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Data Series 824

Prepared in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Great Lakes National Program Office

Benthos and Plankton Community Data for Selected Rivers and Harbors along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Shoreline, 2012

By Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Amanda H. Bell, Daniel J. Burns, and Hayley A. Templar

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (4.18 MB)Abstract

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 before the AOC designation can be removed. All four of these AOCs have BUIs for benthos (bottom-dwelling or benthic invertebrates), and all but the Menominee River have a BUI for plankton (free-floating algae and invertebrates, or phytoplankton and zooplankton, respectively). The U.S. Geological Survey collected samples in 2012 at these four AOCs and at six non-AOCs to support the evaluation of the status of aquatic communities in the benthos and plankton at the AOCs. Samples were collected during three periods representing spring, summer, and fall. Benthos samples were collected using a dredge grab sampler and artificial substrates; plankton samples were collected using a tow net for zooplankton and a vertical water sampler for phytoplankton. Benthos and plankton were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic category and counted; samples for documenting water temperature, pH, and specific conductance, as well as sediment particle size and organic carbon were also collected during biological sampling.

First posted September 19, 2014

For additional information, contact:
Director, Wisconsin Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
8505 Research Way
Middleton, WI 53562
http://wi.water.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Scudder Eikenberry, B.C., Bell, A.H., Burns, D.J., and Templar, H.A., 2014, Benthos and plankton community data for selected rivers and harbors along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 824, 30 p. plus 8 appendixes, https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds824.

ISSN 2327–638X (online)



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Site Descriptions

Data Collection

References Cited


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