Meredith Nevers
Biography
Meredith B. Nevers is an aquatic research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, stationed at the Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station in Chesterton, Indiana. Nevers received her Bachelor’s in Biology and English from Wittenberg University and her Master’s in Marine Biology from University of North Carolina – Wilmington, where she was inspired by the influence and diversity of algal communities. Nevers has been with USGS since 1997 where she became an expert in water quality and human health, authoring seminal research articles on the topic and serving as President of the Great Lakes Beach Association. Nevers now focuses on aquatic ecology of the Great Lakes with an emphasis on identifying drivers of nuisance and harmful algal blooms, restoring and improving urban waterways, detecting invasive species, and improving ecosystems assessments using advanced technology and genomics. Nevers continues to publish broadly and regularly presents her research at scientific societies with which she is affiliated: Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, International Water Association, and International Association for Great Lakes Research. She serves on multiple research and community teams devoted to protecting and restoring the Great Lakes for ecosystem health and restorative enjoyment.
Science and Products
Water Quality Monitoring and Algal Community Composition Analysis in Support of Eutrophication Beneficial Use Impairment Evaluation in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern, Northwest Indiana
In cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental DNA detection and survival, influence of sediment, and stream transport in a Lake Michigan watershed, 2018
The data released are associated with an examination of eDNA from round goby fish (Neogobius melanostomus) in a series of field sample collections (lake nearshore and stream transport) and in vitro laboratory experiments. The round goby was used as a model for our source of eDNA in the field collections and mesocosm experiments. The field samples for lake nearshore (water and sediment%2
Cladophora biomass and supporting data collected in the Great Lakes, 2019
This dataset records Cladophora and associated submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) biomass collected approximately monthly during the growing season of 2019 at stations located along the U.S. shoreline of Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. It also records a variety of supporting data collected at Cladophora measurement stations. These supporting data include: - seasonal time
Microbial communities and bacterial indicators for shoreline sand, sediment, and water in Racine, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; and East Chicago, Indiana; 2016-2017
The data associated with the following data release were collected between 2016 and 2017 at three locations on Lake Michigan: Racine, WI; Chicago, IL; and East Chicago, IN. Individual water samples were collected one day a week for ten weeks between June and August. Samples were collected from eight specific sites made up of two river and six shoreline type environments. Sampling was
16S rRNA gene sequencing and E. coli for shorelines and the Grand Calumet River, Indiana, 2015, (version 2.0, July 2019)
Data were collected in August and September 2015 for analysis of bacteria communities of the Grand Calumet River and associated shorelines. Water samples were collected on three occasions corresponding to one rain-related (wet) events and two non-rain (dry) events. Water samples were collected in the Grand Calumet River, at the mouth of the river, at offshore locations around the pe
Identify sources of high E. coli concentrations, Grand Calumet River Area of Concern beaches of southern Lake Michigan, 2016-2018
Data were collected as part of a study to identify sources of E. coli contamination at several beaches located in the Grand Calumet River Areas of Concern, located in northern Indiana on Lake Michigan. The study was funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Water samples were collected at each site (Jeorse Park 1, Jeorse Park 2, Hammond East, Hammond West, Whihala West, Whih
Identify sources of high E. coli concentrations, beaches of southern Lake Michigan, 2015
Data were collected as part of a study to identify sources of E. coli contamination at several beaches located in the Grand Calumet River Areas of Concern, located in northern Indiana on Lake Michigan. Water samples were collected at each site (Jeorse Park 1, Jeorse Park 2, Hammond East, Hammond West, Whihala East, and the Grand Calumet River) three times a week for thirteen week
Round goby eDNA survey, evaluation, and laboratory data in Lakes Michigan and Huron 2016-2017
Data included are from a series of field sample collections from Lakes Michigan and Huron, and laboratory mesocosms targeting the round goby fish (Neogobius melanostomus). The round goby is a benthic fish that has heavily invaded four of the five Laurentian Great Lakes. Because it inhabits a variety of substrates, including coastal breakwaters, traditional methods (e.g., trawling%
Influence of filter pore size on composition and relative abundance of bacterial communities and select host-specific MST markers in coastal waters of southern Lake Michigan
Water clarity is often the primary guiding factor in determining whether a prefiltration step is needed to increase volumes processed for a range of microbial endpoints. In this study, we evaluate the effect of filter pore size on the bacterial communities detected by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and incidence of two host-specific microbial source...
Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Nevers, Meredith B.; Shively, Dawn; Nakatsu, Cindy H; Kinzelman, Julie L.; Phanikumar, Mantha S. Sequestration of microfibers and other microplastics by green algae, Cladophora, in the US Great Lakes
Daunting amounts of microplastics are present in surface waters worldwide. A main category of microplastics is synthetic microfibers, which originate from textiles. These microplastics are generated and released in laundering and are discharged by wastewater treatment plants or enter surface waters from other sources. The polymers that...
Peller, Julie R.; Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Nelson, Cassie; Babu, Bharath Ganesh; Evans, Mary Anne; Kostelnik, Eddie; Keller, Morgan; Johnston, Jenna; Shidler, Sarah Quantifying microplastics in Indiana’s Lake Michigan watershed and submerged aquatic vegetation
Environmental breakdown of plastics produces synthetic microfibers, a class of microplastics that are most prevalent in surface waters. A main source of these pollutants is wastewater treatment plants which discharge into surface waters, including those that flow into Lake Michigan. Microplastics can settle into aquatic sediment or exist for...
Peller, Julie R.; Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Evans, Mary Anne Influence of sediment and stream transport on detecting a source of environmental DNA
Environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used for early detection, population estimations, and assessment of potential spread of invasive species, but questions remain about factors that influence eDNA detection results. Efforts are being made to understand how physical, chemical, and biological factors—settling, resuspension, dispersion, eDNA stability/...
Nevers, Meredith B.; Przybyla-Kelly, Katarzyna; Shively, Dawn A.; Morris, Charles C.; Dickey, Joshua; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara Evaluating the impacts of foreshore sand and birds on microbiological contamination at a freshwater beach
Beaches along the Great Lakes shorelines are important recreational and economic resources. However, contamination at the beaches can threaten their usage during the swimming season, potentially resulting in beach closures and/or advisories. Thus, understanding the dynamics that control nearshore water quality is integral to effective beach...
Saffaie, Ammar; Weiskerger, Chelsea J.; Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Phanikumar, Mantha S. Utilization of multiple microbial tools to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies to improve recreational water quality at a Lake Michigan Beach (Racine, WI)
Hydro-meteorological conditions facilitate transport of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) to the nearshore environment, affecting recreational water quality. North Beach (Racine, Wisconsin, United States), is an exemplar public beach site along Lake Michigan, where precipitation-mediated surface runoff, wave encroachment, stormwater and tributary...
Kinzelman, Julie; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Nevers, Meredith B.; Shively, Dawn; Kurdas, Stephan; Nakatsu, Cindy H Interaction of bacterial communities and indicators of water quality in shoreline sand, sediment, and water of Lake Michigan
Shoreline sand harbors high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) that may be resuspended into the water column through washing and resuspension. Studies have explored coastal processes that influence this sand-water flux for FIB, but little is known about how microbial markers of contamination or the bacterial community interact in the...
Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Nakatsu, Cindy H.; Kinzelman, Julie L.; Phanikumar, Mantha S.; Shively, Dawn; Spoljaric, Ashley Real-time nowcasting of microbiological water quality at recreational beaches: A wavelet and artificial neural network-based hybrid modeling approach
The number of beach closings caused by bacterial contamination has continued to rise in recent years, putting beachgoers at risk of exposure to contaminated water. Current approaches predict levels of indicator bacteria using regression models containing a number of explanatory variables. Data-based modeling approaches can supplement routine...
Zhang, Juan; Qiu, Han; Li, Xiaoyu; Niu, Jie; Nevers, Meredith B.; Hu, Xiaonong; Phanikumar, Mantha S. Real-time water quality monitoring at a Great Lakes National Park
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used by the USEPA to establish new recreational water quality criteria in 2012 using the indicator bacteria enterococci. The application of this method has been limited, but resource managers are interested in more timely monitoring results. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of qPCR as a...
Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Nevers, Meredith B.; Shively, Dawn; Spoljaric, Ashley; Otto, Christopher Identifying and eliminating sources of recreational water quality degradation along an urban coast
Restoration of highly degraded urban coastal waters often requires large-scale, complex projects, but in the interim, smaller-scale efforts can provide immediate improvements to water quality conditions for visitor use. We examined short-term efforts to improve recreational water quality near the Grand Calumet River (GC) in the Laurentian Great...
Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Shively, Dawn; Buszka, Paul M.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Phanikumar, Mantha S. Environmental DNA (eDNA): A tool for quantifying the abundant but elusive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring, occupancy estimates, and real-time detections of invasive species. In the Great Lakes, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), an invasive benthic fish from the Black Sea, has spread to encompass all five lakes and many tributaries, outcompeting or consuming native species;...
Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Morris, Charles C.; Shively, Dawn; Przybyla-Kelly, Katarzyna; Spoljaric, Ashley M.; Dickey, Joshua; Roseman, Edward F. Fecal indicator organism modeling and microbial source tracking in environmental waters: Chapter 3.4.6
Mathematical models have been widely applied to surface waters to estimate rates of settling, resuspension, flow, dispersion, and advection in order to calculate movement of particles that influence water quality. Of particular interest are the movement, survival, and persistence of microbial pathogens or their surrogates, which may contaminate...
Nevers, Meredith; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Phanikumar, Mantha S.; Whitman, Richard L.
Evans presents on Cladophora ecology at ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) 2021 Annual Meeting
GLSC Presents at International Association of Great Lakes Research Annual Conference
International Association of Great Lakes Research held a virtual conference this year.
GLSC Cladophora Research Featured in Environmental Health News
Microplastics in Algae
Nevers Presents on Great Lakes Cladophora Assessment at State of Lake Ontario Meeting
Upcoming State of Lake Ontario Meeting
GLSC Participates in Lake Ontario Data Synthesis Workshop with Partners
Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative Data Integration for the 2018 Season in Lake Ontario
Nevers presents research at NPS Coastal Monitoring and Research Symposium
Assessing Cladophora Growth in Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario
GLSC Partnership Near Indiana Shoreline Receives SWCD Award
Porter County Soil & Water Conservation District received a District Showcase Award as an outstanding district in Indiana.