Brian Gray, PhD
Brian Gray
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, 2001
M.S., Biology, University of Kentucky, 1993
Diploma in Natural Resources, Lincoln University, 1982
B.Sc., Botany, University of Auckland, 1981
Science and Products
Summary of Detection Data for Breeding Common Loons in North-central Minnesota (2023)
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, study lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota were
Responses of Native Freshwater Mussels to Remedial Dredging in the upper Hudson River
The Hudson River, New York, was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two General Electric plants over a period of ~30 years and PCBs are still present in sediment and biota today. The river provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including native freshwater mussels. Although little is known about mussels in this river, managers were concerned that a 7-year remediat
Summary of Detection Data for Breeding Common Loons in North-central Minnesota (2021-2022) (ver. 1.1, August 2024)
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, study lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota were
Common loon migration and winter data: telemetry locations and archival geolocator tag location (ver 2.0, October 2022)
The data details common loon locations based on archival geolocator tag information, characteristics of common loon dives during wintering, and common loon locations based on telemetry data. Satellite transmitters (Model PTT-100, Microwave Telemetry, Inc) were implanted in 31 adult male (marked during July 2010 and July 2011) and 27 juvenile (marked during August 2014 and August 2015) common loons
Assessment of uncontained Zequanox applications in a Midwestern lake data
We applied Zequanox using a custom-engineered, boat mounted application system to replicated 0.30 Hectare plots within a small inland lake. The objectives of these applications were to determine if uncontained, open-water Zequanox applications could effectively control zebra mussel populations and protect native unionid mussel populations within zebra mussel infested systems. The datasets included
Filter Total Items: 51
Restoration of common loon (Gavia immer) in Minnesota—2023 annual report
The Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform exploded on April 20, 2010. The resulting massive oil spill injured natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, including wintering common loons (Gavia immer). We report on activities completed under the “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” project in calendar year 2023, which was funded by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group. In 2022, a su
Authors
William S. Beatty, Kelly Amoth, Katelyn Bergstrom, Luke J. Fara, Brian R. Gray, Steven C. Houdek, Jayden Jech, Kevin P. Kenow, Robert Rabasco, Spencer Rettler, Michael Wellik, Steven Yang
Dive characteristics of Common Loons wintering in the Gulf of Mexico and off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast
Common Loons (Gavia immer) winter primarily in marine coastal areas and utilize a forage base that is poorly defined, especially for offshore areas. Information on dive activity is needed for describing foraging strategies and for inferring prey distribution. Archival geolocator tags were used to determine the wintering locations and dive characteristics of adult Common Loons captured and marked o
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Brian R. Gray, Darryl J. Heard, Michael W. Meyer, Timothy J. Fox, Robert J. Kratt, Carrol L. Henderson
Responses of native freshwater mussels to remediation to remove polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated sediments in the upper Hudson River
The Hudson River, New York, was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two manufacturing plants over a period of approximately 30 years, and PCBs are still present in sediment and biota today. The river provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including native freshwater mussels. A remediation programme, consisting of dredging followed by the placement of backfilled s
Authors
Teresa J. Newton, Denise A. Mayer, James T. Rogala, Sean S. Madden, Brian R. Gray
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2022 annual report
The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform on April 20, 2010, caused a massive oil spill and injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” to restore common loons lost to the spill. Here, we report on
Authors
William S. Beatty, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Robert Rabasco, Spencer Rettler, Elizabeth Rasmussen, Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray, Steven Yang, Kelly Amoth
The relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in the diets of common loons (Gavia immer) among a set of cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota
Common loon (Gavia immer (Brünnich, 1764)) foraging patterns and the relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818) in the diets of loons were evaluated for the Whitefish Chain of Lakes, a set of coldwater cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota, USA. Environmental DNA metabarcoding of loon fecal samples detected 15 fish species. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens (Mitchill, 1814)), mimic shine
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Yer Lor, Beth V. Holbrook, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Tariq Tajjioui, Brian R. Gray, Peter C. Jacobson
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2021 annual report
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, priority lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota we
Authors
William S. Beatty, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray
Migration patterns and wintering distribution of common loons breeding in the Upper Midwest
Identification of geographic linkages among breeding, migratory and wintering common loon Gavia immer populations is needed to inform regional and national conservation planning efforts and compensation of loons lost during marine oil spill events. Satellite telemetry and archival geolocator tags were used to determine the migration patterns and wintering locations of breeding adult and young of t
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Brian R. Gray, Darryl J. Heard, Michael W. Meyer, Timothy J. Fox, Robert Kratt, Scott L. Ford, Anette Gendron-Fitzpatrick, Carrol L. Henderson
Probabilities of detecting submersed aquatic vegetation species using a rake method may vary with biomass
Levels of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) are commonly assessed using a modified garden rake. However, the utility of the rake sampling method relative to methods that are typically viewed as more definitive (and expensive) such as snorkeling and coring remains a matter of debate. This study explores whether probabilities of species detections for four SAV species varied among sampling units in
Authors
Brian R. Gray
Songbird use of interior and edge floodplain forest sites along the Upper Mississippi River, USA, during spring migration and breeding seasons
Floodplain forests of large rivers in the midwestern United States are naturally fragmented by sloughs, backwaters, wetlands, and shrub carr. On the highly altered Upper Mississippi River (UMR), resource managers want to protect and manage floodplain forests to benefit forest “interior” bird species. To discover bird relations with interior and edge floodplain forest, we characterized bird assembl
Authors
Eileen M. Kirsch, Brian R. Gray
Patterns of mercury and selenium exposure in Minnesota common loons
Common loons (Gavia immer) are at risk of elevated dietary mercury (Hg) exposure in portions of their breeding range. To assess the level of risk among loons in Minnesota (USA), we investigated loon blood Hg concentrations in breeding lakes across Minnesota. Loon blood Hg concentrations were regressed on predicted Hg concentrations in standardized 12‐cm whole‐organism yellow perch (Perca flavescen
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Steven C. Houdek, Luke J. Fara, Richard A. Erickson, Brian R. Gray, Travis J. Harrison, Bruce Monson, Carrol L. Henderson
Flooding tolerance of Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria rigida under controlled laboratory conditions
Pool‐scale growing‐season water‐level reductions (drawdowns) have been implemented on the Upper Mississippi River in an effort to improve fish and wildlife habitat. Aquatic vegetation is a key habitat component, with perennial emergent species, such as Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria rigida, especially important. River managers have assumed the need for continuous drawdown during the growing s
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray, James E. Lyons
Aquatic vegetation responses to island construction (habitat restoration) in a large floodplain river
The Upper Mississippi River is maintained in its current navigable state through impoundments, dredging, and other engineering projects. These stressors, along with anthropogenic impacts and natural system processes, led to declines in aquatic vegetation and the loss of fish and wildlife habitat, with a major downturn the late 1980s and early 1990s. Large‐scale restoration projects, such as the on
Authors
Deanne C. Drake, Brian R. Gray, Nora Forbes
SAS code for analyzing water temperature data
This code may be used to fit linear models with multivariate random effects and heterogeneous measurement-level residual variances. The code as written may be used to estimate associations between water temperature ('temp') and continuous year ('yearctr'), study reach (or field station; 'fs'), log-transformed mean July water discharge (in 1000 cms units; 'logmeanJulycms1000'), number of days from
Science and Products
Summary of Detection Data for Breeding Common Loons in North-central Minnesota (2023)
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, study lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota were
Responses of Native Freshwater Mussels to Remedial Dredging in the upper Hudson River
The Hudson River, New York, was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two General Electric plants over a period of ~30 years and PCBs are still present in sediment and biota today. The river provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including native freshwater mussels. Although little is known about mussels in this river, managers were concerned that a 7-year remediat
Summary of Detection Data for Breeding Common Loons in North-central Minnesota (2021-2022) (ver. 1.1, August 2024)
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, study lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota were
Common loon migration and winter data: telemetry locations and archival geolocator tag location (ver 2.0, October 2022)
The data details common loon locations based on archival geolocator tag information, characteristics of common loon dives during wintering, and common loon locations based on telemetry data. Satellite transmitters (Model PTT-100, Microwave Telemetry, Inc) were implanted in 31 adult male (marked during July 2010 and July 2011) and 27 juvenile (marked during August 2014 and August 2015) common loons
Assessment of uncontained Zequanox applications in a Midwestern lake data
We applied Zequanox using a custom-engineered, boat mounted application system to replicated 0.30 Hectare plots within a small inland lake. The objectives of these applications were to determine if uncontained, open-water Zequanox applications could effectively control zebra mussel populations and protect native unionid mussel populations within zebra mussel infested systems. The datasets included
Filter Total Items: 51
Restoration of common loon (Gavia immer) in Minnesota—2023 annual report
The Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform exploded on April 20, 2010. The resulting massive oil spill injured natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, including wintering common loons (Gavia immer). We report on activities completed under the “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” project in calendar year 2023, which was funded by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group. In 2022, a su
Authors
William S. Beatty, Kelly Amoth, Katelyn Bergstrom, Luke J. Fara, Brian R. Gray, Steven C. Houdek, Jayden Jech, Kevin P. Kenow, Robert Rabasco, Spencer Rettler, Michael Wellik, Steven Yang
Dive characteristics of Common Loons wintering in the Gulf of Mexico and off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast
Common Loons (Gavia immer) winter primarily in marine coastal areas and utilize a forage base that is poorly defined, especially for offshore areas. Information on dive activity is needed for describing foraging strategies and for inferring prey distribution. Archival geolocator tags were used to determine the wintering locations and dive characteristics of adult Common Loons captured and marked o
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Brian R. Gray, Darryl J. Heard, Michael W. Meyer, Timothy J. Fox, Robert J. Kratt, Carrol L. Henderson
Responses of native freshwater mussels to remediation to remove polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated sediments in the upper Hudson River
The Hudson River, New York, was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two manufacturing plants over a period of approximately 30 years, and PCBs are still present in sediment and biota today. The river provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including native freshwater mussels. A remediation programme, consisting of dredging followed by the placement of backfilled s
Authors
Teresa J. Newton, Denise A. Mayer, James T. Rogala, Sean S. Madden, Brian R. Gray
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2022 annual report
The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform on April 20, 2010, caused a massive oil spill and injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” to restore common loons lost to the spill. Here, we report on
Authors
William S. Beatty, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Robert Rabasco, Spencer Rettler, Elizabeth Rasmussen, Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray, Steven Yang, Kelly Amoth
The relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in the diets of common loons (Gavia immer) among a set of cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota
Common loon (Gavia immer (Brünnich, 1764)) foraging patterns and the relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818) in the diets of loons were evaluated for the Whitefish Chain of Lakes, a set of coldwater cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota, USA. Environmental DNA metabarcoding of loon fecal samples detected 15 fish species. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens (Mitchill, 1814)), mimic shine
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Yer Lor, Beth V. Holbrook, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Tariq Tajjioui, Brian R. Gray, Peter C. Jacobson
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2021 annual report
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill. In 2020–21, priority lakes in an eight-county region in north-central Minnesota we
Authors
William S. Beatty, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray
Migration patterns and wintering distribution of common loons breeding in the Upper Midwest
Identification of geographic linkages among breeding, migratory and wintering common loon Gavia immer populations is needed to inform regional and national conservation planning efforts and compensation of loons lost during marine oil spill events. Satellite telemetry and archival geolocator tags were used to determine the migration patterns and wintering locations of breeding adult and young of t
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Brian R. Gray, Darryl J. Heard, Michael W. Meyer, Timothy J. Fox, Robert Kratt, Scott L. Ford, Anette Gendron-Fitzpatrick, Carrol L. Henderson
Probabilities of detecting submersed aquatic vegetation species using a rake method may vary with biomass
Levels of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) are commonly assessed using a modified garden rake. However, the utility of the rake sampling method relative to methods that are typically viewed as more definitive (and expensive) such as snorkeling and coring remains a matter of debate. This study explores whether probabilities of species detections for four SAV species varied among sampling units in
Authors
Brian R. Gray
Songbird use of interior and edge floodplain forest sites along the Upper Mississippi River, USA, during spring migration and breeding seasons
Floodplain forests of large rivers in the midwestern United States are naturally fragmented by sloughs, backwaters, wetlands, and shrub carr. On the highly altered Upper Mississippi River (UMR), resource managers want to protect and manage floodplain forests to benefit forest “interior” bird species. To discover bird relations with interior and edge floodplain forest, we characterized bird assembl
Authors
Eileen M. Kirsch, Brian R. Gray
Patterns of mercury and selenium exposure in Minnesota common loons
Common loons (Gavia immer) are at risk of elevated dietary mercury (Hg) exposure in portions of their breeding range. To assess the level of risk among loons in Minnesota (USA), we investigated loon blood Hg concentrations in breeding lakes across Minnesota. Loon blood Hg concentrations were regressed on predicted Hg concentrations in standardized 12‐cm whole‐organism yellow perch (Perca flavescen
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Steven C. Houdek, Luke J. Fara, Richard A. Erickson, Brian R. Gray, Travis J. Harrison, Bruce Monson, Carrol L. Henderson
Flooding tolerance of Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria rigida under controlled laboratory conditions
Pool‐scale growing‐season water‐level reductions (drawdowns) have been implemented on the Upper Mississippi River in an effort to improve fish and wildlife habitat. Aquatic vegetation is a key habitat component, with perennial emergent species, such as Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria rigida, especially important. River managers have assumed the need for continuous drawdown during the growing s
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray, James E. Lyons
Aquatic vegetation responses to island construction (habitat restoration) in a large floodplain river
The Upper Mississippi River is maintained in its current navigable state through impoundments, dredging, and other engineering projects. These stressors, along with anthropogenic impacts and natural system processes, led to declines in aquatic vegetation and the loss of fish and wildlife habitat, with a major downturn the late 1980s and early 1990s. Large‐scale restoration projects, such as the on
Authors
Deanne C. Drake, Brian R. Gray, Nora Forbes
SAS code for analyzing water temperature data
This code may be used to fit linear models with multivariate random effects and heterogeneous measurement-level residual variances. The code as written may be used to estimate associations between water temperature ('temp') and continuous year ('yearctr'), study reach (or field station; 'fs'), log-transformed mean July water discharge (in 1000 cms units; 'logmeanJulycms1000'), number of days from