Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Our Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center's priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community. The Center is open with operations adjusted based on guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force and federal policies and informed by local community transmission level.

News

link

Media Alert: Calling all Wisconsin duck hunters! USGS survey available for Green Bay and Lake Michigan

link

Friday's Findings - November 4th 2022

link

Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers Experiencing Widespread and Regional Changes

Publications

A bacteriological comparison of the hemolymph from healthy and moribund unionid mussel populations in the upper Midwestern U.S.A. prompts the development of diagnostic assays to detect Yokenella regensburgei

Recent bacteriological investigations of freshwater mussel mortality events in the southeastern United States have identified a variety of bacteria and differences in bacterial communities between sick and healthy mussels. In particular, Yokenella regensburgei and Aeromonas spp. have been shown to be associated with moribund mussels, although it remains unclear whether these bacteria are causes or
Authors
Eric Leis, Sara Dziki, Isaac Standish, Diane L. Waller, Jordan Richard, Jesse Weinzinger, Cleyo Harris, Susan Knowles, Tony Goldberg

Survival of Common Loon chicks appears unaffected by Bald Eagle recovery in northern Minnesota

Recovering species are not returning to the same environments or communities from which they disappeared. Conservation researchers and practitioners are thus faced with additional challenges in ensuring species resilience in these rapidly changing ecosystems. Assessing the resilience of species in these novel systems can still be guided by species’ ecology, including knowledge of their population
Authors
Jennyffer Cruz, Steve K. Windels, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Shawn M. Crimmins, Benjamin Zuckerberg

Obtaining and applying public data for training students in technical statistical writing: Case studies with data from U.S. Geological Survey and general ecological literature

Effective undergraduate statistical education requires training using real-world data. Textbook datasets seldom match the complexities and messiness of real-world data and finding these datasets can be challenging for educators. Consulting and industrial datasets often have nondisclosure agreements. Academic datasets often require subject area expertise beyond those of a general education or lack
Authors
Barb Bennie, Richard A. Erickson

Science

Hydroacoustic mapping for native mussel and host fish habitats using Quadrula fragosa and Ictalurus punctatus

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the best remaining refuges for declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf (Quadrula fragosa) in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Mussel fauna are important to the river ecosystem, providing important ecological...
link

Hydroacoustic mapping for native mussel and host fish habitats using Quadrula fragosa and Ictalurus punctatus

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the best remaining refuges for declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf (Quadrula fragosa) in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Mussel fauna are important to the river ecosystem, providing important ecological...
Learn More

READI-Net: Transitioning eDNA aquatic invasive species surveillance from research to actionable science

USGS researchers are working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to optimize autonomous, robotic samplers for detection of DNA fragments shed by biological threats (BT; invasive species, parasites, pathogens) in our nation’s waters. Finding DNA fragments (a method known as environmental DNA sampling) produced by an emerging BT in water is akin to finding a needle in a haystack—many...
link

READI-Net: Transitioning eDNA aquatic invasive species surveillance from research to actionable science

USGS researchers are working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to optimize autonomous, robotic samplers for detection of DNA fragments shed by biological threats (BT; invasive species, parasites, pathogens) in our nation’s waters. Finding DNA fragments (a method known as environmental DNA sampling) produced by an emerging BT in water is akin to finding a needle in a haystack—many...
Learn More

Lake Superior Beach Nourishment and Near-Shore Bathymetric Surveys of Minnesota Point at Duluth, Minnesota

The shoreline, beaches, and infrastructure in Duluth, Minnesota have been degraded along the Minnesota Point barrier island because of high water levels and heavy wave action. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is exploring the beneficial use of dredge material for beach nourishment on the Lake Superior side of the barrier island.
link

Lake Superior Beach Nourishment and Near-Shore Bathymetric Surveys of Minnesota Point at Duluth, Minnesota

The shoreline, beaches, and infrastructure in Duluth, Minnesota have been degraded along the Minnesota Point barrier island because of high water levels and heavy wave action. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is exploring the beneficial use of dredge material for beach nourishment on the Lake Superior side of the barrier island.
Learn More