WFSC 304 ndash Water and Bioenvironmental ScienceLecture 14 ndash Great Lakes

Great Lakes biological and cultural case studyThe Great Lakes occur on one of the worldrsquos longest international borders

Image IJC 2015

Components of the issue1 The long border2 Equal status of countries ndash both are developed capitalist democratic3 Despite the vastness of Canada 90 percent of its population is within 100

miles of the US border4 Both countries use the water heavily and problems have manifested due to

actions on both sides of the border5 Given the points above it is in the interest of both countries to have a system

of guidelines and processes in place to both prevent and mediate conflictsThe International Joint Commissionmdashone of the best examples of binational cooperation and action (httpwwwijcorgen )

6 Read the 2015 Review of Accords up to and including the paragraph beginning ldquo2015 RECOMMENDATION 2rdquo on page 7 Also read A Circle of Blue article

7 Reflect on this type of water resource management and contrast with unigovermental regulation under central and democratic sysems of government

Feel itmdashsee the system httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=ibTWQogsbL8ampfeature=player_embedded (5 min)

Understand the geological formation of this system as described in the video

Anatomymdash Learn the anatomy of this systemmdashthe five lakes major riverways the basic navigation constrictions and entry to the sea

The Chicago Sanitary Canal connects the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River

Here is a good map and information on the St Lawrence estuary (link)

Video describing river reversal (link)

Utility of Great Lakes Over 150 million tons of freight transported

annually (eg Water Atlas p 70) Provides recreation (eg $2B to Michigan economy

per year) Provides water for industrial agricultural and

domestic usage Provides hydropower Performs an immensity of ecosystem services

Trending environmental change in Great Lakes Effects of global warming on lakes not well defined Likely Warming of waters will reduce water quality

(Water Atlas p 32) Precipitation effect uncertain but probably reduced Anthropogenic expect increased usage nutrification emergent toxin issues

(eg mercury pesticide or industrial residues)

Fisheriesmdashboom bust boomhellip stay tunedmdashBiological history of the Great LakesAsian carp (early phase)

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

o introduced for sport fishingo carp fishing never caught on in US or Canadao considered naturalized though invasive

Goldfish (Carassius auratus) o introduced through pet trade

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) o introduced for aquatic vegetation controlo now considered invasiveo triploid carp often used

These carps are naturalized now

Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) ndash 1920-30rsquos

half meter eel-like body with sci-fi mouth prey uponparasitize large (often

predator) fish destroyed commercial fishery of native

whitefish lake trout walleye manual control achieved using TFM

(selective lampricide) TFM required massive coordination

effort between US amp Canada

Alewife (bad guy no waithellip now a good guy) ndash 1949

invaded through Welland Canal from the Atlanticpopulation explosion due to lamprey-driven loss of predatorsmassive fish kills on beaches (1970rsquos)mdashsubject to reduction effortsplanktivoremdashnew invaders (like zebra mussels below) compete for foodnow too few alewifemdashalewife now subject to restoration planning

Marine salmon ndash late 1960rsquos ongoing

introduced to control alewife ndash it workedrestored fishery of lakes in new form (recreational fishery for salmon)Pacific salmon (chinook coho pink) and the Atlantic salmon

Round goby (bad guy good guy) ndash 1990

thought to be very dangerousmdashsubject to reduction effortsnow thought beneficial as control for zebra mussels

Zebra mussel ndash 1992 (spread to all 5 Lakes in under 10 years)

lacks native predators in Great Lakesoutcompete native species (of fish mussels) for planktonfouls equipment other animalspossible control is other invaderso round gobyo rusty crayfish

New wave of Asian carpSilver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)

control attempt in Chicago area (electric weirs also this)interesting behavior of the carpmdashvideo ldquoredneck fishingrdquospecies accounts for the new-wave carp linkGreat Lake states v Army Corps of Eng httpwwwgreatlakeslaworgblogasian-carp

Alewife (bad guy no waithellip now a good guy) ndash 1949

invaded through Welland Canal from the Atlanticpopulation explosion due to lamprey-driven loss of predatorsmassive fish kills on beaches (1970rsquos)mdashsubject to reduction effortsplanktivoremdashnew invaders (like zebra mussels below) compete for foodnow too few alewifemdashalewife now subject to restoration planning

Marine salmon ndash late 1960rsquos ongoing

introduced to control alewife ndash it workedrestored fishery of lakes in new form (recreational fishery for salmon)Pacific salmon (chinook coho pink) and the Atlantic salmon

Round goby (bad guy good guy) ndash 1990

thought to be very dangerousmdashsubject to reduction effortsnow thought beneficial as control for zebra mussels

Zebra mussel ndash 1992 (spread to all 5 Lakes in under 10 years)

lacks native predators in Great Lakesoutcompete native species (of fish mussels) for planktonfouls equipment other animalspossible control is other invaderso round gobyo rusty crayfish

New wave of Asian carpSilver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)

control attempt in Chicago area (electric weirs also this)interesting behavior of the carpmdashvideo ldquoredneck fishingrdquospecies accounts for the new-wave carp linkGreat Lake states v Army Corps of Eng httpwwwgreatlakeslaworgblogasian-carp

Further readingHere is a pamphlet on Great Lakes invasion history linkHere is the timeline broken out by itself linkGood article on this history

httpwwwnwforgnews-and-magazinesnational-wildlifeanimalsarchives2007alien-invasion-a-great-lakes-dilemmaaspx

PCB Story PCBs used in transformer coolants regular point source PCB contaminations of waterways etc fat soluble bioaccumulation biomagnification health consequences (cancer immunodeficiency birth defects endocrine

dysfunction dermal amp ocular problems liver toxicosis blood imbalance) prolonged persistence (half life 10-15 years)

Timeline Massive use of PCBs for decades before we realized toxic effects and

environmental contamination In mid-late 1960rsquos we found out PCBs were very toxic Key event 1968 rice contaminationmdash1200 people in Japan contracted various

diseases linked to the contamination In 1970 we found it was present in the environment 1972 Monsanto voluntarily imposed sales restrictions to ldquoclosedrdquo uses 1976 US amp Canada passed legislation banning PCBs US amp Canada work hard to assess and make recommendations limiting intake

of fish by humans

Here are examples of the data

BTW data look similar for DDT

If the data look good here is a sobering summary from a Canadian research report

Canadian Council of Resources and Evnironment Ministers (link to source)

IJC instrumental in research synthesis

and policy advising for cleanup and regulation PCBs still high in many regions Fish were basically inedible from Lake Erie when I was a kid Search PCB at the IJC site httpwwwijcorgensearchXsearch_recherche_achtm

Links regarding the Island President dramahttptheislandpresidentcomwp-video-lightbox[iframes]0 httpwwwthedailyshowcomwatchmon-april-2-2012exclusive---mohamed-nasheed-extended-interview-pt--1