Publications

No abstract available.

Nearly all of the wetlands in the coastal zone of Lake Erie have been degraded or destroyed since the 1860s, and most of those that remain are separated from their watersheds by earthen dikes. Hydrologic isolation of these wetlands disrupts ecosystem benefits typical to Great Lakes coastal wetlands, particularly the ability to trap sediments and retain nutrients when inundated by runoff...

We used light and confocal microscopy to visualize bacteria in leaf and bract cells of more than 30 species in 18 families of seed plants. Through histochemical analysis, we detected hormones (including ethylene and nitric oxide), superoxide, and nitrogenous chemicals (including nitric oxide and nitrate) around bacteria within plant cells. Bacteria were observed in epidermal cells...

No abstract available.

The annual Lake Ontario April bottom trawl survey and Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, population assessment provide science to inform management decisions related to predator-prey balance and fish community dynamics. The 2022 survey was conducted from March 31 to April 26, included 235 trawls in the main lake and embayments, and sampled depths from 5 to 219 m (16 – 723 ft). The survey...

Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activity over the last several decades despite their critical role in fish production. Many Great Lakes fish species use coastal wetland habitats for spawning, feeding, shelter, and nurseries throughout the year. The goal of our study was to compare GLCW fish community composition in the spring, summer, and...

Many fish species display inter-population and inter-individual egg size variation. Intra-specific differences in egg size seemingly reflect both energetic experiences of individual spawning fish and long-term population responses to differing ecosystems. Optimal egg size theory implies that selection influences a population’s mean egg size in response to its early-life environment...

No abstract available.

Manipulating plant microbiomes may provide control of invasive species. Invasive Phragmites australis has spread rapidly in North American wetlands, causing significant declines in native biodiversity. To test microbiome effects on host growth, we inoculated four common fungal endophytes into replicated Phragmites genotypes and monitored their growth in field and growth chamber...

Water-level fluctuations are critical in maintaining diversity of plant communities in Great Lakes wetlands. Sedge-grass meadows are especially sensitive to such fluctuations. We conducted vegetation sampling in a sedge-grass dominated Lake Michigan drowned river mouth wetland in 1995, 2002, and 2010 following high lake levels in 1986 and 1997. We also conducted photointerpretation...

In this paper, an economical and effective soft pressure sensor for underwater sea lamprey detection is proposed, which consists of an array of piezoresistive elements between two layers of perpendicular copper tape electrodes, forming a passive resistor network. With multiplexers, the apparent resistance corresponding to each pixel of the sensing matrix can be measured directly, where...

The relationship between phoretic diskfishes and their hosts is a classic example of marine symbiosis, yet surprisingly few studies have quantified this trophic relationship. We investigated the hypothesis that by consuming host parasites and prey scraps phoretic diskfishes (Echeneidae) feed at a higher relative trophic position than free-living individuals through expanded foraging...