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Development of Environmental Indicators of Condition, Integrity, and Sustainability in the Coastal Regions of the US Great Lakes Basin
EPA Grant Number: R828675Center: EAGLES - Great Lakes Environmental Indicators Project
Center Director: Niemi, Gerald J.
Title: Development of Environmental Indicators of Condition, Integrity, and Sustainability in the Coastal Regions of the US Great Lakes Basin
Investigators: Niemi, Gerald J. , Axler, Richard , Hanowski, JoAnn M. , Host, George E. , Howe, Robert W. , Johnson, Lucinda , Johnston, Carol A. , Kingston, John C. , Regal, Ronald R. , Richards, Carl , Swackhamer, Deborah L.
Current Investigators: Niemi, Gerald J. , Axler, Richard , Bedford, Barbara L. , Brady, Valerie J. , Ciborowski, Jan , Hanowski, JoAnn M. , Host, George E. , Howe, Robert W. , Hrabik, Thomas , Johansen, Jeffrey R. , Johnson, Lucinda , Johnston, Carol A. , Kingston, John C. , Reavie, Euan D. , Regal, Ronald R. , Richards, Carl , Sgro, Gerald V. , Simcik, Matthew , Smith, Charles , Stoermer, Eugene F. , Swackhamer, Deborah L. , Zedler, Joy B.
Institution: University of Minnesota - Duluth
EPA Project Officer: Levinson, Barbara
Project Period: January 11, 2001 through January 31, 2005 (Extended to January 9, 2006)
Project Amount: $6,000,000
RFA: Environmental Indicators in the Estuarine Environment Research Program (2000)
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Description:
Approach:We will test the indicators with a combination of existing data, a pilot study, and a more comprehensive field study in years 2 and 3 that are linked with stressors of the basin. Year 4 will be dedicated to analysis and recommendation of a suite of hierarchically structured indicators. Our research plan uses EPA's ecological risk assessment paradigm to: 1) illustrate the development of indicators, 2) test cause and effect between stressors and endpoints, and 3) provide essential linkages with EPA initiatives and programs. Indicators are divided into pressure (stressors) and state indicators (individual, population, community, and landscape-level endpoints or responses to the stressors). Major stressors include land use change, climate change, point and non-point discharges, exotic species, atmospheric deposition, and hydrological modifications. State indicators focus on biotic populations and communities (amphibian, bird, diatoms, fish, macroinvertebrates, and aquatic plants), land cover, and water quality (contaminants, nutrients). Field sampling will employ a random stratified design using ecological provinces, watersheds, shoreline reaches, and ecosystem types as the basis for stratification.
Expected Results:Our goal is to identify the relationship between stressors and ecosystem response, which would allow predictions of stressor impacts to be made. These will allow us to recommend the most efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and understandable indicators to scientists and managers. These indicators will be easily visible, simple to monitor, and will allow managers to easily communicate the environmental condition of the Great Lakes nearshore and coastal areas to the general public. The Great Lakes Sea Grant network will provide support and communicate these results to the Great Lakes community.
Journal Articles: 47 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 335 publications | 56 publications in selected types | All 47 journal articles |
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Axler R, Henneck J, Kireta A, Sgro J, Kingston J. Surrogate water quality indicators for use in monitoring the Great Lakes coastal zone. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (in preparation, 2004). |
R828675C001 (2003) |
not available |
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Brazner JC, Danz NP, Niemi GJ, Regal RR, et al. Assessing the condition of Great Lakes coastal wetlands using multiple taxonomic groups: geographic and geomorphic influences. Ecological Applications (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675C001 (2004) |
not available |
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Brazner JC, Danz NP, Niemi GJ, Regal RR, Trebitz AS, Howe RW, Hanowski JM, Johnson LB, Ciborowski JJH, Johnston CA, Reavie ED, Brady VJ, Sgro GV. Evaluation of geographic, geomorphic and human influences on Great Lakes wetland indicators: a multi-assemblage approach. Ecological Indicators 2007;7(3):610-635. |
R828675 (Final) |
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Breneman DB, Hrabik T, Schuldt J, Johnson LB. Effects of landscape-scale stressors on size class distribution of Great Lakes nearshore fish communities. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675C003 (2004) |
not available |
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Cade BS, Noon BR. A gentle introduction to quantile regression for ecologists. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2003;1(8):412-420. |
R828675C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Ciborowski JJH, Schuldt J, Johnson LB, Host GE, Richards C, Danz N, Hollenhorst T. Reference conditions and axes of environmental stress - developing, integrating, and evaluating indicators of environmental conditions at Great Lakes coastal margins. Ecological Applications (in preparation, 2004). |
R828675C003 (2003) |
not available |
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Crane JL, Richards C, Breneman D, Lozano S, Schuldt JA. Evaluating methods for assessing sediment quality in a Great Lakes embayment. Aquatic Ecosystem Heath & Management 2005;8(3):323-349. |
R828675 (Final) |
not available |
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Danz NP, Regal RR, Niemi GJ, Brady VJ, Hollenhorst T, Johnson LB, Host GE, Hanowski JM, Johnston CA, Brown T, et al. Environmentally stratified sampling design for the development of Great Lakes environmental indicators. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 2005;102(1-3):41-65. |
R828675C001 (2003) R828675C001 (2004) R828675C001 (Final) R828675C002 (2003) |
not available |
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Danz NP, Niemi GJ, Regal RR, Hollenhorst T, Johnson LB, Hanowski JM, Axler RP, Ciborowski JJH, Hrabik T, Brady VJ, Kelly JR, Morrice JA, Brazner JC, Howe RW, Johnston CA, Host GE. Integrated measures of anthropogenic stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin. Environmental Management 2007;39(5):631-647. |
R828675 (Final) |
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Frieswyk CB, Johnston CA, Zedler JB. Measuring dominance among co-occurring plants. Ecological Applications (in revision, 2005). |
R828675C002 (2003) R828675C002 (2004) |
not available |
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Frieswyk CB, Zedler JB. Vegetation change in Great Lakes coastal wetlands: deviation from the historical cycle. Journal of Great Lakes Research 2007;33(2):366-380. |
R828675C002 (Final) |
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Grandmaison DD, Niemi GJ. Landscape influence on Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) nest success in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. The Auk (submitted, 2005). |
R828675 (2004) |
not available |
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Grigorovich IA, Kang M, Ciborowski JJH. Colonization of the Laurentian Great Lakes by the amphipod Gammarus tigrinus, a native of the North American Atlantic coast. Journal of Great Lakes Research 2005;31(3):333-342. |
R828675C003 (2004) R828675C003 (Final) |
not available |
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Grigorovich IA, Mills EL, Richards CB, Breneman D, Ciborowski JJH. European valve snail Valvata piscinalis (Müller) in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. Journal of Great Lakes Research 2005;31(2):135-143. |
R828675C003 (2004) R828675C003 (Final) R828777 (2003) |
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Hanowski J, Danz N, Howe R, Niemi G, Regal R. Consideration of geography and wetland geomorphic type in the development of Great Lakes coastal wetland bird indicators. EcoHealth 2007;4(2):194-205. |
R828675 (Final) R828675C004 (2004) |
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Hanowski J, et al. Species-specific sampling effectiveness of calling anuran surveys in Lake Superior wetlands. Copeia (in review, 2005). |
R828675C004 (2004) |
not available |
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Host GE, Schuldt J, Ciborowski JJH, Johnson LB, Hollenhorst T, Richards C. Use of GIS and remotely sensed data for a priori identification of reference areas for Great Lakes coastal ecosystems. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2005;26(23):5325-5342. |
R828675C003 (Final) R828777 (2003) |
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Howe RW, Regal RR, Niemi GJ, Danz NP, Hanowski JM. A probability-based indicator of ecological condition. Ecological Indicators 2007;7(4):793-806. |
R828675 (Final) |
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Hrabik TR, Breneman DB, Johnson LB, Schuldt J, et al. Variability in the trophic structure and diversity of fish assemblages in Great Lakes wetlands: the influence of anthropogenic stressors and land use information. Journal of Great Lakes Research or Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675C003 (2004) |
not available |
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Johnson LB, Schuldt JA, Brady V, Breneman D, et al. Comparison of fish communities in reference and non-reference coastal Great Lakes wetlands. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675C003 (2004) |
not available |
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Johnson LB, Hollenhorst T, Host G, Richards C. Scale effects in mapping riparian zones. Landscape Ecology (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675C003 (2004) |
not available |
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Johnston CA, Meysembourg P. Comparison of the Wisconsin and National Wetlands Inventories. Wetlands 2002;22(2):386-405. |
R828675C002 (2002) R828675C002 (2003) R828675C002 (Final) |
not available |
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Johnston CA. Shrub species as indicators of wetland sedimentation. Wetlands 2003;23(4):911-920. |
R828675C002 (2003) |
not available |
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Kercher SM, Frieswyk CB, Zedler JB. Effects of sampling teams and estimation methods on the assessment of plant cover. Journal of Vegetation Science 2003;14(6):899-906. |
R828675C002 (2004) R828675C002 (Final) R828010 (Final) |
not available |
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Kercher SM, Frieswyk CB, Zedler JB. Quality control approaches reveal effects of sampling teams and estimation methods for assessing plant cover in temperate herbaceous wetlands. Journal of Vegetation Science. |
R828675C002 (2002) R828675C002 (2003) |
not available |
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Niemi GJ, McDonald ME. Application of ecological indicators. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 2004;35:89-111. |
R828675 (2004) R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Niemi G, Wardrop D, Brooks R, Anderson S, Brady V, Paerl H , Rakocinski C, Brouwer M, Levinson B, McDonald M. Rationale for a new generation of ecological indicators for coastal waters. Environmental Health Perspectives 2004;112(9):979-986. |
R828675 (2004) R828675 (Final) R828677C001 (Final) R828684 (Final) R829458C003 (2003) R829458C008 (2003) R829458C008 (2004) |
not available |
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Price SJ, Marks DR, Howe RW, Hanowski J, Niemi GJ. The importance of spatial scale for conservation and assessment of anuran populations in coastal wetlands of the western Great Lakes. Landscape Ecology 2005;20(4):441-454. |
R828675C004 (2003) R828675C004 (Final) |
not available |
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Ramstack JM, Fritz SC, Engstrom DR, Heiskary SA. The application of a diatom-based transfer function to evaluate regional water–quality trends in Minnesota since 1970. Journal of Paleolimnology 2003;29:79-94. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Reavie ED, Axler RP, Sgro GV, Danz NP, Kingston JC, Kireta AR, Brown TN, Hollenhorst TP, Ferguson MJ. Diatom-based weighted-averaging transfer functions for Great Lakes coastal water quality: relationships to watershed characteristics. Journal of Great Lakes Research 2006;32(2):321-347. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Reavie E, Smol J. Diatom-environmental relationships in 64 alkaline southeastern Ontario (Canada) lakes: a diatom-based model for water quality reconstructions. Journal of Paleolimnology 2001;25(1):25-42. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Ryves DB, McGowan S, Anderson NJ. Development and evaluation of a diatom-conductivity model from lakes in West Greenland. Freshwater Biology 2002;47:995-1014. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Seegert G. The development, use, and misuse of biocriteria with and emphasis on index of biotic integrity. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2001;3:51-58. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Sgro GV, Ketterer ME, Johansen JR. Ecology and assessment of the benthic diatom communities of four Lake Erie estuaries using Lange-Bertalot tolerance values. Hydrobiologia 2006;561:239-249. |
R828675C001 (2004) R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Siver PA, Ricard R, Goodwin R, Giblin AE. Estimating historical in-lake alkalinity generation from sulfate reduction and its relationship to lake chemistry as inferred from algal microfossils. Journal of Paleolimnology 2003;29:179-197. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Smith SB, Blouin MA, Mac MJ. Ecological comparisons of Lake Erie tributaries with elevated incidence of fish tumors. Journal of Great Lakes Research 1994;20:701-716. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Stoermer EF, Wolin JA, Schelske CL. Paleolimnological comparison of the Laurentian Great Lakes based on diatoms. Limnology and Oceanography 1993; 38:1311-1316. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Stoermer EF, Pappas JL. Atypical Tabularia in coastal Lake Erie. Diatom Research (in preparation, 2004). |
R828675C001 (2003) |
not available |
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Stoermer EF, Pappas JL. Atypical Tabularia in coastal Lake Erie. Diatom Research (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675 (2004) |
not available |
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Tibby J. Development of a diatom–based model for inferring total phosphorus in southeastern Australian water storages. Journal of Paleolimnology 2004;31:23-36. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Trebitz A, Brazner J, Brady V. Turbidity tolerances of Great Lakes wetland fishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (in preparation, 2005). |
R828675 (2004) |
not available |
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Tuchman ML, Theriot EC, Stoermer EF. Effects of low-level salinity concentrations on the growth of Cyclotella meneghiniana Kütz. Arch. Protistenk. 1984;128:318-326. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Werner P, Smol JP. Diatom–environmental relationships and nutrient transfer functions from contrasting shallow and deep limestone lakes in Ontario, Canada. Hydrobiologia 2005;533:145-173. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Wolter PT, Johnston CA, Niemi GJ. Mapping submerged aquatic vegetation in the U.S. Great Lakes using Quickbird satellite data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2005;26(23):5255-5274. |
R828675C004 (Final) |
not available |
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Yang J, Duthie HC. Regression and weighted averaging models relating surficial sedimentary diatom assemblages to water depth in Lake Ontario. Journal of Great Lakes Research 1995;21:84-94. |
R828675C001 (Final) |
not available |
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Kang M, Ciborowski JJH, Johnson LB, Hrabik TR, Richards C, Schuldt J. The relationship between anthropogenic disturbance and the distribution of a nonindigenous species, Echinogammarus ischnus Stebbing, 1898 (Amphipoda: Gammaridae), at Great Lakes coastal margins. Biological Invasions (in preparation, 2004). |
R828675C003 (2003) |
not available |
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Uzarski DG, Burton TM, Cooper MJ, Ingram JW, Timmermans STA. Fish habitat use within and across wetland classes in coastal wetlands of the five Great Lakes: development of a fish-based index of biotic integrity. Journal of Great Lakes Research 2005;31(Suppl. 1):171-187. |
R828675C003 (Final) |
not available |
Great Lakes, monitoring, indicators, risk assessment, stressor, ecological effects, animal, plant, diatoms, toxics. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water, Air, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, climate change, Great Lakes, Nutrients, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, Ecology and Ecosystems, atmospheric pollutant loads, toxic environmental contaminants, water quality, aquatic ecosystem, human activities, hierarchically structured indicators, hydrological stability, ecological response, Global Climate Change, hydrologic models, ecosystem indicators, diatoms, wetland vegetation, nutrient stress, environmental stressor, environmental consequences, ecosystem impacts, aquatic ecosystems, climate variability, coastal environments, ecosystem assessment, coastal ecosystem, nutrient transport, hydrological, ecological assessment, estuarine ecosystems, nutrient supply, ecosystem stress, ecological condition
Progress and Final Reports:
2001 Progress Report
2004 Progress Report
Final Report
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R828675C001 Great Lakes Diatom and Water Quality Indicators
R828675C002 Vegetative Indicators of Condition, Integrity, and Sustainability of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands
R828675C003 Testing Indicators of Coastal Ecosystem Integrity Using Fish and Macroinvertebrates
R828675C004 Development and Assessment of Environmental Indicators Based on Birds and Amphibians in the Great Lakes Basin
R828675C005 Development and Evaluation of Chemical Indicators for Monitoring Ecological Risk