RSS 1.0Brockport Environmental Science and Ecology Faculty Publications
Recent Submissions
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Movements of Pacific Salmon in Lake Ontario: Evidence for wide dispersalAfter radio tagging, Pacific Salmon (Coho and Chinook) dispersed widely along shore (spring) and throughout Lake Ontario (summer) in 1984. They did not occupy areas near shore after water temperatures exceeded 9-10 oC, except when winds produced upwelling of colder water at the lake’s surface close to shore in summer. No significant differences were observed between the two species re: distances moved, daily movement rates, and water temperature occupied. One fish moved at least 500 km during 4 months of tracking.
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. Disseminating Successful Undergraduate Science Curriculum Adaptation and Implementation Strategies and CCLI-ND Grant-Writing Techniques: Regional Workshops Led by Successful Innovators and Experienced Investigators, Evaluating Faculty Change Processes and Assessing Student Understanding of STEM ConceptsFrom 1980-2006, we showed multiple cohorts of undergraduate faculty how environmental impact analysis can be used in their STEM courses to tie together scientific concepts and theories, research and analytical techniques, and mathematical and communication skills appropriate to address local environmental problems. During more than 20 summer workshops (5 days to 3 weeks), we chose themes of Stressed Stream Analysis or Great Lakes Ecosystem Dynamics because those topics allowed us to demonstrate (and for participants to learn hands-on) new, ecologically based approaches to pollution control and to use spreadsheet models to explore the movements of pollutants in ecological systems. Faculty participants (mostly from the disciplines of biology, chemistry, geology, and engineering) worked in teams to address the environmental problems presented to them by the workshop instructors then wrote environmental impact statements. In later stages of our workshop activities for undergraduate faculty, we also developed units on developing their capacity to use and modify new assessment instruments to gather better data on student learning and managing the challenges of undertaking significant pedagogical and curricular changes in their courses.
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Movements and temperatures of radio tagged salmonines in Lake Ontario and comparisons with other large aquatic ecosystems.We used six years of radiotelemetry data (1980-86) to compare movements and temperatures occupied by four introduced salmonine species (174 tagged fish) in the nearshore region of Lake Ontario. Movement patterns, net movement rates, water temperatures occupied, and harvest rates by anglers were generally similar among species and seasons. The movement patterns and thermal habitats of salmonines in Lake Ontario generally were in the mid-range of those report for conspecifics in other large lakes and the North Pacific Ocean.
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Diel and seasonal movements of White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the mid-Columbia River.In the mid-Columbia River, radio-tagged White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) exhibited seasonal and diel movement patterns from 1975-1977. Seasonally, movements >2 km away from release locations began in spring when water temperature exceeded 13 oC and ended in autumn when water temperature fell below 13 oC. Daily, sturgeon exhibited movements among habitats with different substrates, as measured by changes in water temperature during 24-h diel periods. Movement to cooler, deeper areas of the river occurred before sunrise, while movement to warmer, shallower areas peaked after sunset. Because water temperatures varied by only a few tenths of a degree among substrate areas, it is likely that photoperiod influenced sturgeon movements between deeper, darker resting areas and shallower, food-rich feeding areas.
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Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Southwestern Lake Ontario Following Invasion of Dreissena: Continuing ChangeBenthic macroinvertebrate communities were compared and quantified at natural cobble and artificial reef sites in Lake Ontario in 1983 (pre0-Dreissena invasion), and in both 1991-1992 and 1995 (1 to 2 and 5 years post-Dreissena invasion, respectively). Diversity and abundance of non-dreissenid macroinvertebrates generally rose from 1983 to 1991-1992, but returned to 1983 levels or lower by 1995. Although community similarity (excluding Dreissena from analysis) remained high across study years, the 1995 invertebrate community more closely resembled the pre-Dreissena community of pre-1983 than the initial post-Dreissena community of 1991-1992 because of recent declines in the absolute abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates. In particular, gastropods responded negatively to Dreissena or to associated benthic habitat or community changes that occurred from 1991-1992 to 1995. These results suggest that short- and long-term effects of Dreissena on other organisms may be quite different, and illustrate the need for long-term monitoring of biological communities in order to more fully determine effects of invasive species or other environmental perturbations on ecosystems.
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Response of Sport Fishes to Thermal Discharges into the Great Lakes: Is Somerset Station, Lake Ontario, Different?To assess potential thermal impacts of Somerset Generating Station on sport fishes, the frequencies and durations of encountering the thermal discharge at Somerset Station were determined by tagging 121 salmonines and 58 centrarchids with temperature-sensing radiotransmitters. Encounters of the Lake Ontario shoreline occupied by Somerset Station averaged 0.7 and 0.1 per fish for salmonines and centrarchids, respectively. Salmonines averaged 5.5 h at the station per encounter. Four centrarchids established residence areas in the lake near the station for 29-79 d; others averaged 3.5 d at the station. Salmonines and centrarchids occupied waters off Somerset Station on 6.7% and 16.0% respectively, of the days they were tracked. No temperatures occupied by fish at the station exceeded critical thermal maxima for salmonines (20 - 25 degrees C) or centrarchids (30 - 37 degrees C). Salmonines occupied heated water >2 degrees C above ambient lake temperatures on 1.3% of the 1,983 occasions when temperatures were recorded, while centrarchids averaged 0.1% of 1,773 observations. Rare encounters of and lack of attraction to the thermal discharge were attributed to characteristics of the discharge (600+ m offshore, small delta T, small volume/area), to unremarkable lake habitat (flat bottom, physically similar to other regions of southcentral Lake Ontario), and to the generally wide-ranging movements of fishes in Lake Ontario. Comparing results from Somerset Station with similar studies at other Great Lakes power stations suggests that discharge design and lake habitat importantly influence the extent of fish attraction to thermal discharges.
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Movements of Rainbow Steelhead Trout (Salmo Gairdneri) in Lake Ontario and a Hypothesis for the Influence of Spring Thermal StructureTo examine movements of rainbow/steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) and associated environmental influences, 28 fish were radiotagged in and near a tributary of Lake Ontario during spring spawning runs in 1981 and 1982. Trout initially entering the lake from the tributary generally exhibited east-west reversals of movement along the southern shore of Lake Ontario before dispersing offshore. Seasonal movement rates averages 3.2 +/- 1.6 km/d over periods of 6 - 94 d; mean short term rates were 0.50 +/- 0.46 km/h. Temperatures occupied in the lake were 9.1 +/- 3.8 degrees C. Movements offshore and ultimate disappearances occurred from April to July, but were most pronounced when temperatures near shore exceeded 10 degrees C. By linking trout movements to seasonal thermal structure in Lake Ontario, a testable hypothesis was established to explain the distribution of rainbow trout in spring and early summer. Based on tracking data, information provided by south shore anglers, and literature on the physical limnology of Lake Ontario, we hypothesize that rainbow trout disperse off shore in spring with thermal fronts, particularly in the 6 - 8 degree C zone known as the spring thermocline.
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Finding Salmon and Trout in Lake Ontario, 1985Using radiotelemetry and vertical gill nets, we studied the movements and habitat preferences of brown trout (Salmo trutta), steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook Salmon (O. tshawytscha), Coho Salmon (O. kisutch) and Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Ontario. No species were available for radio tagging in the summer, Brown Trout and Chinook and Coho Salmon were available in the fall, and Brown Trout and Steelhead were available in the spring. Steelhead responded strongly to offshore thermal breaks at the surface in the spring. Vertical gill nets in the summer captured Brown Trout just above the thermocline and Lake Trout below it, while Chinook Salmon ranged widely a above and below the thermocline. Our studies helped Lake Ontario anglers to increase their catches of stocked salmonids in the lake.
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Environmental impact assessment: Melding classroom instruction with problem-solving experienceUndergraduates were presented with realistic environmental situation (building a marina in a stream mouth/ wetland on the Lake Ontario shoreline). After learning about state and federal laws and procedures for environmental impact analysis, they sampled and identified terrestrial and aquatic organisms that might be affected by marina construction, operation and dredging (and researched literature about those topics) then in teams of 3-5 students wrote separate Environmental Impact Statements for the proposed project. Students gained real world experience that would help them with future employment opportunities.
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Zebra Mussels and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities of Southwestern Lake Ontario and Selected Tributaries: Unexpected Results?Since the zebra mussel (Dreissna polymorpha) colonized the Great Lakes Ecosystem, ecologists and managers have expressed concern about potential impacts it would have on native benthic macroinvertebrate communities in lakes and streams. We compared post-Dreissena invasion data (1991-1992) with pre-invasion data (1983) from the same sites in Lake Ontario. Dreissena was the overwhelmingly dominant taxon in 1991-1992. Nevertheless, the overall abundance of other benthic macroinvertebrates, and the number of taxa collected, were greater following establishment of Dreissena. Our study failed to provide evidence that Dreissena had induced a population in any non-bivalve taxon that was present in 1983. The invasion of Dreissena and other recent environmental changes appear to have created conditions that are more favorable for most benthic macroinvertebrate taxa in the nearshore region of Lake Ontario. We also asked why zebra mussels have not colonized many creeks in Western New York, some with apparently ideal habitat, that are fed partially by water from the Erie Canal which is a source of Dreissena larvae. Counts of Dreissena larvae and counts of chlorophyll a were much higher in the canal than in out study creek, yet water quality, current velocity and particulate organic carbon concentrations in the creak and the canal were very similar. Four factors appear to limit colonization of creeks by the zebra mussel: 1) Retention of larvae by wetlands through which discharges from the canal often flow, 2) Filtering of phytoplankton and larvae by dense beds of adult zebra mussels often found at the beginning of channels connecting the canal to creeks, 3) Inappropriate food quality (e.g., lack of small0diameter phytoplankton with important fatty-acid constituents) reaching creeks from the canal, or 4) Muddy substrates inappropriate for attachment and filter-feeding by Dreissena.
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Stressed Stream Analysis--Addressing Environmental Problems in Local CommunitiesScience education is routinely accomplished within relatively narrow disciplines, but by its nature, environmental science must involve many disciplines to be effective.
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Influence of Little Goose Dam on Upstream Movements of Adult Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytschaA major environmental and economic concern in the Pacific Northwest is the continuing decline in the numbers of Columbia and Snake River salmonids. The author used radiotelemetry to evaluate effect of Little Goose Dam on the movements of chinook salmon in the lower Snake River, and compared the results with those of previous studies at other dams.
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Spawning Migration of Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Carrying External and Internal Radio TransmittersUpstream movements of radio-tagged and control adult chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were monitored during the spring and fall 1976 and spring 1977 in the lower Snake River, southeastern Washington. Travel time from point of fish release and percent return to upstream tracking facilities were compared for experimental and control fish. Experimental fish carried anchor tags, and either internal or external radio transmitters. Control fish carried anchor tags only. Chinook salmon that lost external transmitters moved upriver more slowly than control fish although percent returns to upriver trapping facilities were similar. Travel times and percent returns of chinook salmon that retained external transmitters did not differ significantly from control fish. Although some salmon tagged with internal transmitters moved upriver, all failed to cross Little Goose Dam 6.5 km from the release site. Most internally tagged salmon eventually travelled downstream.
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Methods for Sampling Reef Fishes, with Emphasis on the Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), in the Gulf of Mexico: Is Stock Assessment Feasible?Reef fishes in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly snappers (Lutjanidae) and groupers (Serranidae), occupy restricted live bottom habitats that are subjected to intense commercial and recreational fishing. Reliable, fishery-dependent stock assessment methods are needed to make sound population estimates, protect important fishery resources and habitats, and to maintain viable, co-existing commercial and recreational fisheries.
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Finding Salmon and Trout in Lake Ontario, 1983Where do you catch salmon and trout in a 7500 square mile with an average depth of 280 feet and a bottom structure resembling a soup bowl? Millions of juvenile salmon and trout are stoked annually in Lake Ontario, yet angles frequently ask this question. With funding and support from the New York Sea Grant Institute, the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, and local anglers' groups, faculty and student researchers at the SUNY Colleges at Brockport and Fredonia are studying the movements, distribution, and habitat preferences of salmon and trout in Lake Ontario. By attaching radiotransmitters to fish and setting nets as far as 15 miles out into the lake, researchers are providing answers to both anglers' and scientists' questions about the ecology of salmon and trout stocked in Lake Ontario.
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Movements and Behavior of Smallmouth Bass, Micopterus dolomieul, and Rock Bass, Ambloplites rupestris, in Southcentral Lake Ontario and Two Tributariesmovements and behavior of 56 stream-spawning smallmouth bass and rock bass from Lake Ontario were examined in spring and summer 1985 and 1986. Fish were captured by electrofishing near spawning areas in two tributaries 60 km apart, fitted with temperature-sensing radiotransmitters and released in their "home" tributaries or or displaced to the lake 3 - 10 km from those tributaries. twenty-six percent of displaces smallmouth bass and 42% of rock bass returned to their original sites of capture in tributaries. Non-homing fish generally dispersed along the lake shore and eventually established small residence areas in the lake, often near home or other tributaries. No differences were observed in movement rates, temperatures occupied or diel activity patterns between years or tributary stocks, but differences were found between species and between lake and tributary habitats for smallmouth bass. Smallmouth bass homing to, or released in, tributaries generally established home ranges downstream from spawning areas and often occupied tributaries all summer, but rock bass did not. Both species occupied temperatures between 20-22 C in lake and tributary habitats when available. Smallmouth bass were most active in May, least active in July and generally more active in the lake than in tributaries. Rock bass activity did not appear to vary by season or habitat. Both specie were most active in Lake Ontario in mid-day; differences in tributaries were less pronounced.
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Fish Community Characteristics in Waneta and Lamoka Lakes, October 2003–October 2009, after Herbicide Treatments of Aquatic Macrophytes in April 2003 and June 2008, Final ReportLocated southeast of Keuka Lake in west-central New York, Lamoka and Waneta Lakes are shallow, productive and support abundant warmwater fishes (Figure 1). An approximately 0.5-mile channel connects the southern end of Waneta Lake to the northwestern end of Lamoka Lake, and likely accounts for the similarity in the lakes’ fish assemblages. An impoundment at the southern end of Lamoka Lake (on Mud Creek) produced the benthic and near-shore topography present in both lakes. Lamoka and Waneta Lakes possess large, shallow water areas providing habitat for extensive aquatic macrophyte growth. Lamoka Lake covers 826 acres (including Mill Pond at its southern end) with 11.3 miles of shoreline (Fagan Engineers 1997). Approximately 55% of the total lake surface area supports rooted aquatic plants, with 96% of this area sustaining dense growth (Madsen et al. 2001). Waneta Lake covers 781 acres with 6.8 miles of shoreline (Fagan Engineers 1997). Of the lake surface area, 34% can support rooted aquatic vegetation, with 89% of this area sustaining dense growth (Madsen et al. 2001).
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Effects of forested buffers on benthic macroinvertebrate indicators of water quality in the Western Finger Lakes, New YorkForested riparian buffers are implemented by watershed managers to reduce pollutant runoff into waterbodies. They have been shown to accomplish this task in rivers and streams, but few studies have investigated their efficacy around lakes. Hemlock and Canadice are oligo-mesotrophic lakes with reforested watersheds, including a shoreline buffer strip. Immediately to the west and east of Hemlock and Canadice, Conesus and Honeoye lakes are unprotected, meso-eutrophic systems with mostly mixed, forested, agricultural, and developed land uses. This study explored whether having a shoreline forest buffer strip supports a macroinvertebrate community indicative of good water quality in lakes. In addition, this study examined relationships between individual subwatershed land use and biotic indicators of water quality, as determined by benthic macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrate community composition showed some dissimilarity between lakes (R = 0.09, p = 0.04), with the largest dissimilarity between Conesus and Honeoye. Comparisons did not follow expected patterns based on land use, management protections, and presence of a shoreline forest buffer strip. No difference was found in a biotic index of water quality between the lakes. The benthic community of each lake was rated as moderately impacted by humans. Subwatershed land use generally did not correlate with biotic indices of water quality within lakes. This finding suggests that near-shore forest buffers had no measurable effect on benthic macroinvertebrate communities and their biotic indicators of water quality. Macroinvertebrate communities in these lakes are likely driven by within-lake habitat conditions and legacy effects of agricultural land.
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Indicators of Change in Water Quality and Environmental Health in the Irondequoit Creek Wetland Complex, 1996-2003In late 1996, Monroe County built a partial water detention structure across the Irondequoit Creek narrows in the middle of the Irondequoit Creek wetland complex (Figure 1). The purpose of the structure is to disperse widely during storm events the flow of creek water through the up-per wetland to utilize more fully the physical and biological potential of the wetland to trap plant nutrients, sediments, and pollutants. The remediation is intended to reduce loading of nutrients and pollutants into Irondequoit Bay which, as a formerly hypereutrophic body of water, has been the long-term object of water quality improvement efforts in Monroe County and is a major focus of current remedial action planning (Rochester Embayment RAP 1993, 1997). The purpose of this study was to compare water quality in the Irondequoit Creek wetland complex, as indicated by the health of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, before and after installation of the partial water detention structure.
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Population and Habitat Characteristics of the Pugnose Shiner, Notropis anogenus, in Four Bays of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, New YorkThe goal of our project was to better understand taxa (fish, submerged aquatic vegetationSAV) and physicochemical factors (PCF) associated with the pugnose shiner Notropis anogenus in three bays of Lake Ontario (Sodus) and the St. Lawrence River (Chippewa, Goose) and, using this information, to assess the suitability of an unoccupied bay (Chaumont, Lake Ontario) for establishing a new population by stocking. Our specific objectives were to 1) collect data on the fish communities, SAV, substrate composition and PCF in the four bays, 2) determine population and habitat characteristics of extant N. anogenus in Chippewa, Goose and Sodus Bays, and 3) determine fish, SAV and PCF characteristics in Chaumont Bay then compare them to actual N. anogenus habitat in Chippewa, Goose and Sodus Bays.
