In Partnership with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
The Station
Hammond Bay Biological Station (HBBS), located near Millersburg, Michigan, is a field station of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC). HBBS was established by congressional action in 1950 under initial supervision by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. HBBS was subsequently supervised by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife (1970) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (1971), finally joining the GLSC in 1993, which transferred to the USGS in 1996.
The facility was opened in 1876 and served as a US Life-Saving Service station, and later a US Coast Guard station, until being decommissioned in 1947. With the growing threat to Great Lakes fisheries caused by sea lamprey invasion, the facility was converted into a biological station. Since then, the primary missions of HBBS—to develop control measures for sea lampreys and conduct research to aid native fish restoration—have been pursued with great success.
Research
The station is managed in cooperation with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) and is one of the leading research facilities in the Great Lakes in support of invasive species control and native fish restoration. Research at the station focuses primarily on the biology and behavior of sea lampreys and native fish, such as lake trout and coregonine species, while the broader research portfolio includes other economically valuable fish such as walleye. Researchers at HBBS are on the forefront of Great Lakes fishery science with decades of success conducting cutting-edge research to improve management of the Great Lakes fishery.
Sea lampreys are parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean that invaded the Great Lakes in the 1800s-1900s, subsequently devastating many native fish populations. Sea lampreys quickly became, and remain, one of the worst Great Lakes invasive species. HBBS scientists study all stages of the sea lamprey life cycle, including the larval stage that burrows into stream bottoms, the newly metamorphosed stage that migrates downstream to lakes, the juvenile stage that feeds on fish, and the adult stage that migrates upstream to spawn. HBBS scientists have provided the primary scientific studies underpinning the GLFC’s sea lamprey control program, such as designing barriers to migration, discovering selective chemical toxicants (lampricides), and developing supplemental (non-lampricide) control technologies. Collectively, these achievements—and others—have resulted in one of the most successful invasive species control programs in the world.
HBBS researchers are currently testing advanced technologies to improve sea lamprey control, fishery management, and native fish restoration. Researchers are testing sea lamprey pheromones and pheromone antagonists for disrupting natural migration and reproduction. Researchers are also testing sea lamprey alarm cues (repellents) for diverting sea lampreys away from favorable spawning habitats toward poor habitats or better trapping locations. Sea lamprey behavior is being studied in other research to improve accuracy of population size estimation and to develop new trapping and barrier technologies, including electrical systems to guide newly metamorphosed sea lampreys into traps and prevent the spread of adult sea lampreys.
HBBS is a research hub for the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS), with staff members that coordinate, manage data for, and participate in the GLATOS network. Station researchers use acoustic telemetry to track fish movements in projects focused on: testing assumptions required to estimate parasitic sea lamprey abundance in Lake Erie; cisco spawning and habitat use in the Les Cheneaux Islands, Lake Huron; walleye and whitefish population dynamics in Green Bay, Lake Michigan; whitefish and lake trout spawning behavior and habitat use on Buffalo Reef, Lake Superior; and siscowet lake trout spawning behavior near Isle Royale, Lake Superior. Additionally, acoustic telemetry researchers are studying the efficacy of the Northern Refuge in Lake Michigan for lake trout rehabilitation as well as lake trout colonization dynamics on artificial reefs in Thunder Bay, Lake Huron.
HBBS researchers are also testing methods to selectively pass fish up- and down-stream of barriers, such as dams, thereby allowing passage of desirable fish while simultaneously blocking undesirable fish. Additionally, HBBS scientists are conducting research to support the conservation and restoration of cisco and whitefish across the Great Lakes, including analyses of lake whitefish recruitment drivers and dynamics. Finally, multiple station personnel conduct education and outreach programs in local communities and coordinate state-wide programs to educate youth and adults about Great Lakes science and management. The expertise and diverse programs at HBBS are continuing a tradition of delivering important advancements in Great Lakes science and management.
Facilities & Vessels
HBBS is located on a 60-acre property along Lake Huron. Facilities include recently renovated offices, a newly constructed laboratory, water tank, and pump house, and several buildings for storage and housing boats. The station pumps Lake Huron water into a one-million-gallon water tank for use in holding fish for extended periods in the new lab. Artificial channels and tanks of a wide range of sizes provide controlled experimental settings for fish behavioral studies and nearby streams provide natural experimental environments. The station is also equipped to conduct tests of various environmental parameters on toxicity of lampricides to sea lampreys and other fish.
HBBS operates four small vessels that allow research to be conducted over a wide range of environments. The vessels are well-suited for Great Lakes and large river research.
The USGS and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission partner together, through a Memorandum of Agreement with the GLSC, to jointly manage and operate HBBS. The station is staffed with a bi-national group of scientists and is among the most productive research facilities in the Great Lakes basin. While there are only about 20 permanent employees, the station hosts an additional 25-50 visiting scientists, contractors, technicians, and students at various times throughout the year. Cooperative studies are conducted with GLFC-funded researchers from US and Canadian universities, and with biologists from federal, state, provincial, and tribal agencies across the Great Lakes basin. Through an agreement with the GLFC, HBBS is formally partnered with Michigan State University and the University of Guelph in Ontario. Station facilities are routinely provided to other researchers worldwide who are engaged in research on lampreys and other Great Lakes fish.
Staff
In Partnership with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
The Station
Hammond Bay Biological Station (HBBS), located near Millersburg, Michigan, is a field station of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC). HBBS was established by congressional action in 1950 under initial supervision by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. HBBS was subsequently supervised by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife (1970) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (1971), finally joining the GLSC in 1993, which transferred to the USGS in 1996.
The facility was opened in 1876 and served as a US Life-Saving Service station, and later a US Coast Guard station, until being decommissioned in 1947. With the growing threat to Great Lakes fisheries caused by sea lamprey invasion, the facility was converted into a biological station. Since then, the primary missions of HBBS—to develop control measures for sea lampreys and conduct research to aid native fish restoration—have been pursued with great success.
Research
The station is managed in cooperation with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) and is one of the leading research facilities in the Great Lakes in support of invasive species control and native fish restoration. Research at the station focuses primarily on the biology and behavior of sea lampreys and native fish, such as lake trout and coregonine species, while the broader research portfolio includes other economically valuable fish such as walleye. Researchers at HBBS are on the forefront of Great Lakes fishery science with decades of success conducting cutting-edge research to improve management of the Great Lakes fishery.
Sea lampreys are parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean that invaded the Great Lakes in the 1800s-1900s, subsequently devastating many native fish populations. Sea lampreys quickly became, and remain, one of the worst Great Lakes invasive species. HBBS scientists study all stages of the sea lamprey life cycle, including the larval stage that burrows into stream bottoms, the newly metamorphosed stage that migrates downstream to lakes, the juvenile stage that feeds on fish, and the adult stage that migrates upstream to spawn. HBBS scientists have provided the primary scientific studies underpinning the GLFC’s sea lamprey control program, such as designing barriers to migration, discovering selective chemical toxicants (lampricides), and developing supplemental (non-lampricide) control technologies. Collectively, these achievements—and others—have resulted in one of the most successful invasive species control programs in the world.
HBBS researchers are currently testing advanced technologies to improve sea lamprey control, fishery management, and native fish restoration. Researchers are testing sea lamprey pheromones and pheromone antagonists for disrupting natural migration and reproduction. Researchers are also testing sea lamprey alarm cues (repellents) for diverting sea lampreys away from favorable spawning habitats toward poor habitats or better trapping locations. Sea lamprey behavior is being studied in other research to improve accuracy of population size estimation and to develop new trapping and barrier technologies, including electrical systems to guide newly metamorphosed sea lampreys into traps and prevent the spread of adult sea lampreys.
HBBS is a research hub for the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS), with staff members that coordinate, manage data for, and participate in the GLATOS network. Station researchers use acoustic telemetry to track fish movements in projects focused on: testing assumptions required to estimate parasitic sea lamprey abundance in Lake Erie; cisco spawning and habitat use in the Les Cheneaux Islands, Lake Huron; walleye and whitefish population dynamics in Green Bay, Lake Michigan; whitefish and lake trout spawning behavior and habitat use on Buffalo Reef, Lake Superior; and siscowet lake trout spawning behavior near Isle Royale, Lake Superior. Additionally, acoustic telemetry researchers are studying the efficacy of the Northern Refuge in Lake Michigan for lake trout rehabilitation as well as lake trout colonization dynamics on artificial reefs in Thunder Bay, Lake Huron.
HBBS researchers are also testing methods to selectively pass fish up- and down-stream of barriers, such as dams, thereby allowing passage of desirable fish while simultaneously blocking undesirable fish. Additionally, HBBS scientists are conducting research to support the conservation and restoration of cisco and whitefish across the Great Lakes, including analyses of lake whitefish recruitment drivers and dynamics. Finally, multiple station personnel conduct education and outreach programs in local communities and coordinate state-wide programs to educate youth and adults about Great Lakes science and management. The expertise and diverse programs at HBBS are continuing a tradition of delivering important advancements in Great Lakes science and management.
Facilities & Vessels
HBBS is located on a 60-acre property along Lake Huron. Facilities include recently renovated offices, a newly constructed laboratory, water tank, and pump house, and several buildings for storage and housing boats. The station pumps Lake Huron water into a one-million-gallon water tank for use in holding fish for extended periods in the new lab. Artificial channels and tanks of a wide range of sizes provide controlled experimental settings for fish behavioral studies and nearby streams provide natural experimental environments. The station is also equipped to conduct tests of various environmental parameters on toxicity of lampricides to sea lampreys and other fish.
HBBS operates four small vessels that allow research to be conducted over a wide range of environments. The vessels are well-suited for Great Lakes and large river research.
The USGS and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission partner together, through a Memorandum of Agreement with the GLSC, to jointly manage and operate HBBS. The station is staffed with a bi-national group of scientists and is among the most productive research facilities in the Great Lakes basin. While there are only about 20 permanent employees, the station hosts an additional 25-50 visiting scientists, contractors, technicians, and students at various times throughout the year. Cooperative studies are conducted with GLFC-funded researchers from US and Canadian universities, and with biologists from federal, state, provincial, and tribal agencies across the Great Lakes basin. Through an agreement with the GLFC, HBBS is formally partnered with Michigan State University and the University of Guelph in Ontario. Station facilities are routinely provided to other researchers worldwide who are engaged in research on lampreys and other Great Lakes fish.