Summary: The Great Lakes Watershed

“Only communities located downstream in a watershed need to be concerned about how the water resources are managed in the watershed.”

Exercise Lab 1. How much does temperature vary in large and small aquatic environments? Lab 2. What determines the water clarity of lakes, rivers and oceans? Lab 3. Where does the phosphorus go? Lab 4. How does human activity in watersheds affect the quality of lakes and rivers? Lab 5. Are the Great Lakes being influenced by the global greenhouse effect? Lab 6. How is the flow of the Red Cedar River influenced by the weather? Lab 7. What is the relationship between flow and turbidity in the Red Cedar River? Page 2 4 6 8 12 15 18

Smallmouths have both external fertilization and external development. Feeding for smallmouth tops when the temperature is around 78 degrees and starts to slow down once the temperature goes below 40 degrees. The male always guards the eggs and the babies which are known as fry. The spawning usually occurs in April or May unless the temperature stays cold than it can be delayed. The first person to describe a smallmouth bass was Lacepede is 1802. The fry hatch out of their eggs in about a week and then continue to develop for another week. Young smallmouths are fed upon by yellow perch, Northern pike or muskellunge. Bigger bass are only eaten by northern pike, musky but the main predators of smallmouth bass are humans. The lifespan in the wild is normally about seven years, but some will live up to 20 years. In captivity the average age is ten years. When the young hatch out of their eggs they are about 0.2 inches long, very easy prey for a variety of animals. Multiple females will spawn in the nest of one male and an individual female will spawn in more than one. Smallmouth dance and bite each other, this is their mating ritual. In New York the record smallmouth was 8 pounds, 4 ounces caught out of Lake Erie on 6/4/1995 by Andrew C Kartesz. Smallmouth bass are beginning to destroy Brooke trout fisheries and Atlantic salmon fisheries. The meat of a smallmouth is very firm and good tasting so many people catch the fish not only for the fun of the

: Larchwood Lake may not ever be the same again. The story about Larchwood Lake is not that uncommon. Without doing extensive research into possible things that could occur by lowering the lake level, the Larchwood Lake Homeowner’s Association destroyed the very thing they were trying to protect. Carelessness and poor planning are not the only root causes however. There are a number of reasons that led to the degradation of Larchwood Lake that happen to relate to more macro level environmental issues. Those reasons are poorly designed environmental policy created by the E.P.A., poor understanding of lake ecology by the managers of the land, and false confidence in poorly planned ideas. By looking at how these factors contributed to the degradation of the lake, hopefully we will be able to make more ecological sound decisions in the future.

Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.

The long history of the formation of the Great Lakes and Michigan start with the impact of glaciers. Throughout history, there have been four major periods where glaciers moved across Michigan, shaping and forming the land. Every time a glacier

We have seven landform regions but I strongly believe that the Great Lakes St.Lawrence Lowlands is the most important. Firstly, this Lowland region consists of the largest amount of wildlife and vegetation. Some of the wildlife includes coyote, white- tailed deer, endangered species like box turtles and fox snakes; while vegetation includes white pine, black spruce, sugar maple etc. Secondly, considering that the capital is located in this region may impact the fact that it also has more than 50% of the population living there and it is evident why anyone would want to. Other than the Capital, The Great Lakes St.Lawrence Lowlands also has many other tourist attractions like, 3

The Silver Bow Creek watershed in southwest Montana encompasses approximately 474 square miles and forms a portion of the headwaters of the Clark Fork River and ultimately, the Columbia River (Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, 2009). The site covers about 26 miles of stream and stream side habitat. Silver Bow Creek was used as a conduit for mining, smelting, industrial and municipal wastes for more than a hundred years (Weitz, Luxenberg). Rather large amounts of mine tailings deposits are found along the creek. These deposits contain elevated levels of metals and have been dispersed over the entire flood plain (Weitz, Luxenberg).

Michigan’s landscape over the past millions of years was formed from glaciers. During the last Ice Age, which was approximately two million years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch, glaciers covered some of Michigan and went through cycles of advancing in a southern direction (towards The Midwest of The United States) and recession back towards Canada. These cycles of alternating temperature led to the formation of

The Huron were a First Nations people around what is currently known as the Great Lakes region. The Jesuits, a group of French Catholic missionaries, voyaged to various parts of the St. Lawrence region. With that, the Jesuit missions of Huronia are significant in understanding the history of Huronia, Catholic conversions of First Nations, the epidemics that ravaged many Aboriginal peoples, and the displacement of the Huron. There were considerable effects of the Jesuit missions, including economic benefits for the French and the Huron, differences and similarities among the two cultures, and the devastating epidemics among the First Nations. This essay argues that the Jesuit missions of Huronia was a contributing force in the eventual

In Michigan, upwards of 35 million gallons of freshwater are expelled from close-by aquifers per frack well — the most noteworthy rate in the country. The Anglers of the Au Sable, a Michigan natural preservation gathering, and others, stress this will drain freshwater sources and conceivably become scarce waterways and streams that are critical to Michigan's environmental

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species

Back in the 1960’s, Lake Erie was declared “dead” because, ironically, it was full of life – just not the right kind (GLIN, n.d.). The algal blooms that formed due to high concentrations of nutrient-loaded city street run off invaded the freshwater lake, killing native species, reducing oxygen quantities, and smothering beaches with its slime (GLIN, n.d.).

Hence it is not surprising that Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the whole world and one is never more than 85 miles from the water of the open Great Lakes and never more than 6 miles from a natural water source. Water plays such an important role in the life of the people living and visiting here that this state has more registered recreational boats than

This policy memo is addressed to Congressman David Joyce who represents the 14th District of Ohio. Congressman Joyce is a Republican who could be considered a moderate conservative on an ideological scale, meaning that he is about halfway between moderate and far-leaning right (Rep. David Joyce, 2016). Issues that Joyce works toward are the economy and jobs, which is his number one priority, and is also against regulations and taxes. Joyce is heavily involved in energy with a focus on supporting the coal, wind, and natural gas industries, in addition he is against policies that may burden small businesses. The Great Lakes and environment are a priority for Joyce as he wants to protect the Great Lakes, but mainly for economic purposes. Joyce has sponsored three bills that work to protect and/or restore the Great Lakes. He has not been vocal in regards to whether or not he believes in climate change, although his stance toward coal and natural gas would suggest that he may not, although this may be solely to protect Ohioan jobs. Additional issues that he works toward are defense & national security, health care, the national debt, tax reform, veterans, and seniors (Issues & Legislation, 2016).