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Browse more than 150,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Publications

Filter Total Items: 3223

Benthos and plankton community data for selected rivers and harbors along Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline, 2012

Four river systems on the Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Michigan are designated Areas of Concern (AOCs) because of severe environmental degradation: the Lower Menominee River, Lower Green Bay and Fox River, Sheboygan River, and Milwaukee Estuary. Each AOC has one or more Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) that form the basis of the AOC designation and that must be remediated or otherwise addressed be
Authors
Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Amanda H. Bell, Daniel J. Burns, Hayley T. Olds

Indicators of the statuses of amphibian populations and their potential for exposure to atrazine in four midwestern U.S. conservation areas

Extensive corn production in the midwestern United States has physically eliminated or fragmented vast areas of historical amphibian habitat. Midwestern corn farmers also apply large quantities of fertilizers and herbicides, which can cause direct and indirect effects on amphibians. Limited field research regarding the statuses of midwestern amphibian populations near areas of corn production has
Authors
Walter Sadinski, Mark Roth, Tyrone Hayes, Perry Jones, Alisa Gallant

Incubation stage and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener patterns in an altricial and precocial bird species

The composition of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners was compared between non-incubated and embryonated eggs of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and little terns (Sterna albifrons) to determine if measurable changes in PCB congeners occurred during the embryonic period. There was no indication of changes in PCB congener patterns over the incubation period in tree swallows in 1999 and 200
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Stefan Thyen, Peter H. Becker

Effects of suspended sediment concentration and grain size on three optical turbidity sensors

Purpose: Optical turbidity sensors have been successfully used to determine suspended sediment flux in rivers, assuming the relation between the turbidity signal and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) has been appropriately calibrated. Sediment size, shape and colour affect turbidity and are important to incorporate into the calibration process. Materials and methods: This study evaluates the
Authors
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Paul D. Capel, Jean P.G. Minella

Determination of the exposure parameters that maximise the concentrations of the anaesthetic/sedative eugenol in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) skin-on fillet tissue

Studies were conducted to determine the anaesthetic/sedative concentrations and durations that would maximize anaesthetic/sedative residue concentrations in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) skin-on fillet tissue. Rainbow trout (167–404 g) were exposed to 50 mg l−1 AQUI-S® 20E (10% active ingredient, eugenol) in 17°C freshwater for durations up to 1440 min, 100 and 250 mg l−1 AQUI-S® 20E for dur
Authors
Jeffery R. Meinertz, Scott T. Porcher, Justin Smerud

Lacustrine responses to decreasing wet mercury deposition rates: results from a case study in northern Minnesota

We present a case study comparing metrics of methylmercury (MeHg) contamination for four undeveloped lakes in Voyageurs National Park to wet atmospheric deposition of mercury (Hg), sulfate (SO4–2), and hydrogen ion (H+) in northern Minnesota. Annual wet Hg, SO4–2, and H+ deposition rates at two nearby precipitation monitoring sites indicate considerable decreases from 1998 to 2012 (mean decreases
Authors
Mark E. Brigham, Mark B. Sandheinrich, David A. Gay, Ryan P. Maki, David P. Krabbenhoft, James G. Wiener

Effectiveness of Aquaflor (50% florfenicol) administered in feed to control mortality associated with Streptococcus iniae in tilapia at a commercial tilapia production facility

The efficacy of Aquaflor (florfenicol; FFC) to control mortality caused by Streptococcus iniae in tilapia was evaluated under field conditions. The trial was initiated following presumptive diagnosis of S. iniae infection in a mixed group of fingerling (mean, 4.5 g) Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and a hybrid of Nile Tilapia×Blue Tilapia O. aureus. Diagnoses included mortality in source tank;
Authors
Mark P. Gaikowski, Susan M. Schleis, Eric Leis, Becky A. Lasee, Richard G. Endris

Hand-rearing, growth, and development of common loon (Gavia immer) chicks

Common loon chicks were reared in captivity in association with studies to evaluate the effects of radiotransmitter implants and to assess the ecological risk of dietary methylmercury. Here we report on hatching and rearing methods used to successfully raise chicks to 105 days of age. We experienced a 91.5% hatch rate, and 89.6% of loon chicks survived to the end of the study at 105 days. Baseline
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Melissa S. Meier, Laurie E. McColl, Randy K. Hines, Jimmy Pichner, Laura Johnson, James E. Lyon, Kellie Kroc Scharold, Michael Meyer

Trophic state in Voyageurs National Park lakes before and after implementation of a revised water-level management plan

We compiled Secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll a (Chla) data from Voyageurs National Park lakes and compared datasets before and after a new water-level management plan was implemented in January 2000. Average Secchi depth transparency improved (from 1.9 to 2.1 m, p = 0.020) between 1977-1999 and 2000-2011 in Kabetogama Lake for August samples only and remained unchanged in Rainy, Nam
Authors
Victoria G. Christensen, Ryan P. Maki

Predicted effects of future climate warming on thermal habitat suitability for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) in rivers in Wisconsin, USA

The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) may be threatened by future climate warming. The purpose of this study was to identify river reaches in Wisconsin, USA, where they might be vulnerable to warming water temperatures. In Wisconsin, A. fulvescens is known from 2291 km of large-river habitat that has been fragmented into 48 discrete river-lake networks isolated by impassable d
Authors
John D. Lyons, Jana S. Stewart

Human and bovine viruses in the Milwaukee River Watershed: hydrologically relevant representation and relations with environmental variables

To examine the occurrence, hydrologic variability, and seasonal variability of human and bovine viruses in surface water, three stream locations were monitored in the Milwaukee River watershed in Wisconsin, USA, from February 2007 through June 2008. Monitoring sites included an urban subwatershed, a rural subwatershed, and the Milwaukee River at the mouth. To collect samples that characterize vari
Authors
Steven R. Corsi, M. A. Borchardt, S. K. Spencer, Peter E. Hughes, Austin K. Baldwin

Contaminant exposure of birds nesting in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

In earlier studies, elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) were reported in double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) eggs and tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs and nestlings collected from lower Green Bay (WI, USA) in 1994 and 1995 and black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) eggs collected in 1991. Comparabl
Authors
Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Christine M. Custer, J. Christian Franson, Michael Jones