The Great Lakes: An Environmental Historynre301/greatlakes.pdf · Great Lakes Science Center...
Transcript of The Great Lakes: An Environmental Historynre301/greatlakes.pdf · Great Lakes Science Center...
The Great Lakes:An Environmental History
Great Lakes Science Center
Jeffrey S. Schaeffer
Great Lakes Science Center
1451 Green Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
The Great Lakes
A Primeval landscape
Vast wetlands,fisheries
Loss of Marshlands
The WellandCanal
FirstCommercial
Fishing
The loggingera
1800 1810 1823 1830 1850
The GreatBlack
Swamp
The great abundance of fish … is a daily manna, whichnever fails... Moreover, better fish can not be eaten, andthey are bathed and nourished in the purest water …you could see anywhere.
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1658-1730)
There were a lot of fish
No quantitativeestimates
Many anecdotalaccounts
High catches usingprimitive methods
Wetlands
Agricultural dikes
The Great Black Swamp
Wetland Drainage
Saginaw Bay, early 1800’sData from Mackay,Lake Huron GIS project
WetlandForestWet Prairie
Saginaw Bay, 1983Data from Mackay,Lake Huron GIS project
WetlandForestWet Prairie
Ship Canals
Welland Canal: 1829
Dams
Whitewater, Ausable River
Circa 1910
Photo Courtesy of Troy Zorn,Michigan Dept. of NaturalResources
Dam Impacts- whitewater
Miles from River Mouth0 10 20 30 40 50
Elev
atio
n (fe
et)
450
500
550
600
650
700
NowThen
Dam Impacts: migration
Map courtesy of Troy Zorn,Michigan Dept. of NaturalResources
Watershed impacts: logging
Primeval Forests
Old Growth White Pine
Efficiency Rules
Log Drive at Grand Rapids
Michigan Grayling
A barren landscape
Fire!
The Great Peshtigo Fire
October 8, 1871
PeshtigoOctober 8, 1871
3,780,000 acres burned
Worst natural disaster in U.S.history in terms of loss of life(1500?)
Until Titanic, worst U.S.disaster from any cause
Why have you never heardabout this?
The Great Chicago Fire
October 8, 1871
First problems apparent
The GreatPeshtigo Fire
Swedes DiscoverLake Sturgeon
Spencer Baird’sBig Mistake
CommercialFishing
becomesIndustrialized
The BigSmelt Escape
1871 1880 1885 1900 1912
Lake Sturgeon
Lake Sturgeon landings
Year1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950
Land
ings
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Spencer Baird’s Big Mistake
The Common Carp
Sport fishing
Commercial Fishing
Commercial Fishing
The big smelt escape of 1912
A wave of invaders
Sea lamprey inLake Erie
Lake Herring collapse
First fish kill fromPollution
Sea lampreyIn Lake Huron
SeaLampreys
everywhere
Alewivesproliferate
1921 1925 1932 1940 1949
Sea Lamprey
Year1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960
Land
ings
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Lake trout landings
Alewife invades
Exploitation followed a pattern
High value Low value
A decade of change
HexageniaExtirpated
Nylon nets
Alewife ,Rainbow smelt
proliferate
Lake trout collapse
Blue PikeExtinct
AlewifeDominate
L. Michigan
1953 1955 1960 1962 1963
Notice anything?
Hexagenia extirpated
Nylon Nets
An Environmental Catastrophe!
MassiveAlewifeDie-off
Overfishing
CuyahogaRiver burns
Lake ErieDeclared
Dead
DDT LampreyControl
CleanWater
Act
1966 1967 1969 1970 1972
Alewife die-off
1960’s Pollution!
Lamprey control
Recovery!
Salmon surprise
EPA created
Walleyesreturn
SalmonControl
Alewives
Lake troutreturn
StillMore
walleyes
Sport FishingIndustrycreated
1972 1974 1976 1977 1979
Great Fishing
Salmon Surprise!
Invasions: round 2
White perch
EuropeanWaterflea
Zebramussels
Ruffegobies
1980 1985 1988 1989 1990
Non-Point
Sources
Ballast water introductions
Zebra mussels
Yet more invadersRound Goby Ruffe
Bythotrephes
Habitat Loss
• Wetland loss
• Dams
• Watershed changes
Overfishing
• Industrialization, technology advances
• Lack of regulation (sturgeon)
• Specific Exploitation pattern
Exotics
Introduced deliberately
Invaded through ship canals
ballast water introductions
Water quality
• Point sources• Nutrients, industrial wastes• Greatly reduced
• Non-point sources• Nutrients, toxics• May be worse than ever
Consequences
• Loss of Native Species
• Replacement by exotics
• Instability, fluctuating populations
Human Solutions
• Reaction• Money• Technology
Throw money at the problem …
Human Challenges
• Prevention• Restoration• Money• Technology
Help! We are being eaten by agiant Muskellunge!