Exploring long-term trends in microcystin toxin values associated with persistent harmful algal blooms in Grand Lake St Marys.

High external nutrient loads from agricultural runoff have led to persistent and highly toxic algal blooms in Grand Lake St Marys (GLSM) for decades. These pervasive blooms are concurrent with long-term (2009 - 2021) toxin and environmental monitoring, providing a robust weekly dataset for modeling microcystins. Median weekly microcystin concentrations (23.

Incorporation of feeding functional group information informs explanatory patterns of long-term population changes in fish assemblages.

The objective of this study was to evaluate long term trends of fish taxa in southern Lake Michigan while incorporating their functional roles to improve our understanding of ecosystem level changes that have occurred in the system over time. The approach used here highlighted the ease of incorporating ecological mechanisms into population models so researchers can take full advantage of available long-term ecosystem information. Long term studies of fish assemblages can be used to inform changes in community structure resulting from perturbations to aquatic systems and understanding these changes in fish assemblages can be better contextualized by grouping species according to functional groups that are grounded in niche theory.

Spatial Distribution of a Tree Trunk Specialist Spider: Relative Role of Landscape Versus Microhabitat Drivers.

By completely censusing a 1 ha forest dynamics plot it was possible to identify the variables (spider mass, size, sex and tree species, size, and bark roughness) that influenced the spatial distribution of adult Drapetisca alteranda Chamberlin 1909 (Araneae: Linyphiidae), a sheet web spider that specializes in lower tree trunks in North American forests. To account for spatial autocorrelation, a conditional autoregressive random effect was included in the zero-inflated Poisson generalized linear mixed model. Parameters estimated were produced by Bayesian inference with vague prior probability distributions and the best of 16 models were selected using Watanabe-Akaike Information Criterion.

The temporal effects of heavy metal contamination on the fish community of the West Fork White River, Delaware County, Indiana, USA.

The importance of monitoring anthropogenic changes in a lotic system is not limited to chemical water quality monitoring. The addition of biological monitoring allows fish to be used as bioindicators because of their varying tolerance to pollution. For this study, we utilized long-term water quality and fish data to evaluate temporal changes brought on by passage of the Clean Water Act (1972).

Hot and toxic: Temperature regulates microcystin release from cyanobacteria.

The mechanisms regulating toxin release by cyanobacteria are poorly understood despite the threat cyanotoxins pose to water quality and human health globally. To determine the potential for temperature to regulate microcystin release by toxin-producing cyanobacteria, we evaluated seasonal patterns of water temperature, cyanobacteria biomass, and extracellular microcystin concentration in a eutrophic freshwater lake dominated by Planktothrix agardhii. We replicated seasonal variation in water temperature in a concurrent laboratory incubation experiment designed to evaluate cause-effect relationships between temperature and toxin release.

A national reconnaissance of trace organic compounds (TOCs) in United States lotic ecosystems.

We collaborated with 26 groups from universities across the United States to sample 42 sites for 33 trace organic compounds (TOCs) in water and sediments of lotic ecosystems. Our goals were 1) to further develop a national database of TOC abundance in United States lotic ecosystems that can be a foundation for future research and management, and 2) to identify factors related to compound abundance. Trace organic compounds were found in 93% of water samples and 56% of sediment samples.

Cell Type-Specific Circuit Mapping Reveals the Presynaptic Connectivity of Developing Cortical Circuits.

Unlabelled: The mammalian cerebral cortex is a dense network composed of local, subcortical, and intercortical synaptic connections. As a result, mapping cell type-specific neuronal connectivity in the cerebral cortex in vivo has long been a challenge for neurobiologists. In particular, the development of excitatory and inhibitory interneuron presynaptic input has been hard to capture.

Macroecology of North American suckers (Catostomidae): tests of Bergmann's and Rapoport's rules.

Discerning spatial macroecological patterns in freshwater fishes has broad implications for community assembly, ecosystem dynamics, management, and conservation. This study explores the potential interspecific covariation of geographic range (Rapoport's rule) and body size (Bergmann's rule) with latitude in North American sucker fishes (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae). While numerous tests of Rapoport's and Bergmann's rules are documented in the literature, comparatively few of these studies have specifically tested for these patterns, and none have incorporated information reflecting shared ancestry into analyses of North American freshwater fish through a hierarchical model.

Body size and geographic range do not explain long term variation in fish populations: a Bayesian phylogenetic approach to testing assembly processes in stream fish assemblages.

We combine evolutionary biology and community ecology to test whether two species traits, body size and geographic range, explain long term variation in local scale freshwater stream fish assemblages. Body size and geographic range are expected to influence several aspects of fish ecology, via relationships with niche breadth, dispersal, and abundance. These traits are expected to scale inversely with niche breadth or current abundance, and to scale directly with dispersal potential.

Detection of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in near-shore habitats of southern Lake Michigan.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been documented throughout the United States freshwaters but research has focused largely on lotic systems. Because PPCPs are designed to have a physiological effect, it is likely that they may also influence aquatic organisms. Thus, PPCPs may negatively impact aquatic ecosystems.

Predicting biological impairment from habitat assessments.

The goal of biological monitoring programs is to determine impairment classification and identify local stressors. Biological monitoring performs well at detecting impairment but when used alone falls short of determining the cause of the impairment. Following detection a more thorough survey is often conducted using extensive biological, chemical, and physical analysis coupled with exhaustive statistical treatments.