Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Aquatic Ecosystem Health
The role of the Aquatic Ecosystem Health program is to conduct research to protect, mitigate, and enhance the health of aquatic ecosystems. Research conducted within the Program is focused on the following 3 areas of study, (1) controlling aquatic invasive species, (2) fisheries restoration, and (3) understanding the impacts of contaminants on aquatic ecosystems.
Browse Aquatic Ecosystem Health science related to:
Asian Carp Control: Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is being evaluated as a chemical control for invasive Asian carps. Recent work involves investigations on the effectiveness of CO2 as a tool to limit range expansion by blocking upstream migrations (behavioral deterrent) and manage existing populations (lethal control). Data generated from these studies are intended to inform resource managers...
Development of Sampling Protocols and Diagnostic Tools for Assessment of Freshwater Mussel Health
Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems
The role of disease in freshwater mussel declines has been largely ignored due to the lack of appropriate diagnostic tools....
Development of a Broad Microarray Technology to Survey for Aquatic Pathogens
Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems
The need to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and sustain healthy communities is greatly recognized. Aquatic pathogens pose a...
Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems
Native freshwater mussels play a critical role in aquatic environments and are considered “ecosystem engineers” and indicators of water quality by constantly filtering water. Populations of native freshwater mussels have declined in recent years, and this decline has been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species, among others. The importance of these...
Investigation Into Mass Mussel Die-off Events
Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems
The decline of native freshwater mussels has the potential to devastate aquatic communities. Although factors such as habitat...
Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels
Dreissenid mussels have posed an aquatic invasive species challenge in the United States since their arrival in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. Zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and Quagga (D. bugensis) mussels are filter feeders with high reproductive capacity. Their behaviors result in altered nutrient cycles, shifts in trophic structures, and extirpation of some native species in...
Development of Selective Control Tools
Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels
Currently, dreissenid mussel populations are spreading and becoming a growing problem in many aquatic systems, making it important to find management techniques that are selective for the invasive...
Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide to Control Dreissenid Mussels
Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels
Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been suggested as a chemical control for a variety of invasive aquatic organisms, including Asian Carp. USGS researchers and partners evaluated the efficacy of low CO...
Evaluation of Copper as a Control Agent for Invasive Mussels
Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels
USGS researchers and partners conducted an experimental application of low dose copper, as EarthTecQZ, to a bay in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. The veliger density and settlement were compared to that...
Nutrient Cycling in Aquatic Ecosystems
Nitrogen and phosphorus are plant essential nutrients that are currently in excess in many aquatic ecosystems due to runoff from urban and agricultural areas. In high amounts, these nutrients are detrimental to aquatic ecosystem health, because elevated nutrients promote excessive growth or “blooms” of algae and other nuisance species. Many species that cause blooms can produce toxins which...
Nutrient cycling in agricultural watersheds of the Great Lakes
Nutrient Cycling in Aquatic Ecosystems
Nutrients lost from agricultural areas in watersheds of the Great Lakes cause harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in some areas of the Great Lakes. Substantial efforts are being made in these watersheds to...
Nutrient retention on the Upper Mississippi River Floodplain
Nutrient Cycling in Aquatic Ecosystems
Rivers have a natural capacity to improve water quality when they are connected to their natural floodplains and are not overloaded with sediment and nutrient runoff. Where rivers have been disconnected...
Conservation and Restoration of Native Freshwater Mussels
Freshwater mussels are the most imperiled group of animals in North America, with 66% of species at risk. Mussel populations are declining globally, but the factors contributing to these declines are largely unknown. Habitat fragmentation and alteration, point- and non-point source pollution, navigation-related impacts, and exotic species introductions are thought to be responsible for mussel...