Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Emma Uebelhor, Olivia Hintz, Sarah B. Mills, Abigail Randall
Summary: This study examines community perceptions of solar projects in four Great Lakes states using content analysis of local newspaper articles, identifying common views and offering preliminary suggestions to address prevalent concerns.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mike Cyterski, Orin C. Shanks, Pauline Wanjugi, Brian McMinn, Asja Korajkic, Kevin Oshima, Rich Haugland
Summary: This study uses statistical models to predict the concentrations of E. coli and coliphage, and finds that qPCR-based enterococci and Bacteroidales models have the highest predictive performance, while F+ coliphage consistently yields poor performing models. The influential covariates vary by microbial indicator and site.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiafeng Xu, Huaiqing Liu, Jie Lin, Heng Lyu, Xianzhang Dong, Yunmei Li, Honglei Guo, Huaijing Wang
Summary: This study used a semianalytical algorithm to estimate the ratio of chlorophyll a to total suspended solids (Chla/TSS) in the Great Lakes based on MODIS images. The long-term spatial and temporal characteristics of Chla/TSS were obtained from 2000 to 2020. Climate and hydrological factors were found to dominate the variations in Chla/TSS, and significantly low values of Chla/TSS in spring had the potential to predict the occurrence of blooms in Lake Erie.
Article
Virology
Callum Le Lay, Joshua N. Hamm, Timothy J. Williams, Mang Shi, Ricardo Cavicchioli, Edward C. Holmes
Summary: Despite the presence of DNA viruses infecting archaea, no RNA viruses associated with archaea have been identified. In this study, researchers investigated the metatranscriptomes of hypersaline lakes to search for highly divergent RNA viruses. They identified several candidate sequences, but couldn't provide definitive evidence of RNA viruses in archaea.
Article
Limnology
John Gale, Carey Sweeney, Sara Paver, Maureen L. Coleman, Anne W. Thompson
Summary: Laurentian Great Lakes contain diverse picophytoplankton populations, with Lake Erie standing out with the highest diversity. Genotypic clusters mapped to phenotypically similar flow populations, suggesting genome-level differentiation between lakes but some degree of phenotypic convergence. This sets the foundation to test the relationship between community structure of small primary producers and biogeochemical and food web functions of the Great Lakes.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
David Porter
Summary: The Detroit River ecosystem has been the focus of extensive environmental restoration efforts in the past fifty years. The establishment of the Detroit River Story Lab aims to strengthen narrative infrastructure, reconnect local residents with the river, and increase support and participation in environmental restoration activities.
JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hanna Pritsch, Uta Schirpke, Christian D. Jersabek, Rainer Kurmayer
Summary: This study aims to link the water quality and phytoplankton community of mountain lakes to ecosystem services (ES) and evaluate the ES provision of these lakes. The findings show that most lakes have low trophic status, high transparency, and high potential for ES provision, but a few lakes suffer from eutrophication. Therefore, it is increasingly important to protect mountain lakes, especially those with high potential for ES provision.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Juliane Mai, Hongren Shen, Bryan A. Tolson, Etienne Gaborit, Richard Arsenault, James R. Craig, Vincent Fortin, Lauren M. Fry, Martin Gauch, Daniel Klotz, Frederik Kratzert, Nicole O'Brien, Daniel G. Princz, Sinan Rasiya Koya, Tirthankar Roy, Frank Seglenieks, Narayan K. Shrestha, Andre G. T. Temgoua, Vincent Vionnet, Jonathan W. Waddell
Summary: This study conducted a model intercomparison to compare different model setups in simulating outputs in the Great Lakes region. The results showed that the machine-learning-based model performed the best in simulating streamflow, while the locally calibrated models and regionally calibrated models showed varying performances in different areas. The study also compared additional model outputs, such as evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and snow water equivalent, against gridded reference datasets.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zoe A. Pollard, Jillian L. Goldfarb
Summary: By converting waste cherry pits into biochars and activated biochars, efficiency of nutrient use in soil can be improved, reducing nutrient run-off, and potential alleviation of regional environmental issues by removing metals.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Theodor Sperlea, Jan Philip Schenk, Hagen Dressler, Daniela Beisser, Georges Hattab, Jens Boenigk, Dominik Heider
Summary: Microbes play a vital role in element cycling and ecosystem functioning, yet there are still many unanswered questions about their role in ecology. This study analyzes the relationship between lake microbiomes and the land cover surrounding the lakes using machine learning methods. The results show that the microbial community of the lakes is significantly correlated with herbaceous and open spaces, but the correlation with land cover categories is generally lower than with physico-chemical parameters. The integration of land cover and physico-chemical bioindicators provides insights into the environmental drivers of the lake microbial community composition and allows for the study of the ecosystem's structure from the standpoint of the microbiome.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nandita B. Basu, J. Dony, K. J. Van Meter, Samuel J. Johnston, Anita T. Layton
Summary: Excess nutrient inputs from agricultural and urban sources have led to eutrophication and algal blooms in the Great Lakes Basin. Using a random forest machine learning model, we found that land use and management, including agricultural and urban land, tile drainage, and wetland density, are important predictors of nutrient concentrations in the basin. The study highlights the importance of livestock and drainage management, as well as wetland restoration, in addressing eutrophication in intensively managed landscapes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emily H. Tyner, S. Scott Graham
Summary: Accounting for community opinions is crucial for planning and evaluating environmental restoration initiatives. This study explores the use of social media data to assess online discourse communities' opinions about ecosystem services in the Great Lakes region. The findings highlight the potential of social media data mining as a tool for examining public engagement and conversations about the benefits of restoration projects.
JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sara E. Campbell, Nicholas E. Mandrak
Summary: This study analyzed the relationship between functional traits of non-native species and native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes. It found that species with functional traits associated with r-selected life-history strategies were more likely to establish, while predators were more likely to have high impact. Smaller NNFD and MFD values predicted establishment success, while higher MFD values predicted high impact.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Keenan Munno, Paul A. Helm, Chelsea Rochman, Tara George, Donald A. Jackson
Summary: Freshwater ecosystems, especially in Lake Ontario, are highly contaminated with microplastics, with fish ingesting a significant amount of anthropogenic particles, mostly microfibers. The most common microplastics found in the gastrointestinal tracts of fish were polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene. The abundance of anthropogenic particles in fish increased with size and there is concern that the environmental exposure may exceed risk thresholds.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Water Resources
Jessica Lukawiecki, Rhonda Gagnon, Carly Dokis, Dan Walters, Lewis Molot
Summary: This article examines the lack of Indigenous input and knowledge in the development of legislative actions affecting Aboriginal or treaty rights by Canadian governments, and the efforts of the Ontario provincial government to address this issue. Using qualitative data, the study explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned during Crown-Indigenous engagement in the development of the Great Lakes Protection Act, and provides recommendations for strengthening government engagement with Indigenous groups.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
(2021)