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AUTHORS: Emily Galassini, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; Dustin Bowser, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; Andrew Briggs, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Justin Chiotti, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Robin DeBruyne, University of Toledo; Jason Fischer, University of Toledo; Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Michigan DNR; Stacey Ireland, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; Scott Jackson, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; David Mifsud, Herpetological Resource and Management, LLC; Stacy Provo, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University; Jason Ross, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Hayley Schroeder, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; Maegan Stapleton, Herpetological Resource and Management, LLC; Jenny Sutherland, Eastern Michigan University; Mike Thomas, Michigan DNR; Kevin Wehrly, Michigan DNR; Todd Wills, Michigan DNR; Jim Boase, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Katie Greenwald, Eastern Michigan University; Greg Kennedy, USGS Great Lakes Science Center; Ed Roseman, USGS Great Lakes Science Center
ABSTRACT: The loss and degradation of fish and wildlife habitat is a beneficial use impairment in both the Detroit and St. Clair rivers (SCDRS) Areas of Concern. Habitat stressors such as poor water quality due to excessive contaminants, nutrient inputs, river channelization, and the removal of fish spawning and nursery areas resulted in declines of important fisheries, as well as extirpation and declines of non-game fishes and amphibians. Since the implementation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972, habitat conditions in the SCDRS have improved and recent ecological surveys show increases in many rare and sensitive aquatic populations. Our survey results include collections of Northern Madtom (Noturus stigmosus), Pugnose Shiner (Notropis anogenus), and Pugnose Minnow (Opsopoeodus emiliae) who are listed as Endangered in the state of Michigan; and the Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), an indicator of habitat quality. In this poster, we use multi-agency survey data to describe the current range and relative catch-per-effort of these sensitive species. Measures of relative abundances, collections of multiple life history stages previously undocumented, and expanded geographic distributions indicate continued improvements in connecting channel habitat is supporting the recovery of these species and other aquatic organisms.
