce and metabolize. Carbonic acid also eats away at shells and makes calcium carbonate less available to organisms that need it to build shells and skeletons. This means they become thinner and more brittle. This is clearly an issue happening around all of us! An important thing to know is that you can make a difference by advocating for renewable energy sources, promoting public transportation and carpool options, shopping locally and many other things! If you're interested in learning about more ways to combat climate change and ocean/freshwater acidification feel free to contact me at cbeachce@umich.edu!<br /><br />This topic is very important to all of us here at TBNMS so we were ecstatic to start this project. Typically, we go on the research vessel every week to collect water samples. The dive team at TBNMS is taking samples at depth and I am in charge of sampling the surface waters. To do so, I am using a peristaltic pump to squeeze bubbles out of the water and an instrument called a YSI (Yellow Springs Instruments- digital sampling instrument) to collect data on temperature, depth and salinity of the water. Three samples are collected at the surface each time: one to measure total carbon, one to measure dissolved organic carbon and one to measure total alkalinity, which is the water’s capacity to resist acidic changes in pH. After we finish the sampling process we send them to GLERL [NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory] in Ann Arbor for Dr. Reagan Errera to analyze for important water chemistry indicators.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHamT2ZOZsDIFCAN_h5-m7QDMYtgPmu-PyU1EfyOjraTuZvmbPYoM-A312aCeBhpBdpg__JgjOohB0SjJm-6rNV75vxij2rZQF2-2HtVJPj5z7ygRpbZaqOfUe1BoJsvbqG5NNhwIQraSNttoZHoucYNQbW4wqFR0Bhz4wS7kAmzF1sScgKrM_gj4/s2048/IMG_4463.JPEG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHamT2ZOZsDIFCAN_h5-m7QDMYtgPmu-PyU1EfyOjraTuZvmbPYoM-A312aCeBhpBdpg__JgjOohB0SjJm-6rNV75vxij2rZQF2-2HtVJPj5z7ygRpbZaqOfUe1BoJsvbqG5NNhwIQraSNttoZHoucYNQbW4wqFR0Bhz4wS7kAmzF1sScgKrM_gj4/w480-h640/IMG_4463.JPEG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-51a081a3-7fff-917c-8b4d-df454e578f5a"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephanie (left) and Cassidy (right) collecting water samples on a research vessel. Credit: NOAA</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkfZtXHpS63faKHrPkhhpAm8xRwSgcIrbnR6OdGuEXYHGBeEec3aPLCmKHVhnQapnnTsLYfsZUgkgh0oSMgTHHmnf7KZKN7DOjdMktpImnG0WEvc6CgCPfP8sdiVomT17OB4t7KWw7JD64R22Ndf0xFABDMR7-AtvDRbLuQ26G-LJwdB24ZyFsXm6/s1476/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%201.27.14%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1476" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkfZtXHpS63faKHrPkhhpAm8xRwSgcIrbnR6OdGuEXYHGBeEec3aPLCmKHVhnQapnnTsLYfsZUgkgh0oSMgTHHmnf7KZKN7DOjdMktpImnG0WEvc6CgCPfP8sdiVomT17OB4t7KWw7JD64R22Ndf0xFABDMR7-AtvDRbLuQ26G-LJwdB24ZyFsXm6/w640-h302/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%201.27.14%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c5a2ab48-7fff-3283-e7f7-70ea3d6fd5ee"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3b3b3b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RV </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3b3b3b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Storm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3b3b3b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> docked in front of the offices of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: NOAA</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>This project really has been a great experience thus far. We are really trying to engage our community in the science behind this project. We have a station at the TBNMS visitor center set up for me to talk to the public about freshwater acidification and how it works. We will create a social media campaign and a one pager for more people to join in and learn about it as well! Overall, this project has been very rewarding and it has only been a month since I’ve started! I have experienced so many new things: working on a glass bottom boat, educating tourists and locals about climate change, meeting Viking Cruise passengers, participating in a news interview and most importantly working with scientists!<br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfrLJlrCgb5EjMLGlMXUVriMETNKco3zwD7o69ssfxIxQsazmtogeHies8j5wLU4BwtLWqLBVHAP8pqGD-jKLq7bUQesFx7l5DvH2w0SNjcEDDm4Dc7BIRKj--DMzNPAsrepznFpAr-NahMIg0PHyVBQoVaaRQw-pnfTeP0hJynGyM2oF20-OYsFJ/s2048/20220624_120456.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfrLJlrCgb5EjMLGlMXUVriMETNKco3zwD7o69ssfxIxQsazmtogeHies8j5wLU4BwtLWqLBVHAP8pqGD-jKLq7bUQesFx7l5DvH2w0SNjcEDDm4Dc7BIRKj--DMzNPAsrepznFpAr-NahMIg0PHyVBQoVaaRQw-pnfTeP0hJynGyM2oF20-OYsFJ/w640-h480/20220624_120456.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-267abc8a-7fff-a79a-1fa4-d4efbc274400"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cassidy educating visitors about freshwater acidification. Credit: Caleb O'brien</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-34981057077642846462021-09-16T10:29:00.000-04:002021-09-16T10:29:48.330-04:00Making changes: A new vision for Assateague State Park<div><i>By Kate Vogel, Coastal Management Fellow</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>In my fellowship experience with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, I’ve truly learned the importance of collaboration. Whether I am working within different units in the DNR, or partnering with community organizations, I’ve learned that innovative partnerships are going to be the epitome of climate change adaptation and resilience. The focus of my work is to write climate change adaptation and resilience plans for three state lands: Assateague State Park, Browns Branch Wildlife Management Area, and Pocomoke State Forest. My project stemmed from maps created through a partnership with the <a href="https://www.esrgc.org/">Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative</a> at Salisbury University, which showed areas on these state lands that were vulnerable to climate change, or ranked highly in ecological value. Using these maps allowed me to guide conversations with land managers to identify problem areas and adaptation opportunities on site. Assateague State Park, despite being the smallest of the three, has proven to have a wide variety of areas where climate change is a concern.<div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaF0fR7rxysWMK4a0fhQkZHrobv99kOKq4FGt3ywkJzPVdjVRcg8ttmWFEqZ1uw53UX84hf1Otclas5SWAbtm8ikDa52mkfnjo-vqKSksMunqKRJmzWxPa616kaJXWNerQS8EHLWW8HXQ/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="905" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaF0fR7rxysWMK4a0fhQkZHrobv99kOKq4FGt3ywkJzPVdjVRcg8ttmWFEqZ1uw53UX84hf1Otclas5SWAbtm8ikDa52mkfnjo-vqKSksMunqKRJmzWxPa616kaJXWNerQS8EHLWW8HXQ/w400-h268/assateague+-+Copy.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-786d9462-7fff-7332-bbd9-922579d43f32"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climate vulnerability map for Assateague. Climate vulnerability is on the left, and ecological value is on the right, with darker colors representing higher scores.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As I continued my research and dialogue with partners on climate change threats and opportunities for adaptation, I decided to break down climate threats by their impacts: infrastructure, natural resources, human resources, cultural resources, and recreation. Each of the sites that I am working on is very different. Browns Branch Wildlife Management Area has historically been managed as an agricultural area with a small stream running through the site. Pocomoke State Forest is 18,000 acres of non-contiguous forest lands across the eastern shore of Maryland, offering many recreational opportunities, but not many recreational facilities. Assateague on the other hand, is a two mile stretch of dunes, beaches, and campsites on the Atlantic Ocean. It receives over 700,000 visitors every year and is host to many amenities including the beach itself, a restaurant, bike paths, public restrooms, changing areas, a nature center, ranger station, and boat launches. This makes Assateague unique in terms of recreational and infrastructure challenges -- Assateague’s facilities need to support large numbers of visitors while being resilient to worsening storms, increasing hurricanes, changing wind patterns, and increasing temperatures.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4PhPKcYB5V-BODRZICbb59Acbj4EMetR376qgD3yqVR8Euw78ebjOogqZT-CZ7eUx5mTxB7seV6bL7S2FvHizjbyxpTHsng1jJQzp4TSPeShOrrKjn8Tl0O43T9n15KN5SR9AHdiL3E/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="423" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4PhPKcYB5V-BODRZICbb59Acbj4EMetR376qgD3yqVR8Euw78ebjOogqZT-CZ7eUx5mTxB7seV6bL7S2FvHizjbyxpTHsng1jJQzp4TSPeShOrrKjn8Tl0O43T9n15KN5SR9AHdiL3E/w360-h400/unitmap.PNG" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of park regions.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>I’m not a coastal engineer, nor am I a geologist who knows how Assateague’s dunes will migrate over time. The more we analyzed maps and climate threats, we realized that campsites would be underwater or under sand, and that buildings would only continue to break down as they faced the brunt of intense winds and flooding. I was able to suggest moving roads and using mobile, elevated buildings in my site plan, but without tangible graphics and a site-based analysis of feasibility, I realized I did not have much evidence for why or how we should redesign the buildings and roads to be climate resilient, especially when many of the roads were recently redesigned in 2018. I was the new girl in the office who was saying “we should change the way you have historically done everything, even though I’ve never done it before… even though repairs were just made a few years ago.”<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVn-b_P0trnm7y0V8Fe4dyJHPyJwFr676d79D2c-0c9SkS9zqn9Fd5INUl40QCfvJTMOnbVw3mS2UsRIDagD0DVS-ph7yz1ss1WAUdulx0Dq0OkO0W_RYiD4xtETCp895KYi4VxWgEDoU/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVn-b_P0trnm7y0V8Fe4dyJHPyJwFr676d79D2c-0c9SkS9zqn9Fd5INUl40QCfvJTMOnbVw3mS2UsRIDagD0DVS-ph7yz1ss1WAUdulx0Dq0OkO0W_RYiD4xtETCp895KYi4VxWgEDoU/w400-h300/IMG_1085.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand covering the walkway at Assateague State Park. Photo: Kate Vogel </td></tr></tbody></table><br />So I decided to bring solutions with the help of my mentor. She suggested we could work with the University of Maryland (UMD) Architectural Studio. They have a program, <a href="https://arch.umd.edu/architecture/academics/partnership-action-learning-sustainability-pals">the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS)</a>, which connects students with real life projects and aims to find innovative ways to address climate change. We were able to get matched with two architectural studio classes: one to create designs for Assateague State Park’s ranger and camper registration building, which is slated to be reconstructed soon, and the other to redesign the concession stands and day use area, which also need updating. The first studio is taking place this summer, and has already been very eye opening, not only for me as it relates to my project, but for leaders in DNR Parks and Recreation, and Engineering and Construction. Good decisions take time, and that includes formulating plans to create innovative designs and determine which projects should be prioritized first over others. We were lucky in that right before the students visited Assateague, we had actually received the first draft of the state contractors’ designs for buildings. In very traditional drawings, the buildings were elevated and rectangular in addition to appearing more modern than the current building. They were exciting to see - and the students took the drawings even further.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExH1iFn79iE9zFI3Yt0Lt8WLJZd0VHTZp5fDs5qgPOesFrCCte_eoW5MnBBGRt4GBDniMJMId2B5Ca42l9wmJG2BKlcz6gCfGiO6xS6oTQkMC86WMMr7_Ul1K8JAWHyB0r1TtGoE6fJE/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExH1iFn79iE9zFI3Yt0Lt8WLJZd0VHTZp5fDs5qgPOesFrCCte_eoW5MnBBGRt4GBDniMJMId2B5Ca42l9wmJG2BKlcz6gCfGiO6xS6oTQkMC86WMMr7_Ul1K8JAWHyB0r1TtGoE6fJE/" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ranger station at Assateague State Park. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In presentations that occurred once every 1.5 weeks, the four UMD students presented their diagrams to a multidisciplinary team of UMD professors, MD DNR staff from Engineering and Construction and Chesapeake and Coastal Services, and JRS architects. Our climate change mission at Assateague State Park is to “to conserve and foster an appreciation of the natural resources of Assateague State Park and to continue to provide substantial recreational opportunities for as long as possible in a sustainable manner.” The students rose to the challenge of making this a reality. Their ideas conceptualized dune migration over time, and they showed how it would be possible to change campground layouts without compromising campsite availability, while allowing dunes to migrate. They proposed new solutions for increasing shading in the day use area, an increasing concern of park staff as temperatures increase and heat stress becomes more common. Students identified opportunities for educational landscapes, where visitors could learn about the history of the land, dune processes, biodiversity, and more. Building designs included passive ways to harness wind and solar energy, while creating an engaging, welcoming, and natural landscape for visitors. Creative elevation designs showcased opportunities for reducing impervious surfaces and increasing ADA accessibility, so that the building will be inclusive for all guests and utilize techniques to reduce flooding on site. Building designs referenced indigenous architecture and prioritized connectivity and flow among office spaces and public spaces. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpV2tLCRdRvezRBUw4RRzVxJo6ZyiBwmnOrheRxuAibULnrS02xz7lp0srVlV2ATepnZJRPAM2vTgVJU4fMGGXnncgLMSqTh8ImHJz2z6gtV67E3D7yG-JnbypMW2SaVRtSpTVHMH-C4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="2834" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpV2tLCRdRvezRBUw4RRzVxJo6ZyiBwmnOrheRxuAibULnrS02xz7lp0srVlV2ATepnZJRPAM2vTgVJU4fMGGXnncgLMSqTh8ImHJz2z6gtV67E3D7yG-JnbypMW2SaVRtSpTVHMH-C4/w640-h250/image.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2cdf3ce8-7fff-3b00-cf75-2fb8689d5e99"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sample graphic from Yan Konon, a student with the University of Maryland Architecture Design Studio</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Credit: University of Maryland Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table>The students were able to build off of the coastal program’s climate change research by showing that it is possible to be innovative and still create feasible construction designs that will withstand a changing climate. Coming to our design teams empty-handed, and not as an engineer or architect, would have made me ill-prepared for explaining how our climate change adaptation vision could be implemented. After listening in on calls, park leadership and members of engineering and construction said the designs were “surprising” and “inspired ways for E & C to get more creative.” We were also told that an amendment to the design timeframe may allow for student designs to be considered by the professional JRS architects, and might allow for the inclusion of an educational landscape for visitor engagement, which was not originally in the design plan.<br /><br />Good things take time. Good things also are made possible by collaboration and resource sharing. Climate change is going to require that we think outside of typical design requirements and recognize the need for adaptable designs. As we analyze project designs to respond to climate change, we should think about engaging new and different partners and remember that there is so much more room for creativity, connectivity, and education in our lives, as long as we embrace it. <br /></div>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-28801611847399039632021-08-18T15:44:00.001-04:002021-08-18T15:44:11.213-04:00Sampling Lake St. Clair's Bioswales with Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro<div><i>By Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>My name is Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro. I am the first (hopefully of many more) University of Detroit Mercy student to become a Michigan Sea Grant Intern.<div><br /></div><div>My project evaluates levels of Fecal Indicator Bacteria (specifically <i>E. coli</i> and coliforms) with respect to invasive plant species in a network of bioswales at Lake St. Clair Metropark.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2013, Lake St. Clair underwent a 5-million-dollar green space renovation in order to create a network of 8 bioswales that would redirect stormwater runoff into Point Rosa marsh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bioswales are networks of green space infrastructure designed to mimic natural systems and redirect storm water runoff to Point Rosa Marsh at Lake St. Clair Metropark.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsOzQZNqyumvJIdDrKaWzS4Lm4RO0YGcBHhiMicmHB9JWPVZidtyp5vVJRJLsaPKmv1Kf9o8qVcR_4DjB4cwshqIIUneiDEtG_CwHayZPbIv9uegcUh7tXKFKPNHw8VQx_RdnFPhMdR7E/s1652/IMG_5145+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1652" data-original-width="1560" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsOzQZNqyumvJIdDrKaWzS4Lm4RO0YGcBHhiMicmHB9JWPVZidtyp5vVJRJLsaPKmv1Kf9o8qVcR_4DjB4cwshqIIUneiDEtG_CwHayZPbIv9uegcUh7tXKFKPNHw8VQx_RdnFPhMdR7E/w605-h640/IMG_5145+%25281%2529.JPG" width="605" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting water samples and water chemistry data of bioswales-network at Lake St. Clair Metropark. Photo: Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Invasive plant species, <i>Phragmites australis</i> (Common Reed) and <i>Hydrocharis morsus-ranae</i> (European Frogbit) have overtaken the bioswales and marsh. We know from primary literature that invasive species can alter bacterial communities.</div><div><br /></div><div>My research has shown that the bioswale network is failing to sustain fecal indicator bacteria levels at EPA limits for recreational water regardless of the presence or absence of invasive plants. All bioswales scored (statistically) at or above EPA limits for both <i>E. coli</i> and coliforms.<br /><br />My project is in collaboration with Lake St. Clair Metropark and Wayne State University. One of the most enjoyable parts of my summer internship is the collaborative experience I’ve had with other researchers. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA29f0WQOYwfNtbvCfmlFNrIx7aDu7R6vJ2vt7mXCugXM7-ZsHOu02PNteSQIC6rtJv8pMLZpHscbEUuk52aSNcTvzJywl4jpVaTbNhauOClhSlSycea6rQ5x-EVma5hSHsf8ocjZIt2Y/s1949/IMG_5143+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1949" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA29f0WQOYwfNtbvCfmlFNrIx7aDu7R6vJ2vt7mXCugXM7-ZsHOu02PNteSQIC6rtJv8pMLZpHscbEUuk52aSNcTvzJywl4jpVaTbNhauOClhSlSycea6rQ5x-EVma5hSHsf8ocjZIt2Y/w400-h270/IMG_5143+%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">Running into Brittany Bonnic-Khalil, lab manager at Wayne State University's HEART field station at Lake St. Clair. Photo: </span>Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksQhlWYOTJP-y9_vtNap43iedKZTB9teM9i42-nNFByCNs6L_X3WckFesluFG02QHBijhM6wP_AhHXvmBFQWxHnGMiwjNMccBXNgB5Fq56wEj_so4QB3WEF_4FoXZ1N5icm2_Pi92VNk/s1813/IMG_5146+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1813" data-original-width="1560" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksQhlWYOTJP-y9_vtNap43iedKZTB9teM9i42-nNFByCNs6L_X3WckFesluFG02QHBijhM6wP_AhHXvmBFQWxHnGMiwjNMccBXNgB5Fq56wEj_so4QB3WEF_4FoXZ1N5icm2_Pi92VNk/w344-h400/IMG_5146+%25281%2529.JPG" width="344" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Analyzing IDEXX results after 24-hour incubation period. A yellow appearance in the Quanti-tray sleeve results positive for total coliforms in the sample. Photo: Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnxwgALjJzJ6gsl8KyhFrm0iYaJppG9j9LC-d-CMeIZzDJ8JlYlDG207AcrX6D3VpYFo4PNddsKKYwoq1ooQTBWWRtau67FlznefhECMCLCBymzjvcx9WzJ0lSrE3LUq81G-PiwcPS7I/s2047/IMG_5147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="2047" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnxwgALjJzJ6gsl8KyhFrm0iYaJppG9j9LC-d-CMeIZzDJ8JlYlDG207AcrX6D3VpYFo4PNddsKKYwoq1ooQTBWWRtau67FlznefhECMCLCBymzjvcx9WzJ0lSrE3LUq81G-PiwcPS7I/w400-h330/IMG_5147.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using IDEXX sealer housed in WSU's HEART lab to quantify total coliforms and <i>E. coli.</i> Photo: Cynthia Gutierrez Navarro </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Geneva Langelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384227887764913060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-69089032312103040692021-07-28T11:10:00.000-04:002021-07-28T11:10:51.141-04:00Adventures in electrofishing: A fish modeler gets a feel for the real world<p> <i>By Emily Morgan Liljestrand, @fishmodeler</i></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt11WaFbWpsB3t4UQsquYq1Box3hY4JS_RX9Gp4vmXBeFPpuXYElWeu4UFQ3criezhm2zb7DX0DAvpCA84ohyphenhyphenf4p1XWO-D_SAzxvt7LXiSZqFqMAv9YUDSoz_zkG8AW_xYABUsiSiL9E/s1907/IMG-5924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1907" data-original-width="1430" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt11WaFbWpsB3t4UQsquYq1Box3hY4JS_RX9Gp4vmXBeFPpuXYElWeu4UFQ3criezhm2zb7DX0DAvpCA84ohyphenhyphenf4p1XWO-D_SAzxvt7LXiSZqFqMAv9YUDSoz_zkG8AW_xYABUsiSiL9E/w300-h400/IMG-5924.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily with a white sucker in her net. Photo: Emily Liljestrand</td></tr></tbody></table><br />My girlfriend’s primary concern was for the safety of the fish.<br /><br />My biggest worry was getting electrocuted.<br /><br />We were discussing my plans the following weekend to assist a colleague on an electrofishing trip. Despite the intimidating and dangerous sounding name -- spoiler alert -- no fish were harmed and no humans were shocked! Both of us, it seems, were quite ignorant of what is actually involved in this common fisheries science technique. <br /><br />As a political scientist, my partner had never even <i>heard</i> of electrofishing, and though I am a fisheries science PhD candidate at Michigan State University, I’m more of an “indoor” researcher. My dissertation project involves re-working stock assessment models of Lake Whitefish. But when my colleague, <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/joshua-hoekwater">Josh Hoekwater</a>, asked for my help with his research on resource competition between slimy sculpin and round goby, I jumped at the opportunity to get outside for once.<br /><br />If Michigan can be approximated using one’s left hand, the Jordan River is approximately at the cuticle of the ring finger. After the 3-hour drive from Lansing, we parked near a bridge overcrossing the river. While I grabbed a hand net, Josh donned his “proton-pack” style backpack electrofishing unit.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6P-u8BB7vrfXTLZ1PcYPc_Q4qpCyd5PovrGV-P7hqIEKsmYsYeuwXG3c2Xkv16gy2Ld4-lYgCpVlLmiNWqoWM6GNtGVCx76lYpMhg6OawKiHPHtYu4Ln-kCHrhQsJ8amwYzFV4HiMk9o/s2048/IMG-5900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6P-u8BB7vrfXTLZ1PcYPc_Q4qpCyd5PovrGV-P7hqIEKsmYsYeuwXG3c2Xkv16gy2Ld4-lYgCpVlLmiNWqoWM6GNtGVCx76lYpMhg6OawKiHPHtYu4Ln-kCHrhQsJ8amwYzFV4HiMk9o/w300-h400/IMG-5900.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua Hoekwater, doing his best ghostbusters impersonation. Photo: Emily Liljestrand</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The “backpack,” seen in the picture, is connected to a handheld electrofishing wand. When Josh pulled a trigger, the metal ring of the wand would emit a low frequency and nonlethal electric current to stun fish. Reclusive tiny species like the sculpin or goby, which hide under submerged detritus, would float to the surface. That’s when I came in. Net in hand, I would spot the disoriented individuals and scoop them up before the river could carry them downstream. Once we confirmed the fish identity, we could toss them back to their homes to recover and resume their mid-day activities. <br /><br />Occasionally, when I splashed my hand into the water while the electrofishing unit was active, I could feel the gentle buzzing that the fish were experiencing. Far from the sensation of touching a power outlet, the feeling conjured mental images of eating pop rocks or sitting in a vibrating massage chair. And though Josh’s pack had a heavy, scary-looking industrial battery attached to the bottom, there was a safety mechanism such that if the unit even touched the water, the entire thing would disconnect, eliminating the possibility of electrocution. Ultimately both my and my girlfriend’s worries were unfounded!<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRT4GJBdG3EStXBuuyZrxQH5i_szIku_sXy5B8iOtNW8mhVjVgrd3rqidEnhFNj16ql8aRJ81qQN0FhJkshYSXU2rKt_TzQpanvLTa-EQC5sOVBnUJ9aRwNL3GJh139D3ofLMEcTq2TJs/s2048/IMG-5915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRT4GJBdG3EStXBuuyZrxQH5i_szIku_sXy5B8iOtNW8mhVjVgrd3rqidEnhFNj16ql8aRJ81qQN0FhJkshYSXU2rKt_TzQpanvLTa-EQC5sOVBnUJ9aRwNL3GJh139D3ofLMEcTq2TJs/w300-h400/IMG-5915.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sculpin netted by the author. Note that the two pelvic fins identify it as a sculpin, and not a round goby. Photo: Emily Liljestrand</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Though Josh and I identified about five of the endangered slimy sculpins that day, no invasive round goby made it into our net (there’s always the chance that one of the few individuals that got away from me may have been the latter). This was a great finding for the environment, but a bad day for Josh. He was hoping to find sections of the river that were only occupied by sculpins, areas only populated by goby, and regions where they coexist. Once he does so, his next step is to strategically place submerged cameras to monitor how they compete for space with the long term goal of better understanding the ecosystem and how to maintain our fisheries. <br /><br />So, alas, the following Monday found Josh back at the drawing board, revisiting the maps and planning new exploratory outings. And I was back to my desk, my three monitors, and my air conditioning, combing through computer code. But I was happy for the reprieve in the “real world” of fisheries science. Sometimes looking too long at numbers on a screen can make a gal forget what those numbers represent, and I was grateful for the reminder.</div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-6429603832735024562021-07-21T15:54:00.001-04:002021-07-21T15:54:58.126-04:00An otter ate my homework: Updates from intern Rachel London<i>Meet Rachel London, one of Michigan Sea Grant's 2021 summer interns! Rachel is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University. This summer, she is working with the MSU Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division to explore the potential causes of reported skin lesions in smallmouth bass. Here's an update about her project:</i><br /><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1tuobPZrp0vrW_DtjAJzTseK08FmhP3pJufwt4QdyNtyxVkthLdLH2VWcxyW-CsVqJuxRa0j6apSmR8zFMCRHboAeNA1xjh5UylZQRsZmkzxR2G7eA4FUegdymTAcFoqFqtZaUjjUsU/s2048/IMG_3442+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1tuobPZrp0vrW_DtjAJzTseK08FmhP3pJufwt4QdyNtyxVkthLdLH2VWcxyW-CsVqJuxRa0j6apSmR8zFMCRHboAeNA1xjh5UylZQRsZmkzxR2G7eA4FUegdymTAcFoqFqtZaUjjUsU/w300-h400/IMG_3442+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Skin lesion on a smallmouth bass. Photo: Rachel London<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>I recently traveled to Sault Ste. Marie to coordinate with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. I learned how to boom shock [a method of using electricity to temporarily stun and collect fish] and found 7 "amazing" lesions on 7 different fish. I utilized the non-lethal sampling techniques that I have been piloting on all 7 fish. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslaD0en8nNo5IPRybmk8AsyvA-SEZY3EeCmEXbXJV1L1WyOyAewQagxeRDuq-8QCJ-hskL843q3-Qsa8E8UWzXXwmC1Kis2FPfa0iTqkIT51hGGrxmb_ONbHwW-L546uD67Oqk3k-cvY/s2048/IMG_8796+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslaD0en8nNo5IPRybmk8AsyvA-SEZY3EeCmEXbXJV1L1WyOyAewQagxeRDuq-8QCJ-hskL843q3-Qsa8E8UWzXXwmC1Kis2FPfa0iTqkIT51hGGrxmb_ONbHwW-L546uD67Oqk3k-cvY/w400-h300/IMG_8796+%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boom shocking equipment on a sampling boat. Photo: Rachel London</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, when we returned to the net pen the next morning, 5 of the fish were missing from what we believe to be an "otter attack." So, an otter literally ate my research. Fortunately, we still lethally analyzed the remaining 2 fish, and I am hoping to return to Sault Ste. Marie again within the next few weeks to find more fish.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbhn4VJ_24nfTpSC6PSTfd8OAjaKQq-l9vTtb6qbiUJApOBpMAuJ14Kh75iskHpojJntNgUOf6SUitQEEN1Lr_s7UDUTo3UmR5L27F3Ucrmu8bbxgFR4kZDw3XYkeJp-ymCGtXvBqm_w/s2048/IMG_3472+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbhn4VJ_24nfTpSC6PSTfd8OAjaKQq-l9vTtb6qbiUJApOBpMAuJ14Kh75iskHpojJntNgUOf6SUitQEEN1Lr_s7UDUTo3UmR5L27F3Ucrmu8bbxgFR4kZDw3XYkeJp-ymCGtXvBqm_w/w400-h300/IMG_3472+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ready to scoop up a fish -- or fend off an otter. Photo: Rachel London</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-81517978118449770362021-07-13T12:06:00.001-04:002021-07-13T13:41:44.657-04:00A Work in Progress: Reflections on Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2021 and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in the Ocean and Great Lakes Policy Sphere<i>By So-Jung Youn,
Knauss Fellow,
Policy and Constituent Affairs Division,
NOAA National Ocean Service </i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Note: This post was originally published on NOAA Sea Grant's <a href="https://seagrant.noaa.gov/knauss-blog/ArtMID/2805/ArticleID/2860/A-Work-in-Progress">Knauss blog</a> and is republished here with the author's permission.</i><br /><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoye5RkRjPyw_PK0eMD_ttht66HkxbSBYKWeJ0npYJ2COmJ6NUmkXGUTdDAufUJ2lid9VlKOr9yxwfqwlUqTqKGY0BgKUI5vLySL6SPXR_hAsqvgYMZMzbmGProCefLJe1CmzaUUwHNTM/s326/youn_mi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoye5RkRjPyw_PK0eMD_ttht66HkxbSBYKWeJ0npYJ2COmJ6NUmkXGUTdDAufUJ2lid9VlKOr9yxwfqwlUqTqKGY0BgKUI5vLySL6SPXR_hAsqvgYMZMzbmGProCefLJe1CmzaUUwHNTM/s320/youn_mi.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So-Jung Youn</td></tr></tbody></table>Even after half a year of remote work, I still get nervous when logging onto a virtual meeting. Somehow, my internet always seems to cut out right before an important meeting or deadline. So, with a quick plea that my internet connection would remain stable, I clicked on the link for the <a href="https://marinesanctuary.org/capitol-hill-ocean-week-2021/">Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2021</a> breakout session (<i>Leading JEDI from Within</i>) that I had spent weeks planning as part of my Knauss Fellowship. And...the internet held out! For a few minutes anyway. Then I lost all video input, but at least I could still hear the panelists. Such are the joys of attending a virtual conference.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), annually convened by the <a href="http://marinesanctuary.org/">National Marine Sanctuary Foundation</a> (NMSF), gathers people from around the U.S. and across sectors to engage in dialogue about how to sustain the health of our ocean and the Great Lakes. Since 2001, scientists, policymakers, scholars, businesses, and conservation leaders have attended CHOW to learn about current ocean and Great Lakes policy issues. For the past 2 years, CHOW has been a completely virtual event. </div><div><br /></div><div>The theme of CHOW 2021 was <i>Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Sustaining our Ocean and Great Lakes</i>. Over three days (June 8-10), attendees heard from diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) advocates and leaders throughout the United States, U.S. territories, and Indigenous nations. While most speakers were optimistic about current efforts and future progress, the panels highlighted how, in a lot of ways, we are still at the beginnings of DEIJ in ocean and Great Lakes spaces. Many panelists highlighted the meaningful change that could occur if each attendee decided to intentionally do one thing differently as a result of the talks they heard at CHOW. Speakers also emphasized that DEIJ is ongoing, continual work that never ends; but we shouldn’t let perfection or the fear of falling short get in the way of making progress, however small. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another key theme was the importance of relationships in creating change and making a difference. Many speakers discussed the importance of mentorship and support in their own journeys. They urged attendees to find someone they could mentor and influence, and most importantly, stay with those people throughout their career (Thanks to Senator Cantwell for mentioning Sea Grant’s fellowships and the need to continue growing these opportunities!). </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the responsibilities of my Knauss Fellowship position was to help coordinate the National Ocean Service’s (NOS) participation during Capitol Hill Ocean Week. We decided to host a panel discussion on the progress NOAA has made toward DEIJ efforts and the work that still needs to be done. The panel was moderated by Nicole LeBoeuf, the Acting Assistant Administrator for NOS, and featured DEIJ advocates and leaders throughout NOAA. The panelists noted that while DEIJ is an organizational value of NOAA that is championed at all levels, there is still work to be done in keeping individuals engaged and making sure DEIJ efforts are visible and opportunities are available to all employees. </div><div><br /></div><div>I’ve struggled my entire life with whether, and how, to engage with DEIJ efforts. On one side, I know firsthand the importance of being a DEIJ advocate at the individual and institutional levels. I’ve been fortunate in my opportunities because of the people who took a chance on me and the people, past and present, who worked to realize their vision of a more inclusive and equitable society than the one they live in. On the other hand, as one CHOW speaker noted, “The biggest challenge is always fighting.” DEIJ work is exhausting. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve been very involved (Asian American and Korean American groups in college, DEI committees and initiatives during grad school), and then burned out, refusing to have any involvement whatsoever. The reality, however, is that as someone whose name and appearance are obviously non-white, I always have to be a DEIJ advocate, no matter how tired I am, regardless of whether I want to be an advocate or not. And, as exhausting as that work can be, listening to the speakers at CHOW renewed my energy for engaging in DEIJ work. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gB5PPE3DrZNwFw4UBAYy68D14pMfex8N9bcS9roSa1Cxo94TdqaDqFVAYj7NVs5toZs-8c5UobtWck51dP_8bdksJQLNwLGV5RHCAIsncfAlPI3W0AU1wBLTc4yww4fMvcRf7wUzCrQ/s720/korean-american-students-association-booth-at-wm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gB5PPE3DrZNwFw4UBAYy68D14pMfex8N9bcS9roSa1Cxo94TdqaDqFVAYj7NVs5toZs-8c5UobtWck51dP_8bdksJQLNwLGV5RHCAIsncfAlPI3W0AU1wBLTc4yww4fMvcRf7wUzCrQ/s320/korean-american-students-association-booth-at-wm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So-Jung Youn and other executive board members of the Korean American Students Association (KASA) display posters about KASA's activities and events during an event welcoming new students to the College of William and Mary.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>There’s something to be said for the strength and comfort you find in being surrounded by a community that’s passionate and dedicated to the same issues you care about. Listening to these speakers, I was inspired by their stories, dedication, and perseverance. These talks reminded me of why I wanted to go to graduate school and participate in the Knauss Fellowship: my interest in human connections to our natural resources and to each other. As so many speakers emphasized, relationships should be transformational, not transactional. In looking to increase DEIJ in our own spheres, it’s important to remember that we are all where we are now because of key people in our own pasts. So that’s the message I’m taking forward from CHOW 2021: DEIJ is always a work in progress, but there’s a wide community of support out there and each person, no matter where they are in their career, can make a difference in their own spheres of influence.</div></div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-78398319752656168482021-05-21T16:47:00.000-04:002021-05-21T16:47:00.721-04:00Down the street from the office: A tale about teleworking and how to make new fellows feel welcomeHello, all! My name is Kate Vogel, and in May 2020 I was paired to work with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as their Coastal Management Fellow. I had just received my M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, and I was eager to start something new. After a week of intense interviews, zoom calls, and pacing back and forth in the kitchen with my parents, it was my turn to hear the news… “Congratulations, you’ve been paired with Maryland DNR!” Now, a year later, I definitely feel like the luckiest fellow. Teleworking in the times of COVID isn’t easy, but with a good team, anything is possible. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdjNFExlRil_029HWG6mHv3DpJqQYwXeQaTNXSlfWwUfLBO-sIiMknJO-zdKexilC5wqXh_JehZ2HN5UuoBjQo36__4o9yyHH91kMh9pYkXZFA8VITfOmN4KuOM6wSKbcTLHddMI9_yg/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdjNFExlRil_029HWG6mHv3DpJqQYwXeQaTNXSlfWwUfLBO-sIiMknJO-zdKexilC5wqXh_JehZ2HN5UuoBjQo36__4o9yyHH91kMh9pYkXZFA8VITfOmN4KuOM6wSKbcTLHddMI9_yg/w400-h300/IMG_8303.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Vogel, Michigan Sea Grant Coastal Management Fellow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Within just a few weeks, I already felt like I was part of the team. My mentors sent me the most amazing care package -- a National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) shirt, Bergers Cookies, crab-seasoned potato chips, and a postcard with some Assateague ponies on it. I was invited to staff meetings, virtual happy hours, and even the NOAA 312 program evaluation, the five-year NOAA evaluation of the MD Coastal Program. I have to admit, at first it was nerve-wracking to show up in meetings with strangers, but the persistence of my mentors in introducing me to people, asking for my opinions in meetings, and treating me as an equal has been the key to my success. Everyone always has their cameras on in meetings, they never fail to introduce their pets, and they love asking questions about Michigan and sharing their own experiences in our beautiful state. Before I had even moved to Annapolis, it felt like I was starting to recognize people’s faces… my new coworkers even noticed when I got a haircut!<span id="docs-internal-guid-4a226100-7fff-a96f-5d5c-445705438fdd"><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjQEyW98WPAIsTXSyZT08Hl9qjp_pbiImDXR5iPY_cwvDHBaEMnB6fLIq_IZgNJYoFNtQExrU-qgJXmcBC-shXCTCkHoAH8zbOVJmy4NdLRgS8v7UJ8OzL1YqBca1gZAUgIwwvNNlRp8/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjQEyW98WPAIsTXSyZT08Hl9qjp_pbiImDXR5iPY_cwvDHBaEMnB6fLIq_IZgNJYoFNtQExrU-qgJXmcBC-shXCTCkHoAH8zbOVJmy4NdLRgS8v7UJ8OzL1YqBca1gZAUgIwwvNNlRp8/w400-h300/QAFZ5690.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Assateague Island National Seashore in March to learn about their adaptation efforts.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />When I finally moved to Annapolis, I realized I was just a ten-minute walk away from my office, which was my dream, but we were still teleworking. Nevertheless, on my first day of work in August I picked out a cubicle, worked with IT to get my laptop set up, ordered supplies, and explored Annapolis with my fellowship mentor. Working from home in a new state with a new job can be lonely, but starting my job already knowing some of my coworkers has completely changed the experience for me. Since starting, my mentors and coworkers have made it a priority to introduce me to new projects and opportunities in addition to my fellowship project. My main assignment is to write climate change adaptation and resilience plans for Assateague State Park, Pocomoke State Forest, and Browns Branch Wildlife Management area. I am really lucky in that I have been able to go on some incredible site visits to these areas to learn more about the climate change threats and opportunities, in addition to going on monthly hikes with my mentors. Other projects that I have gotten to work on include designing a “Walktober” campaign, planning Nature Play and NatureCity Conferences, participating in the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and in climate change coordination meetings, and many more! Having multiple responsibilities has made me feel very valued as someone new to the unit, and has given me the opportunity to learn about all of the great projects DNR works on!<br /><br />Often, I am asked what starting a new job virtually was like and how people can support new hires virtually. In my office, we might not go back to work until late fall or early next year, so I think there is a lot of value in asking these questions. Here are my tips:</span><div><span><br /><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Fellows</span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Mentors</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sign up for new opportunities </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go to the virtual coffee chats, happy hours, etc… even if you don’t participate, it’s great for associating people’s faces with their names! </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Research who you are working with to familiarize yourself with the work of your coworkers</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ask questions! </span></p></li></ul></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Invite your fellows to everything and anything </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use your cameras in meetings</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reach out to your new hires and check in on how they are doing, professionally and personally </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Introduce new employees to your coworkers! My mentors have done this via 20-minute “hallway chats”</span></p></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />I now live even closer to my office than I did before, and I am grateful to know that when we get to work in-person again I won’t feel like a stranger. Instead, I’ll get to walk by friends and coworkers as I walk down the decorated hallway to my cubicle that overlooks the garden. Starting a new job during a pandemic wasn’t easy, but seeing the development of my climate change plans and getting to collaborate with 25+ people on a new project for the state has been totally worth it, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!<br /></span></div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-184841594146072172021-01-05T16:58:00.000-05:002021-01-05T16:58:17.297-05:00From Finalist to Fellow: The beginning of my Knauss journey by So-Jung YounMy name is So-Jung Youn and, starting February 2021, I will be part of the newest cohort of John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellows. I’m currently a PhD candidate at the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. My advisor is Dr. William W. Taylor and my dissertation research is focused on the ecosystem services that the lake whitefish commercial fishery provides to Great Lakes coastal communities in Michigan.<div><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbygFBRuyZyA0rhXGKBztGGtLspIMYo4MfeYcHkoZlu4R3h2FB8pzNKTlrhiu-milfCPvGwyNrCCUoL-h-z0hMHFTwh83zNI3m6svoxk3NOuZzG1WeV-rWeT_KAQg2ZSiJhw08dusFQo/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbygFBRuyZyA0rhXGKBztGGtLspIMYo4MfeYcHkoZlu4R3h2FB8pzNKTlrhiu-milfCPvGwyNrCCUoL-h-z0hMHFTwh83zNI3m6svoxk3NOuZzG1WeV-rWeT_KAQg2ZSiJhw08dusFQo/w480-h640/IMG-20190711-WA0000.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whether in the field or at outreach events, fisheries biologists like So-Jung often spend plenty of time outdoors. Photo: Julia Whyte</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Ever since I heard about the Knauss Fellowship from previous Fellows in my graduate lab, back in 2013 when I first started graduate school, I was interested in working with Sea Grant locally (Michigan Sea Grant) and nationally, hoping one day to become a Knauss Fellow myself. The first step toward that goal was getting selected as a 2021 Knauss Finalist. While Placement Week sounds like it’s always an intense experience, this year’s shift to an all-virtual setting presented some unique moments. After navigating the challenges of technology glitches, random interruptions in internet connectivity, and the fatigue of staring at a screen for hours, I was placed with the Office of Policy and Constituent Affairs in NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS). I’ll be working with Glenn Boledovich as an Ocean and Coastal Policy Analyst. <br /><br />I’m very excited to be a Knauss Fellow and hope the experience will further my interest in how science is translated into policy creation and implementation in order to enhance and conserve our natural resources. While I’ve had some exposure to this process during my graduate school experiences, the Knauss Fellowship will give me the opportunity to observe, and engage with, the process at the federal level. For my career goals, my host office seems like the perfect fit. <br /><br />I’m excited to start this position and learn more about policy at both the executive and legislative levels of the federal government. And of course, I’m excited to hopefully meet my host office, as well as my Knauss cohort, in person later this upcoming year. </div><div><br /> <div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisU_7aLH44Q7z-BBcuEGMTo1UHHBrM0qdrg2O46wKzPmn98ah97rlu0meaT4GF1pea0xDExjDonkimpphP01mcJWJTGm2cBPmz8bFI2O3MEn6JUu7pmADrM4l0N7MYetsTzGZDgPleHl0/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisU_7aLH44Q7z-BBcuEGMTo1UHHBrM0qdrg2O46wKzPmn98ah97rlu0meaT4GF1pea0xDExjDonkimpphP01mcJWJTGm2cBPmz8bFI2O3MEn6JUu7pmADrM4l0N7MYetsTzGZDgPleHl0/s16000/lake+whitefish.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake whitefish, which So-Jung studies, are an important native species in the Great Lakes. Photo: Michigan Sea Grant</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div></div></div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-43253496726172027952020-09-14T16:11:00.001-04:002020-09-14T16:11:23.161-04:00Studying rock snot with Molly WozniakMy name is Molly Wozniak and I am currently a senior at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) studying fisheries and wildlife management, and I work at the Center for Freshwater Research and Education as the Student Education and Outreach Assistant and a Student Field Technician. This summer, I was a Michigan Sea Grant Environmental Intern and presented my research of the effects of <i>Didymosphenia geminata</i> on benthic macroinvertebrates. Today, I’d like to tell you about my research as an Environmental Intern and how I became interested in my research topic. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCKHsv56zFVMznVxmKUKLM-6u-LOkS-OHbVydgihIFIz6dmNdi9eeKOqHTJqBv6EsG7Zdt4UFSBuPcLAA5lOiI6iV4Wdc8CnQ0qSZmJuLDX6BFRP_44PD_p6n1_gW-klI66V0_kH9INs/s2048/IMG-7085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCKHsv56zFVMznVxmKUKLM-6u-LOkS-OHbVydgihIFIz6dmNdi9eeKOqHTJqBv6EsG7Zdt4UFSBuPcLAA5lOiI6iV4Wdc8CnQ0qSZmJuLDX6BFRP_44PD_p6n1_gW-klI66V0_kH9INs/w375-h500/IMG-7085.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Here’s me holding a big pile of didymo! Photo: Molly
Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Last summer, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the field with the LSSU Center for Freshwater Research and Education Little Rapids Restoration crew that works conducting post-restoration surveys of the Little Rapids of the St. Marys River. The Little Rapids restoration took place in 2016 when a causeway separating the rapids habitat was replaced with a multi-span bridge to restore flow to the previously stagnant area. This restoration was in effort to increase spawning habitat for fishes that live in the area, particularly salmonids. Since this flow restoration, the crew has been collecting larval fishes, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and fish egg samples to determine what species are utilizing this area for spawning and development purposes. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-slTji3Ox62zoMktCJWLGTJKUu480TN_MiWp7gjMj4VHj230gdi0DPR3Abo2aPuHiOD1y8D7UIQYYb8PIt2zXxUL8nHV2QRabuvtvgjAaPXy-rEIu8v05WL6wYaaKScYuPNH_Z129Q6Q/s1000/IMG-7975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-slTji3Ox62zoMktCJWLGTJKUu480TN_MiWp7gjMj4VHj230gdi0DPR3Abo2aPuHiOD1y8D7UIQYYb8PIt2zXxUL8nHV2QRabuvtvgjAaPXy-rEIu8v05WL6wYaaKScYuPNH_Z129Q6Q/w375-h500/IMG-7975.JPG" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Little Rapids area of the St. Marys River where I
conducted my field research and worked this summer. Photo: Molly Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>It was so fun to help the crew collect samples, but I noticed that when they would empty their nets into the collection containers, there was a lot of brown, slimy-looking gunk that was also collected. This mysterious gunk is actually a type of algae that is commonly referred to as “rock snot” or “didymo” (scientific name <i>Didymosphenia geminata</i>). I was instantly fascinated by this because didymo is an under-researched invasive species that grows on rocks in the substrate and produces long, dense stalks when it blooms, which is what the crew was collecting with our samples. Didymo is considered a nuisance due to these stalks because it has been found that they can smother the bottoms of rivers, thereby often reducing the quality of aquatic macroinvertebrates living in the ecosystem as well as being very visually unappealing to everyday recreationalists. Didymo is found throughout the world, particularly in New Zealand, where most research has taken place, but the St. Marys River is the only place it is found in Michigan. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zwo8duSFEkjOH65ycSFTI7iYOxd-dQ5682RVplBFdp3I5uC3YCYH5vQaB_1p12xq3wdJf0hG8wP2atvxayonJ1-LTlB-eWIIaj1IGDFbbdAby8kEGTjwLruOm8PvB5homhOMOfxAhkY/s2048/IMG-7236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zwo8duSFEkjOH65ycSFTI7iYOxd-dQ5682RVplBFdp3I5uC3YCYH5vQaB_1p12xq3wdJf0hG8wP2atvxayonJ1-LTlB-eWIIaj1IGDFbbdAby8kEGTjwLruOm8PvB5homhOMOfxAhkY/w375-h500/IMG-7236.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Stalks of didymo can be seen on the rocks from above the
water in the St. Marys River. Photo: Molly Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>After I first became familiar with didymo, I was so fascinated by it and was eager to learn more. I decided that I wanted to involve didymo with my senior thesis project at LSSU. This past summer, I was able to work on the Little Rapids Restoration crew and conduct my research through my Environmental Internship. My project consisted of sampling for benthic macroinvertebrates in areas with didymo and where didymo was manually removed. Finding sites to sample initially proved to be a challenge due to high water levels limiting accessibility to ideal sampling sites (and trying to put on a wetsuit for sampling was no easy task either). However, we were able to persevere and find sites that worked. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODQoc-G0VhEfQN3FkV9rsMR64brGHU9tCu2wJksG2B_bYY9XDiJT-rxF7sjNoyzO93Ikd9ZMWkLRgB6N6ELHD0UvkGyokVZTtmfvXczBgIJNJZqmViicER736gMzjBWihF54owStprvQ/s2048/IMG-7053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODQoc-G0VhEfQN3FkV9rsMR64brGHU9tCu2wJksG2B_bYY9XDiJT-rxF7sjNoyzO93Ikd9ZMWkLRgB6N6ELHD0UvkGyokVZTtmfvXczBgIJNJZqmViicER736gMzjBWihF54owStprvQ/w375-h500/IMG-7053.JPG" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Molly and her research mentor, Dr. Ashley Moerke, are
ready for field sampling after getting their wetsuits on. Photo: Molly Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Each site had paired quadrats that were sampled for aquatic invertebrates before any didymo was removed. After this initial sampling, one quadrat at each site was scrubbed clean of didymo, acting as the treatment and those still with didymo as the control. The sites were then sampled two weeks later to see if there was any difference in the macroinvertebrates collected. After collecting my data and spending time in the lab identifying all of the aquatic insects collected, which is a beloved activity of mine, I was able to finalize my results and present them at the Michigan Sea Grant Environmental Internship Symposium.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7573HVVxqR_WAdF9OLLRH4vxVucyB0XCCSMUbBex-ND8S9fgmkrGM2X1_xXMgt4tG_FjtAa8ixL1LGrtTewcfOKfm618lRULxilKR-_Lg1waAeHLOUksp1H3V9LEfqhu5YEYkvTTeVk/s638/IMG-7319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="638" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7573HVVxqR_WAdF9OLLRH4vxVucyB0XCCSMUbBex-ND8S9fgmkrGM2X1_xXMgt4tG_FjtAa8ixL1LGrtTewcfOKfm618lRULxilKR-_Lg1waAeHLOUksp1H3V9LEfqhu5YEYkvTTeVk/w400-h380/IMG-7319.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>A control plot from my research sites. Didymo can be seen
heavily coating the rocks in the area and the colored rocks mark the borders of
the sampling area. Photo: Molly Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I found that there was not a significant difference in the number of species of macroinvertebrates collected between the control and treatment plots and between initial and post sampling. Previous studies have shown that the tolerance quality of insects typically decreases in areas with didymo, but that did not seem to be the case in my project. This may be because it was a small area sampled (0.25m² per sampling event) or because the water quality and habitat of the area is of good quality. These conclusions will be further processed.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqfzObCWHKGjsfmLKRT6Nv9yowEWznqMnZjjxCJTlJZMAQSOAB0mviiYjJA3_G1bngPAgYCyL_dEfq0MP7HOi6fAUze5-v8feBwzq6S_1A8nYBvmmn83Rr4Nh_priHbDADfc2yxMn8zg/s713/IMG-7318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="713" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqfzObCWHKGjsfmLKRT6Nv9yowEWznqMnZjjxCJTlJZMAQSOAB0mviiYjJA3_G1bngPAgYCyL_dEfq0MP7HOi6fAUze5-v8feBwzq6S_1A8nYBvmmn83Rr4Nh_priHbDADfc2yxMn8zg/w500-h433/IMG-7318.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i>One of the treatment plots that was scrubbed clean of
didymo for my research. It’s crazy to see the difference between the two plots!
Photo: Molly Wozniak<o:p></o:p></i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Throughout my Michigan Sea Grant Environmental Internship, I learned so much and was able to have so many amazing experiences, like sharing my passion for my research to a broad audience at the Symposium. If you would like to learn more about didymo and how to prevent it, I created an outreach webpage as a part of my internship that is free and available to visit: <a href="http://www.lssu.edu/cfre/research/rock-snot">https://www.lssu.edu/cfre/research/rock-snot/</a> and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at <a href="mailto:mwozniak1@lssu.edu">mwozniak1@lssu.edu</a>.</div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-48783123969761474562020-08-28T15:44:00.001-04:002020-08-28T15:44:53.363-04:00Julianne Grenn's Grayling Hatchery Gazette<div><i>Note: Julianne wrote about her work as one of Michigan Sea Grant's 2020 <a href="https://www.michiganseagrant.org/student-opportunities/michigan-sea-grant-environmental-internship/" target="_blank">summer interns</a>. She even produced a fully laid-out PDF version of her Hatchery Gazette. Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O82XUp_UI7UVDuZ8jrzJvQrsPn8l2cAw/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here </a>to read it! </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4wAXKnfFyQFAVH-qOPTqwL8rYFZXbboM2YoVdFsbOZ7lPr15zez18j-wLYhn2YPd9ULagAicNn2241tbhkEYeWXcHf_SZ8RbOzQO29u2TEIJUN72CwQ4A4cCDcRu3wDgaVIKlrSqEYQ/s465/Grenn+image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="426" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4wAXKnfFyQFAVH-qOPTqwL8rYFZXbboM2YoVdFsbOZ7lPr15zez18j-wLYhn2YPd9ULagAicNn2241tbhkEYeWXcHf_SZ8RbOzQO29u2TEIJUN72CwQ4A4cCDcRu3wDgaVIKlrSqEYQ/w458-h500/Grenn+image+1.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A family safely visits the Grayling Hatchery during Summer 2020. Photo: Julianne Grenn<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>My name is Julianne Grenn, and I am a Biology major at Lake Superior State University (LSSU). I am the first Anglers of the Au Sable Summer Research fellow, a new partnership between the Anglers and LSSU. One of my primary responsibilities is to create an operations manual for the <a href="https://www.graylingfishhatchery.org/" target="_blank">Grayling Fish Hatchery</a> and increase educational information for visitors. My work at the hatchery has helped deepen my appreciation and understanding of aquaculture and community outreach, and I hope your knowledge and interest will be expanded too. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWYV3A9ArbJeDGVXGet_BC8DgIoJUzFZohlV7lruYIG0zcbzmF1OHEfX6YnDrF82Y388t2EVtYYcZa29fNEswYwKaF3LYqkPkgf2QoZChlr4Rn-mo72GGA6Ob8CzhDZjZXXwXCqfjthg/s318/Grenn+Image+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="303" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWYV3A9ArbJeDGVXGet_BC8DgIoJUzFZohlV7lruYIG0zcbzmF1OHEfX6YnDrF82Y388t2EVtYYcZa29fNEswYwKaF3LYqkPkgf2QoZChlr4Rn-mo72GGA6Ob8CzhDZjZXXwXCqfjthg/w474-h498/Grenn+Image+2.png" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids can fish in the Children's Pond for free. Photo: Julianne Grenn</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><div>Many of you may be unaware of the Grayling Fish Hatchery's history, but it has a long one and has been in existence for over 100 years! The Grayling Fish Hatchery was established in 1919 by Rasmus Hanson and several fellow sportsmen, including Henry and Edsel Ford. Their intent was to reintroduce Grayling to local waters. Unfortunately, many of the fish did not survive, and production was switched to raising Brook, Brown, and Rainbow Trout, the Au Sable varieties we know and love today. The hatchery operated under private ownership until the state of Michigan bought the facility in 1926. Since then, the hatchery has changed ownership several times, passing from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to commercial fish producers, and finally to Grayling Hatchery Incorporated in 2017. <br /><br />Our mission is to establish the hatchery as a hub of learning and discovery--a place where all can come to experience the wonders and beauty of the Au Sable River. We aim to educate our guests about the history, ecology, and conservation of the Au Sable River for generations. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWRcG1Efok5c61iW6n3wbi3kMQS4CHoWeyM3-LN0tCmD-P_4WwJBKLUeo317LI0puZfKu37o20Ya74g9uYn-ahIoeMqBmcQUvkhl-iy30EGEZVdpfyD2SiclnS9C7pgIV7IkjUv2uGfA/s899/Grenn+image+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="899" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWRcG1Efok5c61iW6n3wbi3kMQS4CHoWeyM3-LN0tCmD-P_4WwJBKLUeo317LI0puZfKu37o20Ya74g9uYn-ahIoeMqBmcQUvkhl-iy30EGEZVdpfyD2SiclnS9C7pgIV7IkjUv2uGfA/w512-h512/Grenn+image+6.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visitors can explore the hatchery facility. Photo: Julianne Grenn<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br />We are currently raising 1,300 Rainbow Trout, which were donated by the MI DNR. Following our mission to preserve and protect the Au Sable, fish are reared at low densities to provide a local attraction while conserving the river. Additionally, the hatchery partnered with the Anglers of the Au Sable to conduct water quality tests at locations above and below the hatchery to ensure that phosphate and total suspended particle loads are minimized. <br /><br />We continue to work alongside scientists and advocacy groups to limit our footprint on the environment and provide learning opportunities for all who visit the hatchery. At the end of the summer, all of the trout are transferred to local lakes where anglers can pursue them. <br /><br />We are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-4 pm and offer a variety of engaging activities for guests. Due to COVID 19, we cannot provide fee-fishing, but those ages 16 and under are welcome to fish in the Children's Pond for free. Guests also can feed the trout in two of our raceways and the king-sized bluegill and painted turtles in the Children's Fishing Pond. Visiting our turtle sanctuary is a special treat, as it houses a rare Blanding's Turtle and is one of the more popular attractions for children. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixL3NpeMKRDixQ7ehTai1axzhxF_rsgKSAAP_W8ct4Pil14Mb11GDZvQEkCjXXcN9I3MO7oTl140g1vzYU0erzmoNxxDtlpS0r0xK2ZW6oJ1yH6FhIYsKvVCIi58RuNAe5jf8_j1BkXiQ/s640/Grenn+image+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixL3NpeMKRDixQ7ehTai1axzhxF_rsgKSAAP_W8ct4Pil14Mb11GDZvQEkCjXXcN9I3MO7oTl140g1vzYU0erzmoNxxDtlpS0r0xK2ZW6oJ1yH6FhIYsKvVCIi58RuNAe5jf8_j1BkXiQ/w512-h512/Grenn+image+4.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blanding’s Turtle
who lives in the turtle sanctuary might pose for photos. Photo: Julianne Grenn<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>This year's improvements spread beyond the logistical functions of the hatchery. A live streaming trout camera will be installed along a portion of the Au Sable River. Trout-cam footage will be available to the public through the hatchery's website, LSSU's Center for Freshwater Research and Education page, and the Grayling Visitors Bureau website. Additional efforts also are underway to enhance the facility's aesthetic appeal. </div><div><br />A mural of an Arctic Grayling will be painted on the back of the new visitor's center by a local artist! The interior of the center, formerly the admission building, has already been painted, and both the indoor and outdoor spaces will feature nearly 30 informational signs. These improvements culminated with the publication and release of the hatchery's first self-guided tour brochure. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZONiPCJH87ZPLZ0-0lZ9dP1qv4BXA_rV6murVbIsYXAICc8m1_rZQqQLvT2xK6kWC6pkPieiyU1MWqLKADeywnvrvI2e5GX72sC0gtEEPPhsuQPfsr34lWoD9_Kk7Y1YLhrDkFe6tigI/s358/Grenn+image+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="358" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZONiPCJH87ZPLZ0-0lZ9dP1qv4BXA_rV6murVbIsYXAICc8m1_rZQqQLvT2xK6kWC6pkPieiyU1MWqLKADeywnvrvI2e5GX72sC0gtEEPPhsuQPfsr34lWoD9_Kk7Y1YLhrDkFe6tigI/w358-h322/Grenn+image+5.png" width="358" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The resident Blanding's Turtle soaks in some sunshine. Photo: Julianne Grenn</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Grayling Hatchery Incorporated continues its efforts to establish a facility that attracts families and researchers while educating visitors on the unique natural resource we have in our backyard - the Au Sable River. Ultimately, our purpose is to serve the community and the Au Sable River. The Grayling Fish Hatchery strives to preserve, protect, and enhance the relationship between our families, our Anglers, and nature. We hope you can visit the Grayling Fish Hatchery to experience all of our education and conservation initiatives firsthand. We have been hatching inspiration since 1919.</div></div></div>Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-68001202731590372912020-02-28T15:45:00.000-05:002020-02-28T15:45:26.573-05:00Professional development adventures with Kathryn FrensHi everybody! Since my last post was about a regular day in the office, this one is about the cool stuff outside the office that you get to do because you’re a Knauss Fellow. Professional development (PD) encompasses a lot of things, from conferences to tours of Congress to communications workshops. All fellows get some money to spend on PD, and host offices give you time for it. So how did I spend my PD money?<div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I went to Michigan and networked. I did eight informational interviews and a tour of GLERL (the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory) in three days. This was not glamorous but was extremely informative and I’m really glad I did it now that I’m applying for jobs. </span><div>
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<br />I went to West Virginia and took a class about planning for climate change. This training course was focused on planning processes in general and also on scenario planning, which has been a big part of my fellowship research. It was held at the National Conservation Training Center, which is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s training center/summer camp in the woods. <br /><br />I went to the Gulf of Mexico and fished for sharks. This was probably the coolest thing I did during my fellowship, and it was also practical in that it gave me some hands-on fishery experience (I didn’t have any before.) I learned how a longline works and how to pull otoliths, among other new skills. Also, SHARKS!!!! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharks! Photo: Kathryn Frens</td></tr>
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I went to Hawaii for a really great conference. The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) had its annual conference in Honolulu this fall. SACNAS is a conference about diversity/inclusion in STEM. It was energizing and inspiring and I made some good connections as well. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leis and lanyards at SACNAS in Hawaii. Photo: Kathryn Frens</td></tr>
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Other PD-related activities happened closer to home. I took notes for a meeting of the leadership of NOAA Research, which was like getting to be a fly on the wall in The Room Where It Happens. I attended a training about salary negotiation, toured the White House and Congress, went to some briefings on the Hill, and was part of the Knauss Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Knauss cohort. Photo: Kathryn Frens</td></tr>
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This is my last post for this blog, and I think you’ll hear from the new Fellows soon. I’ll be defending my dissertation in a few months and then, I hope, will be able to find a “real” job. If you are reading this post because you’re thinking about applying for the Knauss, you should apply. I feel like the fellowship set me up for success both in the fellowship year itself and for afterwards. <br /><br />So long, and thanks for all the fish.</div>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-74138673248247984712019-12-05T15:17:00.000-05:002019-12-05T15:56:37.851-05:00A day in the life of Knauss Fellow Kathryn FrensHi everybody! <br />
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Like <a href="https://msgfellowship.blogspot.com/2019/07/a-day-in-life-of-knauss-fellow.html" target="_blank">Jillian did</a> a couple of months ago, I’d like to give you all a walk-through of a random day in my life as a Knauss Fellow in the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Sustainable Fisheries. I decided to do this blog when I got into work this morning, so I’ll be writing about my day as it happens. I have two meetings and a webinar scheduled, which is a bit more than usual, and I have several long-term projects going. <br />
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8:30 am: Get to work, read emails, go over schedule for the day and prioritize. <br />
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9:00 am: Meet with co-workers to update each other on the status of three pieces of guidance working their way through the release process. These documents all have to do with National Standard 1 (in the Magnuson-Stevens Act) and are meant to help managers decide how best to calculate how much fish should be caught in a given year. This is more complicated than it sounds, and we’re coordinating three groups of high-level scientists and managers scattered all over the country. <br />
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10:00 am: Sit down to edit the white paper on scenario planning methods that I’ve been working on for a while. This document will eventually be published by NOAA so that managers who are interested in scenario planning can get a beginner-friendly rundown of the process. <br />
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10:45 am: Phone rings. It’s Ryan from one of the regional fisheries offices, calling to talk about some data he has on the outcomes of NMFS’s Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program grants. I’m trying to find out how often the research funded by these grants actually affects management, but I have to rely on people like Ryan, who are on the ground in the regions, to get the data for me. <br />
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11:00 am: Team meeting. We get updates on some external meetings that happened recently and talk about how to get or create good graphics for our presentations. <br />
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12:00 pm: Lunch at my desk while getting application materials together for a federal job. <br />
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12:30 pm: Go through more comments on the scenario planning white paper. <br />
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1:00 pm: Tune in to a webinar about navigating climate-driven ecological transformations. <br />
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2:00 pm: Livestream a House Water, Oceans, and Wildlife subcommittee hearing. <br />
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3:30 pm: Back to the scenario planning white paper. <br />
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4:45 pm: Write down what I did today and my priorities for tomorrow. <br />
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5:00 pm: Writing group with friends! (Don’t know who needs to hear this, but finish your dissertation before you start your Knauss.) <br />
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And that’s a day in my life! I hope this was helpful. Instead of posting pictures of me at my desk, I’ve included some fish I like. Three of them are tangentially related to my next post, and the other is a cowcod.<br />
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-75397652364092335712019-10-24T15:08:00.000-04:002019-10-24T15:08:18.922-04:00Worms, watersheds, and the Anthropocene: Remarks from Jillian Mayer<i>These remarks were given to volunteers of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History by 2020 Knauss Fellow Jillian Mayer. Jillian took the photos at the youth-led Global Climate Strike March to the U.S. Capitol on September 20, 2019.</i><div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Thank you, Meaghan and the Museum, for having me today. All opinions are my own. </span><div>
<br />Everyone: look down at your feet. Wiggle your toes in your shoes, and feel the ground beneath them. Recall the path you took to get here tonight. That path, this ground, is first and foremost stolen indigenous land. The community that once called this land home is the Piscataway (and related tribes) and is, by the way, still around. Before we talk about the ocean, we have to understand the land. Part of that means addressing that we have stolen it from others, and are borrowing it from future generations. Let’s take one moment to thank the people that stewarded this land before we were here, and those that will care for it long after we’re worm food. <br /><br />Speaking of worms: Consider the physical characteristics of the ground. What does it smell like? How many rodents are burrowing beneath us? How many thousands of seeds lie dormant, waiting for a crack in the concrete? Go further down and you’d hit rock, then water, then rock, and eventually magma and a molten iron core. (I think that’s true, though thankfully none of us are geologists up here). <br /><br />Every step you took tonight happened in a watershed. Every drop of liquid that falls on the surface of that watershed ends up in a stream, which runs to a river, which runs to the sea. The oceans are the headwaters of the skies, and the skies return that water to us as precipitation. The hydrologic cycle! <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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There are literally countless ways that humans are impacting our seas in the Anthropocene — or as I call it, the Anthroposeas. Can I have some examples of the ways we’ve impacted water? (Call them out)...<br /><br />Here are some facts about the Laurentian Great Lakes, because I’m an “expert”: <div>
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<li>Largest source of surface freshwater on earth; coastline is longer than Atlantic and Pacific coasts; water flows from Superior to Ontario; shallow.</li>
<li>During the Paleozoic Era, which ended about 250 million years ago, the Great Lakes region was a shallow sea.</li>
<li>The Great Lakes formed 10,000 years ago with the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. </li>
<li>Before European settlement, the land held the Anishinaabe civilization, consisting of the “three fires:” Potowatomi, Ojibwe/Chippewa, and Odawa – healthy forests, clean lakes.</li>
<li>European settlement began in the mid-1850s: mostly trading (furs).</li>
<li>Intensive logging and polluting factories shaped the region in the late 1800s – early 1900s: clear-cut old-growth forests, hammered rivers, intense runoff and flooding.</li>
<li>First problematic invasive species: sea lamprey come in ballast water, decimate lake trout</li>
<li>1950s: alewife </li>
<li>1960s: stocked Pacific salmon </li>
<li>St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 — invasives galore </li>
<li>1990s: zebra mussels </li>
<li>2000s: quagga mussels </li>
<li>2000s: Asian carp </li>
<li>Today: upper lakes are oligotrophic, lower lakes are eutrophic; invasive predators and prey; highly managed lake levels – A MESS</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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Here’s where I neatly pivot to telling you to VOTE. I’m now a NOAA-Sea Grant Knauss Legislative Fellow in a senior senator’s office. Here are some observations I’ve made: </div>
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<ol>
<li>Wearing business attire every day is miserable.</li>
<li>Honoring treaties with Native American tribes and generally throwing our movement’s whole weight behind the unique goal of indigenous sovereignty would solve most of our problems.</li>
<li>Surprisingly, it turns out that Congress can’t make people do anything. It appears that the goal of policy in our governance structure is to open better paths to better futures. It’s not hand-holding, it’s not hand-dragging. (This is a cheer-ocracy). </li>
<li>We can and should explain environmental, climate, and oceans issues in language that our audience understands, including the language of economics, patriotism, religion, autonomy, and other values we may not hold. Our own subjective motivation for saving the planet is just that: subjective. Earth is far past the point at which we can sit atop our high moral horses. As scientists, activists, and educators, we must challenge ourselves to find new ways of explaining, showing, understanding, knowing, and solving the complex (primordial) soup of crises we face. </li>
<li>Go vote. Help register people to vote. Volunteer to drive people to the polls. Do this regardless of party affiliation. Less than 50% of the eligible US population votes. For communities of color especially, exercising this constitutional right has become harder since the repeal of the Voting Rights Act — and everyone suffers when some of us aren’t free. To quote poet Staceyann Chin, “All oppression is connected.” Voting is one tool of many in our toolbox. We need and have a thriving ecosystem of strategies to build a better future. But don’t forget to vote. </li>
<li>Finally, to quote journalist Mary Schmich and musician Baz Luhrmann, “wear sunscreen.”</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-52710757285540975792019-08-20T13:01:00.000-04:002019-08-20T13:02:06.655-04:00Women Who Fish Have Stories To Tell: Part 2<i>By Erin Burkett, Michigan Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow</i><br />
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<a href="https://msgfellowship.blogspot.com/2019/02/">In my previous blog</a>, I described the process of facilitating a community-engaged research project about Michigan women who fish for recreation. I used a method called photovoice that combines individual photography with group discussion and storytelling to highlight 15 participants’ unique perspectives. The project culminated in two major events: a photography exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw and a public presentation at a meeting of the Metro-West Steelheaders Association.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April Tang presenting to the Metro-West Steelheaders Association in Livonia, Michigan, on June 4, 2019. Photo: Erin Burkett</td></tr>
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Now that the major events are wrapped and the project is coming to a close, I am writing up my findings for publication in a scientific journal. There are a lot of options for analyzing qualitative social science data, and I’m using a process called grounded theory. A lot of research applies a pre-existing scientific or theory-based idea to data, but grounded theory is useful when you want to remain true to participants’ own words, ideas, and personal expertise. The major steps of grounded theory include data coding (assigning labels to sections of text that represent what each section is about), memoing (writing down analytical ideas as you go through your data), and developing a case-specific theory or theories. Combining photovoice with grounded theory is a feminist participatory approach to social research because women’s fishing experiences aren’t often shared or highlighted in academic studies.<br />
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One of my findings is that, for these women, fishing isn’t about the fish. Well, almost. Catching a beautiful brook trout or their first northern pike was certainly memorable for these women, but fishing provides them with many other benefits and satisfying experiences. For some, connecting to water and nature and “getting away from it all” was important, and for others it is the empowerment and sense of accomplishment that fishing brings that drives them to fish. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nq7O7mpzX9nsnaQKsKiM2Wkz7e9gQ0rKUSO0KJdwU6W8hqbD7hyL5WSwdIewGlELI83M8IfSWCXCeB23nY5ev3XlPGNHyTATJ6FFU2sUTaqBhoEvq8jhdqiRdVbNb8h0SNyvn5MsC94/s1600/Sleepy+rivers+-+credit+Cori+Fitzpatrick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nq7O7mpzX9nsnaQKsKiM2Wkz7e9gQ0rKUSO0KJdwU6W8hqbD7hyL5WSwdIewGlELI83M8IfSWCXCeB23nY5ev3XlPGNHyTATJ6FFU2sUTaqBhoEvq8jhdqiRdVbNb8h0SNyvn5MsC94/s640/Sleepy+rivers+-+credit+Cori+Fitzpatrick.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Sleepy rivers soothe the soul" Photo: Cori Fitzpatrick</td></tr>
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Many of the women expressed being the “token woman” in their circle of fishing buddies, and this certainly created social obstacles to fishing that we discussed quite a bit. But this wasn’t always the case. A few learned all they know about fishing from a strong female role model like a grandmother or mother, and by participating in the project the participants made new, fishing-related connections with each other and other women in their social circles. Finding other women to fish with was particularly important to April Tang, project participant and member of the Flygirls of Michigan: "I joined the Flygirls of Michigan group and the women there have helped me build my skills and opened up more fishing opportunities. On this guided trip, I caught my biggest steelhead so far. It was a brutally cold day, like most days when steelhead run the rivers. My boatmate and I persisted, and she ended up catching an even bigger beast! The Flygirls have really been a wonderful, supportive community for me.”</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmtRKyjnEzIVAbYfkCmcZgm_dliC3b-UC5UUQdrLmKUyfmA6X-7ia2uwCBWv8G5Z-nyLiunMBOt3yV_FohdN553fzNX6bGvnofk308GNNrAoh24XwATe17o4rpIRr7fThMG0Qkx6rE-s/s1600/April+with+steelhead+-+credit+April+Tang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmtRKyjnEzIVAbYfkCmcZgm_dliC3b-UC5UUQdrLmKUyfmA6X-7ia2uwCBWv8G5Z-nyLiunMBOt3yV_FohdN553fzNX6bGvnofk308GNNrAoh24XwATe17o4rpIRr7fThMG0Qkx6rE-s/s640/April+with+steelhead+-+credit+April+Tang.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April Tang with her steelhead on a freezing day on the river. Photo: April Tang</td></tr>
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Uncovering and highlighting stories of women fishing is important because this doesn’t often happen in the public eye. It can also help us to overcome what are sometimes very deeply-rooted beliefs about women in the context of outdoor recreation. It also reminds us that women cannot all be lumped into a single group because they are each individuals with varying identities and personal reasons for fishing.</div>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-52801131052656200392019-07-08T14:16:00.000-04:002019-07-08T14:16:16.027-04:00A day in the life of a Knauss Fellow (celebrity sightings not guaranteed)<i>By Jillian Mayer</i><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvSzD-FieHdMUNXQv0iNTwzt8TKNtmIaouu2y18amfidU9T4q41K5xerXrrX2OQxYzDpWpvJsJe6nQVi4p8vtvqE9UBtz7zxVNwe2ywG29oM_cA7BEr4f3JeIG0gB9xIlVL7MFBo36ok/s1600/Fellow+with+Karamo+Brown%252C+Alec+Mapa+at+staff+briefing+on+LGBTQ%252B+adoption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvSzD-FieHdMUNXQv0iNTwzt8TKNtmIaouu2y18amfidU9T4q41K5xerXrrX2OQxYzDpWpvJsJe6nQVi4p8vtvqE9UBtz7zxVNwe2ywG29oM_cA7BEr4f3JeIG0gB9xIlVL7MFBo36ok/s400/Fellow+with+Karamo+Brown%252C+Alec+Mapa+at+staff+briefing+on+LGBTQ%252B+adoption.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jillian snapped a photo with activist/"Queer Eye" star Karamo Brown and actor/comedian Alec Mapa at a staff briefing on LGBTQ+ adoption. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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As a current NOAA-Sea Grant Knauss fellow working in a Democrat Senator’s office, I am often asked what I do all day. To help answer that question, I tracked my schedule on a random Thursday at work. I hope this is a helpful snapshot for potential applicants and future fellows: <br /><br />9am: Workday started <br /><br />9am-10am: Sorted emails received overnight into folders by subject and priority <br /><br />10am-11am: Drafted – and later edited and finalized – a press release on toxic <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse/0,9038,7-365-86514---,00.html">PFAS chemicals found in firefighting foam</a> in anticipation of the Senator’s press event on the topic the following day <br /><br />11am-11:30am: Wrote my mid-year report for Michigan Sea Grant <br /><br />11:30am-12:30pm: Finished editing and sent a letter I wrote on behalf of the Senator to the Government Accountability Office requesting an investigation into <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2019/05/23/470140/backroom-deals/">non-competitive oil and gas leasing on public lands</a> <br /><br />12:30pm-3pm: Conducted online research for a new letter I was tasked with on the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/8-little-known-facts-about-sunscreens/">safety and efficacy of over-the-counter sunscreens</a> <br /><br />3pm-4pm: Drafted said letter on behalf of the Senator to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration <br /><br />4pm-5pm: Checked in with supervisors and colleagues about priorities for the next week<br /><br />5pm-6pm: Caught up on a <a href="https://www.eli.org/events/eli-summer-school-series-2019">webinar by the Environmental Law Institute</a> on the basics of the Clean Water Act <br /><br />6pm: Workday ended <br /><br />I’ve gotten into the bad habit of eating lunch at my desk while completing other tasks, but we are encouraged to take an hour-long lunchbreak. This schedule did not include other common activities like meeting with constituents, preparing the Senator for committee hearings or floor action, collaborating with other legislative offices, and attending staff briefings on any topic. <br /><br />Additionally, almost everything on the above schedule was – or could be – done in collaboration with colleagues in my office. I find my office to be very collaborative, which I deeply appreciate and know is not the case with all Knauss fellows’ placements. <br /><br />I hope this helps!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jillian and colleagues with Senator Elizabeth Warren in the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinh7AACVVPrFlSrL0f1EPadG9b42sj3Mpgw66EBqM6DqVuUdJZJzXdxdHWq2uMhcjmxHHUxPoMTfEF4IfcTALR-Uqak9zBUMxHEPq0Ex8-w4IXd6ykJS6wbzq28Ex4ItBBEINCrXEZ3Fk/s1600/Fellow+with+%2527Mayor+Pete%2527+at+pro-choice+rally+on+Supreme+Court+steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinh7AACVVPrFlSrL0f1EPadG9b42sj3Mpgw66EBqM6DqVuUdJZJzXdxdHWq2uMhcjmxHHUxPoMTfEF4IfcTALR-Uqak9zBUMxHEPq0Ex8-w4IXd6ykJS6wbzq28Ex4ItBBEINCrXEZ3Fk/s640/Fellow+with+%2527Mayor+Pete%2527+at+pro-choice+rally+on+Supreme+Court+steps.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jillian with presidential hopeful "Mayor Pete" Buttigieg at a pro-choice rally on the Supreme Court steps. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-34001436451884483462019-07-08T13:56:00.000-04:002019-07-08T13:56:13.875-04:00Easing into life at NOAA<i>By Kathryn Frens</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>Hello, blog readers. I’m a 2019 Executive Knauss Fellow, currently placed in NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries. In this post, I want to give you an idea of what it’s been like to walk in my (flat, but professional) shoes for the first two months of my fellowship. I’m not going to cover Placement Week: Lisa did a very good job of that last year, and I bet a smart reader like you can find her post. Instead, I’m going to talk about starting my fellowship and a few things I’ve learned already. You ready for this? Let’s go. <br />
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The longest government shutdown in history ended less than a week before I was supposed to start work at NOAA. Because my supervisor was furloughed, she couldn’t come into the office and had no way to plan for my arrival. Nobody was processing security clearances or access cards or finances, initially. So I started a week late, and everyone was still recovering from the furlough when I got into the office. And because everybody asks, that’s the only way that national politics has affected my fellowship. I thought working in DC would involve more politics, but it turns out that my office is very apolitical. NOAA’s leadership is appointed by the president, but my office mostly works with laws and regulations that change more slowly than administrations. Some days, it doesn’t feel like we’re inside the Beltway at all. <br />
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My first month of work was slow. I scheduled one-on-one meetings with everyone in my office to learn about what they do (they do a wide variety of things and have a ton of expertise about those things), and I did a lot of background reading. While I knew what areas of fisheries management interested me, I did not know how to translate those areas of interest into actual concrete projects. In addition, my supervisor was in her position temporarily, and my permanent boss came back about a month after I started. Things didn’t really start to pick up until about six weeks in. <br />
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I’m telling you this because some of you reading might be future fellows, and it’s important to know that every fellow’s experience is different. My slow start stressed me out, especially when I was hearing from other fellows about how busy they were and what groups they were already leading. It was only in talking with past fellows that I found out how common my experience is, especially in an office (like mine) that didn’t have a fellow last year. Here are some other important things to know: <br />
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<li>NOAA loves it some Knauss fellows. Lots of people here were fellows previously and they’re happy to help you out or give you advice. Just ask!</li>
<li>You will never find shoes that are both comfortable enough to commute in and professional enough to wear in the office. Keep your nice shoes at work and walk to the Metro in your hiking sandals; you won’t regret it. </li>
<li>This fellowship feels like a weird combination of work and learning. I tend to be very focused on how I can contribute and what I can accomplish. This fellowship involves contributing and accomplishing, but my office expects me to also spend time on my own education, which is not always comfortable when everybody else is working so hard! I attended the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission meeting just to see how the management process works, and I’m going on a shark survey cruise this summer—both things I don’t think I would have been able to do if I wasn’t a fellow. </li>
<li>The best things about DC are the museums and the food. And the museums are free, which helps you afford the food. </li>
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I’d love to hear from whoever is reading this blog about what you want to know. I’m happy to answer questions or expound further on what you’re curious about. I don’t have any cool travel pictures yet, but here’s one of me in my new office space. I took this picture for an elementary school career day presentation about what scientists do—another really fun experience!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kathryn is hard at work in the NOAA office. Photo: Kathryn Frens</td></tr>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-78730203595946274752019-05-21T15:10:00.000-04:002019-05-21T15:10:51.724-04:00Living in DC as a sort-of furloughed worker during the longest government shutdown in US history<i>By Jillian Mayer</i><br />
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Note: This blog post was written February 14, 2019, on the eve of the end of the 2019 partial government shutdown.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting, waiting, waiting. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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The first thing you need to know when beginning a job in federal government is that everything revolves around appropriations. The second thing you need to know is that “budgets” and “appropriations” are different. You can thank me later.<br />
<br />Budgets are issued by the President, federal agencies, and Congress, and have no binding power; budgets merely request how much money parties would like to see spent on various programs within the US government. Appropriations decisions, on the other hand, have teeth: appropriations bills allow various programs to receive designated amounts of funding. Budgets and appropriations don’t necessarily have any relationship to each other. There’s no law that dictates that the appropriations bills passed by Congress and signed into law by Presidents need to reflect the President’s or Congress’s budgets. Budgets are, in legal terms, bullsh*t. Appropriations are what matters, because money flows through appropriations and appropriations only.<br /><br />Normally, the federal budget and appropriation processes happen in a certain order each year and in time to continue funding our federal government without lapse. Fiscal years (FY) run from October 1 – September 30. The President releases his budget request in February or March the year preceding the fiscal year to which it refers. President Trump released his FY 2019 budget request on Monday, February 12, 2018. Shortly thereafter, individual federal agencies released their budget requests that corresponded to the President’s budget request, but in more detail. Congress responded by passing their own budget resolutions. Although President Trump’s FY 2019 looked scary with severe cuts to social welfare programs, environmental regulatory agencies, and other important government services, it had little bearing on what Congress suggested in their budget resolutions, nor did it dictate appropriations. <br /><br /> Once budgets are established, the process moves to drafting, amending, and passing appropriations bills. In 2018, Congress began appropriations work in April and had over 5 months to pass appropriations for FY 2019. Congress is tasked with passing 12 appropriations bills each year, categorized by general subject matter. For example, the “defense” appropriations bill decides yearly funding levels for all matters within the Department of Defense. The “transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies” appropriations bill funds the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Within each legislative chamber (the House and Senate), an appropriation bill originates in its corresponding subcommittee within the Appropriations Committee, passes the full Appropriations Committee, and passes the whole chamber. The two chambers’ appropriations bills on the same subject may be millions or billions of dollars apart. Congress must wrestle back and forth before ultimately passing the exact same language (bill) through each chamber. Only then is an appropriations bill delivered to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Often, many appropriations bills are combined into one or more omnibus packages that contain several of the 12 bills, to avoid going through this process 12 distinct times before time runs out on September 30th.<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many steps must be completed to avoid a government shutdown. Image: NationalJournal Presentation Center</td></tr>
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By the end of 2018, after FY 2019 had started, neither Democrats nor Republicans nor the House nor Senate could agree on 7 of the 12 appropriations bills. 5 had been passed via omnibus before the October deadline, and the remaining 7 continued to be temporarily funded through continuing resolutions. However, the continuing resolutions ran out at midnight on December 21. President Trump insisted that he would not sign any further appropriations without ~$5.7 billion in border-wall funding. The House agreed, the Senate did not. The longest (partial) government shutdown in US history began in the early minutes of December 22, 2018.<br /><br /> With a few exceptions for “essential” federal workers and pre-funded continuing programs, most federal employees working in the fields of agriculture, commerce, justice, science, interior, environment, homeland security, financial services, government services, foreign operations, transportation, housing, and urban development were furloughed. Approximately 800,000 people were not paid for 35 days, and the ripple effects of their leave were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/08/us/politics/government-shutdown-calendar.html">massive</a>. The shutdown disrupted ongoing scientific studies, disaster relief, regulation and rule-making, litigation, transportation, public housing, and almost everything else funded in whole or part with discretionary federal dollars (i.e. not <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/current-federal-mandatory-spending-3305772">mandatory</a> social security, Medicare, and Medicare spending). The cruelty of holding 800,000 Americans’ pay and the human right to immigration for thousands of DACA recipients and refugees as bargaining chips is almost unfathomable, but is upon further reflection par for the course in a country built on slavery, genocide, the exploitation of workers, and other systemic ills. But that’s another essay.<br /><br /> I moved to DC on January 6, two weeks into the five-week shutdown. I had already signed up and started paying for healthcare, rent in my first solo studio apartment, internet, a gym, and student loans. I had budgeted carefully for this year in DC, and was excited for my first “grown up” job with a steady and ample paycheck and regular hours. Our Knauss coordinators at NOAA were already furloughed, and could not readily communicate with us about the fate of our fellowship year. I reached out to contemporary fellows for information. They reported that many Executive fellows were locked out of their offices in federal buildings and their colleagues would have to mail them personal items, like jackets and shoes, left in their offices after the shutdown ended and the Fellowship concluded. The 2019 fellows (my year) were left wondering if they would have jobs come February 1st, our proposed start date. Some fellows postponed moving to DC and stayed in their home states, but the majority of us had already found housing and were moving. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving to DC opens up exciting new travel opportunities. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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<br />With nothing to do and no end to the shutdown in sight, I filled my time with getting to know DC. It. Was. Awesome. I volunteered with two food banks: <a href="https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/">Capital Area Food Bank</a> and <a href="https://dccentralkitchen.org/">DC Central Kitchen</a>. Both are fabulous organizations that I recommend future Knauss fellows check out. Some of the people receiving assistance and almost all of the volunteers were furloughed government employees. We chatted about stalled Department of Justice cases, the inability of US Fish and Wildlife to communicate with state natural resource departments, and the difficulty of affording daycare without a paycheck. There, I got to ask a lot of my “how does government work?!” questions in a judgment-free environment because my fellow volunteers knew the system but weren’t my supervisors. </div>
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I also started volunteering with <a href="https://www.citydogsrescuedc.org/">City Dogs Rescue</a>, another great organization to visit in DC, and fell in love with a pit-bull mix named Barney after taking him home for a weekend “vacation” from the shelter. Hundreds of restaurants, gyms, and clothing stores throughout DC were offering free or low-cost products and services to furloughed workers. My DC utilities company offered to postpone my bills until three months after the shutdown ended. Even my Michigan-based credit union was giving interest-free loans to people affected by the shutdown. I was very lucky, and my myriad privileges (white collar job, able body, health insurance, US passport, lack of dependents, savings account, etc) helped make my temporary furlough fun instead of devastating. Still, I was heartened by the compassionate responses that individuals and private companies extended to government employees. I wish the same generosity were always extended to all people living through crises, but alas. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knauss fellows get to be DC tourists, too. Photo: Jillian Mayer </td></tr>
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<br /> On January 25, 2019, Trump and Congress agreed to a temporary short-term spending bill that would reopen the government through February 15, 2019, giving Congress time to agree on a new appropriations omnibus bill to end the shutdown. As I write this, it is 8pm on February 14, and the White House has reported that the President will sign the final appropriations without sufficient border-wall funding and declare a national emergency at the border tonight. I’ll find out what happened on my news app in bed, when I wake up tomorrow morning. Most current Knauss fellows were able to start work in early February, though some fellows are still not even in DC and others have had their onboarding delayed still. I have been in my Senator’s office since February 6th, and am already working (more like stumbling, crawling, tripping, gagging, shrugging, huffing, and puffing) on six bills, including one to address harassment in STEM, another to update failing coastal infrastructure, and the Green New Deal. I greatly look forward to the rest of my year on the Hill, despite (or because?) of its <i>interesting </i>start.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a tenuous beginning, the year is off to a great start. Photo: Jillian Mayer</td></tr>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-68678404575008803702019-02-19T10:06:00.002-05:002019-02-19T10:06:39.627-05:00Women Who Fish Have Stories to Tell: Part 1 <i>By Erin Burkett, Michigan Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"My brookie" Photo: Shawn Rathbun</td></tr>
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As a Michigan Sea Grant graduate research fellow, I use a community-driven, social science research method called photovoice to better understand women’s fishing experiences. Photovoice combines individual photography with group storytelling to highlight a group that hasn’t previously been given sufficient attention. Only about one of every five Michigan anglers are women, and, in the past, women have been largely absent from studies asking who fishes and why.<br />
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Photovoice projects typically follow these general steps: recruitment, documentation, photowalks, and exhibit or action phase. First, you have to recruit participants. I started by contacting fishing clubs and their members through email, Facebook, and club meetings. I visited bait and tackle shops and stores that sell fishing licenses to explain my project and distribute informational flyers. And finally, I posted flyers in public spaces and contacted women-specific natural resource organizations. I went through this process in two distinct Michigan regions: the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula and metro-Detroit. The following steps were conducted separately within each region. <br />
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Anyone interested in joining the project was invited to an informational meeting where I explained what participating in the project might entail. With a little prompting using open-ended questions, the women started sharing their fishing stories and what topics they might want to highlight in their pictures. Something that makes this type of community-engaged research unique is that participants have autonomy and control over the project’s goals and outcomes throughout the entire project. The role of the researcher is to facilitate and observe the process and collect data in the form of transcribed audio recordings of meetings and the photographs and stories shared by the research participants.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cooler colors" Photo: Amber Voght.</td></tr>
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The next phase of the project was the documentation stage. Over the next few months, each group member was asked to take photographs that represented their fishing experiences. For the most part, everyone used a cell phone camera, and everyone incorporated pictures from their past that still had significant meaning to them. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keweenaw area project members sharing their photographs and fishing stories during a "photowalk." Photo: Erin Burkett</td></tr>
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The next series of 2-3 group meetings, called “photowalks,” is a key component of any photovoice project. Photowalks give each participant ample time to share their photographs and the stories behind them. What happens when you get a group of women anglers together in a room and put their photographs on display? Engaging storytelling, a lot of knowing nods of agreement, and plenty of laughter. Each group discussed their favorite fish to catch and eat, what gear they use, where they fish, who they fish with, how they feel being women in a sport dominated by men, and everything in between.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What’s next?</span><br />
The exhibit or action stage varies for each unique project. The Keweenaw group created a gallery-style exhibit that is currently on display at the <a href="http://www.carnegiekeweenaw.org/">Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw</a>. The exhibit’s title, <i>Connections: Stories From Women Who Fish</i>, refers to the members’ decision to present their experiences as a group, rather than as individuals. As group member Emila Downes explains, “<i>Everyone has an idea about what fishing means to them, but as a community or group, what does fishing mean? It facilitates the connection to everything around us from people to nature. For some it is a break from the world and for others it's a connection to the world. Whatever fishing means to you, it is a way to connect everyone across generations, nationalities, lifestyles, and occupations. It's what brings us together!</i>” Project members have stressed the importance of bringing their stories to multiple audiences, and plan to move the exhibit to multiple venues in the future.<br />
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The metro-Detroit project group will share their experiences in a group presentation at the June meeting of the <a href="http://www.metroweststeelheaders.org/">Metro</a>-<a href="http://www.metroweststeelheaders.org/">West Steelheaders</a>. Their main goal is to invite women who want to try fishing or get more active in local fishing clubs, but who might not have had the confidence or experience to try the sport.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilia Downes setting up the photography exhibit <i>Connections: Stories from Women Who Fish</i> at the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw in Houghton, MI. Photo: Erin Burkett</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Introducing the project and group members at the Carnegie Museum's public exhibit opening on February 14, 2019. From left: Amber Voght, Emilia Downes, Cori Fitzpatrick, Denise Vandeville, and Erin Burkett. Photo: Hugh Gorman</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Project Highlights</span><br />
My favorite thing about facilitating this project thus far has been seeing the relationship-building among the participants. They aren’t just swapping fishing stories. They are inviting each other to go fishing, thinking about each other between meetings, and even considering starting an outdoor recreation club for women. Seeing these connections build has made the project really fun and rewarding. These outcomes wouldn’t be possible if I had chosen another research method like a social survey that is completed by individuals in isolation. The next step in this project is to summarize my findings and prepare them for publication. I will also share my findings with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which is interested in learning more about this unique group of stakeholders.Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-54053529676171476892019-01-15T14:33:00.000-05:002019-01-15T14:33:53.817-05:00An invader's wishlist: Corey Krabbenhoft on her dissertation researchHello again! <br /><br />For those of you who missed my last blog posts, my name is Corey Krabbenhoft. I have been conducting research in <a href="https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/ci3714">Donna Kashian’s</a> lab at Wayne State University for the last several years. I am excited to report I just successfully defended my dissertation for the degree of Ph.D.! <br /><br />Since it has been a while since I posted here, I thought I’d provide an update on my research on <a href="http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/explore/native-and-invasive-species/species/fish-species-in-michigan-and-the-great-lakes/round-goby/">round goby</a> invasion in the Great Lakes. For more background on this project, you can view my previous blog post <a href="http://msgfellowship.blogspot.com/2018/05/stream-sampling-and-goby-guts-corey.html">here</a>. <br /><br />One of the goals of this research was to identify site conditions which are common to areas where round goby has invaded tributaries to the Great Lakes. The idea here is that if we can identify site characteristics which are common to areas of invasion, we may be able to use this information to predict the impacts of invasion, or else predict where invasion might occur in the future. A better overall understanding of the process and outcomes of invasion can help streamline management efforts to make prevention and mitigation strategies more efficient and successful. <br /><br />One question I had was whether invasion is more commonly found in areas where land has been developed for human use. For example, would an urban area be more likely invaded than a rural area? One way to look at this is to use land cover data. This information is freely available for the entire United States from the <a href="https://www.mrlc.gov/">Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium</a>. Here they provide land cover data at a scale of 30 meters. For my own research, I used this information to identify the dominant land cover types for the watersheds in my study (Figure 1). <div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1. Land cover information for seven watersheds in the lower peninsula of Michigan. Clockwise from left: Muskegon, Ocqueoc, Au Sable, Rifle, Clinton, Rouge, and Stony Creek.</td></tr>
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The watersheds in my study represent a wide variety of land use types. In the southeastern part of the state, most of the land cover is urban development because of the metro Detroit area. In the northern part of the state, there is a larger proportion of forested land cover. Land cover can be important in the structure and function of streams because it reflects many different mechanisms by which human activity can impact water quality (Figure 2). For example, agricultural development of a watershed can be associated with increased nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in streams from the runoff of fertilizers. Similarly, urban development is often associated with habitat loss in streams due to the need to stabilize banks and reroute stream channels.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 2. Two sites which demonstrate the gradient in quality in this study. Above: The Au Sable River, one of the large, northern watersheds dominated by forested land cover. Below: Stony Creek, the southernmost watershed which is dominated by agricultural land use.</td></tr>
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For my research, I investigated the association of these land use types with invasion success of round goby. In addition to land use types, I measured other variables which I hypothesized to be influential for invasion. For example, I looked at logistic constraints associated with invasion (how difficult it is for gobies to move into new areas), characteristics of native species at the site, the basic physical structure of the stream (depth, width, etc.), and the levels of pollutants. <br /><br />My analysis resulted in six site characteristics that are associated with large round goby populations (Figure 3). Invasion year and distance to river mouth are logistic constraints to invasion which highlight the importance of geographical barriers and the time required to adequately invade a new area. The other four factors help identify what types of sites are most likely to host invasive populations of round goby. For example, round goby are less likely to inhabit a site with high native fish diversity, with mostly natural land cover, in a moderately sized stream, with low pollution levels. This finding is important as it demonstrates that areas impacted by human alteration of the landscape are more likely to host large populations of round goby. This suggests investment in restoration of streams and riparian areas may benefit ecosystem resistance to invasion in the future.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3. The site characteristics identified as important in round goby invasion and their relative contribution to round goby abundance.</td></tr>
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<br />While I continue to work on fine tuning this research, I am excited about these preliminary findings. I hope to identify site characteristics which can help predict potential invasions to increase management and prevention efficiency. This is a goal important to all residents of the Great Lakes region and something we should be invested in as stewards for ecosystem conservation. For more on what you can do to help prevention of aquatic invasive species, Michigan Sea Grant has some other great <a href="http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/files/2012/12/07-704-fs-AIS-MI.pdf">resources</a>. <br /><br />Thanks again to Michigan Sea Grant for supporting this study. If you have any questions or comments about this as I move forward with my research, feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:ckrab@wayne.edu">ckrab@wayne.edu</a> or on my Twitter page: <a href="https://twitter.com/ckrabb">@ckrabb</a>.</div>
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Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-47107151190299014032018-08-20T14:10:00.000-04:002018-08-20T14:10:52.921-04:00Life on a boat: An Arctic update from Knauss Fellow Janet Hsiao Greetings from the Chukchi Sea! It’s mostly light out north of the Arctic Circle this time of year; the sun grazes just below the horizon each night then rises shortly after. As a part of my Knauss Fellowship through NOAA’s <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/Meet-the-Divisions/Ocean-Observing-and-Monitoring">Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division</a>, I was given the unique opportunity to sail on the <i>U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Healy</i>. My primary duties include trying to be useful to the various Arctic research operations on board, and working with the NOAA Communications team to write about their findings – which you can follow using <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2372/NOAA-Arctic-explorers-sail-North">#ArcticDispatches18</a>. The <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2380/Sailing-drones-collect-Arctic-data">series</a> will continue to be updated while we are underway. You can also read about this mission through the <a href="https://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/#/2018/Roy*Moffitt/blogs">blog</a> of our resident NOAA Teacher at Sea, Roy Moffitt – and expect another article from our journalist on board in a major newspaper (link to follow in the near future). There is definitely no shortage of outreach highlighting our scientific endeavors! I thought I would use this opportunity instead to share the experience through the lens of my first time at sea.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjcT1rojMFgq1CtnjuemGFozRNMdgkkMYm8beh1jpHZ_VbKbuNVI1lxS490cGaLouF6xigydUY1zxX1MaGlXHHAQCcRmE7RQX5wwvUmO8wV-oodNuHgLhViqfRqT9cpXjw8Hu_5sYao4/s1600/Healy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjcT1rojMFgq1CtnjuemGFozRNMdgkkMYm8beh1jpHZ_VbKbuNVI1lxS490cGaLouF6xigydUY1zxX1MaGlXHHAQCcRmE7RQX5wwvUmO8wV-oodNuHgLhViqfRqT9cpXjw8Hu_5sYao4/s640/Healy.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>USCGC Healy</i> is Janet's "home" while at sea. Photo: Meredith LaValley</td></tr>
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It has been ten days since we set sail from Alaska’s Port of Nome. We are slowly approaching wavy and icy territories, but I am now comfortable with the constant swaying of my surroundings (and occasional thud when we hit a piece of ice). I became more cognizant of what items are compostable and burnable to minimize waste. I can identify background engine noises that signal whether the ship will be moving or halting. I also learned to embrace the regularity that comes with working 12-hour shifts and eating meals at set times to support the 24-hour science operation. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFu0WyHl-FCaez06w30SCFnOo333UUSxvLAZVcFkrQY8K_wJ9U6OfdNqI2GKyT9yOFEb_srgltCB0Xf-FENWvxtj3ef5lOY9qCQst1bkoUKK01wuYjq196b3puNNyEM-5C1NFNGksL6E/s1600/nap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFu0WyHl-FCaez06w30SCFnOo333UUSxvLAZVcFkrQY8K_wJ9U6OfdNqI2GKyT9yOFEb_srgltCB0Xf-FENWvxtj3ef5lOY9qCQst1bkoUKK01wuYjq196b3puNNyEM-5C1NFNGksL6E/s640/nap.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naps boost morale. Photo: Janet Hsiao</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFoRffrZuAgxUszTK_glw3NohQu_7hmZvcErFwFCT9N4ekkQqnxsH2OPvKb2ydpR1_SGCn3NMyO9BdYjYTPupa7__vhwr1-XAVuA_swMGen8MeatGSbiiEimJBOHHosYDoBMlZLCcVn4/s1600/pager.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFoRffrZuAgxUszTK_glw3NohQu_7hmZvcErFwFCT9N4ekkQqnxsH2OPvKb2ydpR1_SGCn3NMyO9BdYjYTPupa7__vhwr1-XAVuA_swMGen8MeatGSbiiEimJBOHHosYDoBMlZLCcVn4/s640/pager.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since internet and phone services are harder to come by in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, members of the science party and USCG crew communicate using pagers while on board. Photo: Janet Hsiao</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnNsTHJkE5z5TCsk08LcENToeCTQy9mZt4gpBlTnFviC3t5qh0_jzkmUTOiEKuaryCj47ATLwANYi4ypOHu68tShcLzuHBWkJl5rUJVm2qbPZjaJxrWzwmAym9O4DJv4g3x6-nSK2JnA/s1600/messdeck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnNsTHJkE5z5TCsk08LcENToeCTQy9mZt4gpBlTnFviC3t5qh0_jzkmUTOiEKuaryCj47ATLwANYi4ypOHu68tShcLzuHBWkJl5rUJVm2qbPZjaJxrWzwmAym9O4DJv4g3x6-nSK2JnA/s640/messdeck.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The interdisciplinary science team studies various aspects of the Arctic ecosystem, including genomics, algae, marine mammals, aerosols, and physical oceanography. Researchers have an opportunity to learn about each other’s findings during meal times on the mess deck. Photo: Janet Hsiao</td></tr>
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Traveling to the Arctic is no easy feat. Even on the first day of sailing, I came to appreciate the collaborative nature of oceanography as a discipline. Our science crew consists of multiple academic institutions (e.g., the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Washington, the University of Maryland) and government agencies (e.g., NOAA, USGS, USFWS). This experience is especially valuable for providing context to what I have been learning from my host office in budget and program management. Research in the Arctic highlights the value of maintaining sustained observations, which requires dedicated leadership and resources. Changes in this vulnerable ecosystem have been documented by scientists who consistently return to the study region year after year. Through a dedicated community effort, there now exist ongoing time-series of various aspects of the Arctic, enabled by those with vested interest in understanding how this complex system is changing. This research cruise, as well as the many before and many to come, is truly a multi-faceted undertaking made possible by partnership and collaboration.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqb108OkGIM0v1oatTi2uXUQyU2hyphenhyphenf21pswEwTV4KYjjaCuzll-JmrmAJyNGSIQTY45-fQNg1E_PGK4JO_JGBotXpFiPxE22sNRiVAgzp-hs1xWG9eGrJmNkwPPFUPc_J1Y3rXH82MXI/s1600/coral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqb108OkGIM0v1oatTi2uXUQyU2hyphenhyphenf21pswEwTV4KYjjaCuzll-JmrmAJyNGSIQTY45-fQNg1E_PGK4JO_JGBotXpFiPxE22sNRiVAgzp-hs1xWG9eGrJmNkwPPFUPc_J1Y3rXH82MXI/s640/coral.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did you know that there are corals in the Arctic? Photo: Stephanie Grassia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pLulbnWYd3C5ZyAFIjuCIdfLfpQ9pQeoRNe75Kxn3sG4nr1Qu7vu9RJkJKyug_14VQUOwfOgajmm7SWh7KUw59mn8DWm55ojXK2lvkGVFMLZal9gHTZdsy1c8TEdLiMSVO-HbTY72Bo/s1600/CTD.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pLulbnWYd3C5ZyAFIjuCIdfLfpQ9pQeoRNe75Kxn3sG4nr1Qu7vu9RJkJKyug_14VQUOwfOgajmm7SWh7KUw59mn8DWm55ojXK2lvkGVFMLZal9gHTZdsy1c8TEdLiMSVO-HbTY72Bo/s640/CTD.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scientists take turns to collect seawater samples from the “conductivity-temperature-depth” (CTD) Rosette, which is an instrument package lowered over the side of the ship. Bottles are attached to a frame that collect seawater at different depths on the way up. Our research crew is composed of various teams that study biological, physical, and chemical oceanography – and share the CTD samples. Photo: Meredith LaValley</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h9okafw7Bvn0w33F8SM-RNI1zQLk7U-N5yWm0j4o71xN8yyiasqTMd87ifa0ANXUEb0vRUstNclLedpgonLFMI_OhjmGCevxbRYcdjAo0pvRjge6RHUECtXJuOu2nSKTZEH41YwLmEM/s1600/402BAF15-4795-4551-BEA4-FE171ECFEAE4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h9okafw7Bvn0w33F8SM-RNI1zQLk7U-N5yWm0j4o71xN8yyiasqTMd87ifa0ANXUEb0vRUstNclLedpgonLFMI_OhjmGCevxbRYcdjAo0pvRjge6RHUECtXJuOu2nSKTZEH41YwLmEM/s640/402BAF15-4795-4551-BEA4-FE171ECFEAE4.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea-ice sighting with fellow Knauss Fellow Sammi Dowdell. Photo: Christina Goethel</td></tr>
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Some of my favorite moments include seeing a puffin in flight, power-washing barnacles off moorings that were underwater for a year, and trying to play ping-pong on a moving vessel. Prior to setting foot on <i>Healy</i>, I knew only one other person on board. The shipboard environment quickly acquainted us with each other. Every person on the science team and USCG crew have their designated roles, whether it is to <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2378/SEABIRDS-ARCTIC-CANARIES-IN-A-COALMINE">observe seabird</a>s, navigate, process seawater samples, cook meals, etc. We operate with the common goal of successfully completing our science mission (keeping everyone safe while gathering the data). I particularly appreciate working in the collaborative environment where people are patient in teaching each other and help out where needed. Living in close quarters also means that I have opportunities to ask questions and learn from people from all walks of life. I am grateful for everyone’s kindness and generosity in sharing their stories and the fortuitous paths that allow us to convene here in the Arctic. We are <a href="http://icefloe.net/healy-realtime-data">on track</a> to complete our journey in time, to then return to our respective lives and make sense of this experience (and the data collected). I look forward to sharing the day-to-day with my new colleagues and friends during our remaining time together. Until we meet again!</div>
Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2191655530218545896.post-33362761588411146002018-07-30T11:33:00.000-04:002018-07-30T11:33:26.263-04:00An Upper Peninsula field trip with Corey KrabbenhoftHello again! <br /><br />I hope everyone’s summer is off to a fantastic start. I thought I’d take this opportunity to branch out a bit and highlight some fantastic research that I’ve been involved in over the past few years. While I spend most of my time these days thinking about round goby invasion in the Great Lakes (see my last blog post <a href="http://msgfellowship.blogspot.com/2018/05/stream-sampling-and-goby-guts-corey.html">here</a>), I have been involved in a few side projects throughout my time at Wayne State. One of the main questions I am addressing in my research with Michigan Sea Grant is how watershed quality (as influenced by human activities) affects the ability of invasive species to establish populations. To do this, I have looked at watersheds across the state, which reflect a gradient of overall quality. This means that I’ve spent a fair amount of time sampling in very urban and agricultural rivers that are highly impacted by human activities. <br /><br />In contrast to the urban streams I am used to, I spent some time this month working on a long-term project in some streams that are about as remote as you can get in Michigan. My advisor, <a href="https://trust.wayne.edu/staff.html">Donna Kashian</a>, has had research support and sponsorship from the <a href="http://www.hmwf.org/">Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation</a> (HMWF) in the Upper Peninsula (Figure 1) for about 11 years. The HMWF has been a fantastic group to work with and is truly a hidden gem in Michigan’s environmental research (if you’re interested, keep an eye out for their next <a href="http://www.hmwf.org/for-researchers/">call for proposals</a>). I was fortunate enough to be invited on these trips and have now been going for five years. The project was designed to develop a long-term monitoring program for ecosystem integrity in streams in the Huron Mountains (just west of Marquette in the UP). This area is quite remote and serves as a good "reference" location for tracking the impacts of human-mediated environmental changes like climate change, a newly constructed mine in the area, and general construction and development activities.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH-feMcMWwcAd1EmuRSD3nRl5BtHe8RRBPYTG4k8bJRj3__p-9QnHQtKN4LXbpRCDhajqVRToWZ7ahmtQUWCgoEhZA6GwM9AKvRaNAyY4zFhnnRu6DS8FgS76-o66JY3HoHmovOthZbA/s1600/Figure1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="603" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH-feMcMWwcAd1EmuRSD3nRl5BtHe8RRBPYTG4k8bJRj3__p-9QnHQtKN4LXbpRCDhajqVRToWZ7ahmtQUWCgoEhZA6GwM9AKvRaNAyY4zFhnnRu6DS8FgS76-o66JY3HoHmovOthZbA/s320/Figure1.PNG" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1. General location of our sampling efforts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (location indicated by red marker). Image: Google Maps</td></tr>
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Our project uses aquatic macroinvertebrates (Figure 2) to keep track of water quality in the area. Every July, we sample 30 streams in the area that are associated with varying levels of perturbations associated with human activities. In addition to macroinvertebrates, we take a suite of water quality samples: basic things like dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, as well as samples we take back to the lab to process, like nutrients, metals, and organic carbon. The combination of these measures gives us an idea about if and how human activities might be affecting water quality in the surrounding area, and where there is the most impact. Collecting these types of data over a long timeframe (eleven years and counting!) provides a valuable resource in assessing how ecosystem integrity changes over time. It also provides clues as to the mechanisms for change based on the type of response observed in the data.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTOZ5pEFVnbA3W0dzl9lWn7ge31X21zAUcMAuZ3zR29za0jTGIvEWGE5xLWE2_Rl9F2qmF4714FvsAV0hbc0I1cYRDtVgJBHnnadhp7-S6_SAXLStM-k4WlDEXAf_kzBJduR8VT-6BDU/s1600/Figure2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="1029" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTOZ5pEFVnbA3W0dzl9lWn7ge31X21zAUcMAuZ3zR29za0jTGIvEWGE5xLWE2_Rl9F2qmF4714FvsAV0hbc0I1cYRDtVgJBHnnadhp7-S6_SAXLStM-k4WlDEXAf_kzBJduR8VT-6BDU/s400/Figure2.png" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Figure 2. My lab mate and fellow PhD student Darrin Hunt joined us this year. Here he is using a Hess stream bottom sampler to collect macroinvertebrates from one of our stream sites. At the end of the day, we sieve and preserve all our samples in ethanol to take back to our lab to process further. Pictured (bottom right) is a dragonfly nymph, a nice example of the invertebrates we collect. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft</td></tr>
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Many of the streams we sample are much different than those you might be familiar with in the Lower Peninsula. Many are very small (less than one meter wide in some cases), only a handful of them regularly have fish, and they often have high levels of tannins due to leaf litter from the surrounding forest (Figure 3). Importantly, these streams are also free from the impacts of several invasive species which are common in the Lower Peninsula like dreissenid mussels (<a href="http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/files/2012/12/06-707-quagga-mussel.pdf">quagga</a> and <a href="http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/files/2012/12/06-709-zebra-mussel.pdf">zebra</a> mussels), and the <a href="http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/explore/native-and-invasive-species/species/fish-species-in-michigan-and-the-great-lakes/round-goby/">round goby</a>, the species I work on in my research with Michigan Sea Grant. These streams are largely part of the Salmon Trout and Yellow Dog watersheds, both of which are important recreational trout fisheries in the area.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKfO0zWJGwhXehK7g9pVqwO_bLq35UTGVBPyUvvz3VKYrqwMKVkiGkYWIA7y6y6qfVMYvPUrsQ2KjO9urN9LnsjAbClflWxJ8R7hdHT1dGGy9Hxwd9waQtHNiRj09dYlpSaWoah-Ie9E/s1600/Figure3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKfO0zWJGwhXehK7g9pVqwO_bLq35UTGVBPyUvvz3VKYrqwMKVkiGkYWIA7y6y6qfVMYvPUrsQ2KjO9urN9LnsjAbClflWxJ8R7hdHT1dGGy9Hxwd9waQtHNiRj09dYlpSaWoah-Ie9E/s640/Figure3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3. Some of the more spectacular sites we sample every year. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft</td></tr>
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So far, the majority of the impacts we have seen have been related to surface construction associated with development of the new mine in the area (Figure 4). In 2013, a year before mining operations commenced, we witnessed a dramatic restructuring of the road system through the area. What used to be single-lane dirt roads had been transformed into large two- to four-lane highways. Simultaneously, the bridges at stream crossings were redone to support the increased weight and frequency of logging trucks associated with the construction activities (and then ultimately the mining trucks themselves). This rapid and dramatic change to the riparian areas and bank stability was reflected in our invertebrate data by an increase in relatively tolerant invertebrate taxa (i.e., invertebrates that are sensitive to things like increased sedimentation were less abundant, while those that are relatively tolerant became more abundant) (Figure 5). The good news is that we saw a relatively quick recovery of the invertebrate communities the following year.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3YMzRKAPc6XX9AXEfg6AQEpk5XpbcXanO24KLyFI1sHOZDL277WUKXl_ajYPVhICRW5wiXOs8uD_6li4g73NWUduqi11YQEpkFFpkcOSfm_zL2QTEWwise4nLsq6rbpJFeKK4ylCTZM/s1600/Figure4+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3YMzRKAPc6XX9AXEfg6AQEpk5XpbcXanO24KLyFI1sHOZDL277WUKXl_ajYPVhICRW5wiXOs8uD_6li4g73NWUduqi11YQEpkFFpkcOSfm_zL2QTEWwise4nLsq6rbpJFeKK4ylCTZM/s640/Figure4+%25281%2529.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 4. Impacts observed due to construction activities. Left -- sediment barrier designed to keep excess silt from running into streams, which is almost completely buried. Middle -- a new culvert installed at one road crossing (my adviser, Donna Kashian, is pictured). Right -- unstable fill has resulted in wash-outs near some of the roads. Photos: Corey Krabbenhoft</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzoslZkj9aCttzbwewAmu53djOmniamSAamVwiVGXqTjVHpNU5ATyOCPLH1PkjHsCGy5whhWQ2Vg4cynqzSuoS6NgKKdPQw4obv1QgSefkOSyMTMBj29YUJ2hyphenhyphenFFR1cJwMJwgUJMPsb0/s1600/Figure5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="455" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzoslZkj9aCttzbwewAmu53djOmniamSAamVwiVGXqTjVHpNU5ATyOCPLH1PkjHsCGy5whhWQ2Vg4cynqzSuoS6NgKKdPQw4obv1QgSefkOSyMTMBj29YUJ2hyphenhyphenFFR1cJwMJwgUJMPsb0/s400/Figure5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 5. Principal components analysis of the invertebrate communities for four of our most impacted sites over the course of the study. Each point represents the invertebrate community at a single site during a single year. All four sites are quite different in 2012 (yellow), largely due to a larger proportion of chironomids (midges), a particularly tolerant taxon. Image: Corey Krabbenhoft<div class="MsoNormal">
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This project is ongoing, and we hope to continue our monitoring efforts to develop a long-term data set for the area that can be used to detail the environmental consequences of discrete human activities, as well as general, long-term change (and how the degree of change in this remote area compares to that which we observe in more urban systems). As we continue processing samples, we will have a better understanding of any lasting consequences for the water quality in the area.<br /><br />In the meantime, I’ll get back to daydreaming about round gobies and focus on my dissertation work. If you are interested to hear more about this project or want to chat about research in general, I’m more than happy to hear from you! You can find me at <a href="mailto:ckrab@wayne.edu" target="_blank">ckrab@wayne.edu</a> or on my Twitter page <a href="https://twitter.com/ckrabb">@ckrabb</a>.</div>
Michigan Sea Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08215278437110615227noreply@blogger.com0