VERIFYING SUCCESS OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS IN THE HURON-ERIE CORRIDOR FOR LAKE STURGEON

Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) were historically abundant in the Huron-Erie Corridor (HEC), a 160 km river/channel network composed of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River that connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie. In the HEC, most natural lake sturgeon spawning substrates have been eliminated or degraded as a result of channelization and dredging. To address significant habitat loss in HEC, multi-agency restoration efforts are underway to restore spawning substrate by constructing artificial spawning reefs. The main objective of this study was to conduct post-construction monitoring of lake sturgeon egg deposition and larval emergence near two of these artificial reef projects; Fighting Island Reef in the Detroit River, and Middle Channel Spawning Reef in the lower St. Clair River. We also investigated seasonal and nightly timing of larval emergence, growth, and vertical distribution in the water column at these sites, and an additional site in the St. Clair River where lake sturgeon are known to spawn on a bed of ~100 year old coal clinkers. From 2010-12, we collected viable eggs and larvae at all three sites indicating that these artificial reefs are creating conditions suitable for egg deposition, fertilization, incubation, and larval emergence. The construction methods and materials, and physical site conditions present in HEC artificial reef projects can be used to inform future spawning habitat restoration or enhancement efforts. The results from this study have also identified the likelihood of additional uncharacterized natural spawning sites in the St. Clair River. In addition to the field study, we conducted a laboratory experiment involving actual substrate materials that have been used in artificial reef construction in this system. Although coal clinkers are chemically inert, some trace elements can be reincorporated with the clinker material during the combustion process. Since lake sturgeon eggs and larvae are developing in close proximity to this material, it is important to measure the concentration of potentially toxic trace elements. This study focused on arsenic, which occurs naturally in coal and can be toxic to fishes. Total arsenic concentration was measured in samples taken from four substrate treatments submerged in distilled water; limestone cobble, rinsed limestone cobble, coal clinker, and rinsed coal clinker. Samples were taken at three time intervals: 24 hours, 11 days, and 21 days. ICP-MS analysis showed that concentrations of total arsenic were below the EPA drinking water standard (10 ppb) for all samples. However, at the 24 hour sampling interval, a two way repeated measures ANOVA with a Holm-Sidak post hoc analysis (α= 0.05) showed that the mean arsenic concentration was significantly higher in the coal clinker substrate treatment then in the rinsed coal clinker treatment (p=0.006), the limestone cobble treatment (p

USING MOSSES TO ASSESS CONDITIONS IN NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR SWAMPS

Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) (NWC) swamps are valuable both commercially and ecologically. Unfortunately, many NWC swamps are degraded and information about them is not abundant. Especially there have been no definitive studies about mosses in northern white cedar swamps and how they react to disturbances. Mosses are sensitive to changes in their environment and thus they could be used to assess ecosystem conditions of NWC swamps. The objective of this study was to determine if mosses could be used to asses conditions in NWC swamps and if there are differences between moss communities in disturbed and undisturbed sites. Seventeen sample plots were taken from 12 disturbed and undisturbed sites around upper Michigan and northern Minnesota in the summer of 2012. All mosses occurring on the plots were identified and several associated environmental parameters were measured. The main environmental conditions affecting moss communities were identified with non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS). Multiple response permutation procedures (MRPP) were run to ascertain if there were significant differences in community composition between disturbances. Indicator species analysis was then done to identify species that are related to different types of disturbances. A one-way ANOVA was used to check for significant differences between species richness and moss cover of undisturbed and disturbed sites. Over all sixty-two moss species were identified. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in species richness or moss cover between disturbed and undisturbed sites. However, moss community composition was affected by disturbance and strongly divided by a wetness gradient. Dicranum fuscescens was found to indicate undisturbed conditions. Calliergon cordifolium and Climacium dendroides indicated disturbed sites with wet conditions. Brotherella recurvans and Eurhynchium pulchellum indicated swamps with other disturbances.