Publications

The primary objective of the Atlantic Salmon Research Program established at the U.S. Geological Survey Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science as mandated by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to restore Atlantic salmon (Linnaeus, 1758; Salmo salar) into Lake Ontario. This objective focuses on evaluating the survival of stocked Atlantic salmon in current Lake Ontario conditions to...

The primary objective of the Coregonine Research Program established at the U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science as mandated by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to restore native coregonines, specifically Coregonus artedi (Lesueur, 1818; ciscoes) and Coregonus hoyi (Milner, 1874; bloaters) into Lake Ontario. This objective...

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...

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...

The rapid invasion of the non-native Phragmites australis (Poaceae, subfamily Arundinoideae) is a major threat to native wetland ecosystems in North America and elsewhere. We describe the first reference genome for P. australis and compare invasive (ssp. australis) and native (ssp. americanus) genotypes collected from replicated populations across the Laurentian Great Lakes to deduce...

Plants naturally carry microbes on seeds and within seeds that may facilitate development and early survival of seedlings. Some crops have lost seed-vectored microbes in the process of domestication or during seed storage and seed treatment. Biostimulant microbes from wild plants were used by pre-modern cultures to re-acquire beneficial seed microbes. Today some companies have developed...

Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were used to assess the effectiveness of reducing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure to wildlife as a result of contaminated sediment removal at locations across the Great Lakes under two dredging scenarios, full or spot dredging. For comparative purposes, other locations where no dredging occurred were also assessed. Calculating accumulation rate...

A disconnect between scientific research and environmental management communities can be a detriment to both. In the case of Great Lakes coastal ecosystems, which are inherently complex and subject to uncertain effects of future climatic, environmental, and anthropogenic drivers, greater collaboration could be beneficial to their sustainability. We capture the challenges and...

Higher spatial and temporal resolutions of remote sensing data are likely to be useful for ecological monitoring efforts. There are many different treatment approaches for the introduced European genotype of Phragmites australis, and adaptive management principles are being integrated in at least some long-term monitoring efforts. In this paper, we investigated how natural color and a...

Microorganisms surrounding plant roots may benefit invasive species through enhanced mutualism or decreased antagonism, when compared to surrounding native species. We surveyed the rhizosphere soil microbiome of a prominent invasive plant, Phragmites australis, and its co‐occurring native subspecies for evidence of microbial drivers of invasiveness. If the rhizosphere microbial community...