Browsing by Subject "Great Lakes region"
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Item Canada Lynx in the Great Lakes Region: Annual Report to USDA Forest Service and MN Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2004) Moen, Ronald; Niemi, Gerald J; Burdett, Christopher L.; Mech, L. DavidIn this report we summarize accomplishments of the Canada Lynx Ecology in the Great Lakes Region project. We carried out initial work in the Superior National Forest to address 4 major questions about this Canada lynx population: distribution, abundance, persistence, and habitat requirements. In the first 8 months of this project we have captured and deployed radiotelemetry collars on 8 Canada lynx. Each animal was relocated approximately weekly after being collared. Of the 8 Canada lynx that have been collared, 2 have died. Two of the collars deployed on Canada lynx were GPS collars. This marked the first time ever that a GPS collar was deployed on Canada lynx. We downloaded the locations from one of these GPS collars when one of the collared animals was recaptured on December 30th, 2003 after wearing the GPS collar for 3 weeks. The importance of GPS collar data for understanding movements and habitat use of Canada lynx should not be underestimated. In addition to the telemetry research, we have also conducted the first year of surveys for the major prey species of Canada lynx: snowshoe hare and red squirrel. Permanent pellet plots were established throughout the SNF for snowshoe hare. Plots were distributed based on stratified random, systematic, and selective site selection strategies. We established new plots to estimate red squirrel abundance in an area of known high lynx density, and also utilized an existing long-term data set for red squirrel abundance from SNF. Another year of surveys following the National Lynx Survey protocol was completed, and a snow-track survey for Canada lynx and other mesocarnivores was completed on the National Lynx Survey grid. There were also many opportunities to disseminate information on Canada lynx to the biological community and to the general public. More than 10 presentations on lynx biology were given by project personnel. Project personnel assisted in planning, helped with field trips, and gave presentations at the National Lynx and Wolverine Steering Committee Meeting in May 2003 and the Interagency Lynx Biology Team Meeting in October 2003, both of which were hosted by SNF. We have developed a website for the Canada Lynx Ecology in the Great Lakes Region project (www.nrri.umn.edu/lynx). This website provides a history of the project, lists project goals and accomplishments, and includes links to press coverage of the project. We begin the report with a brief chronological summary of the Canada lynx ecology in the Great Lakes Region project. The project was supported by several agencies with some common deliverables and some deliverables that varied among agencies. To produce a cohesive, logically organized Annual Report, we describe the project in its entirety, and we indicate specific deliverables in Appendix 1. We first describe Canada lynx trapping and the deployment of radiotelemetry collars. The radiotelemetry program is very important because each of the major deliverables depends on telemetry data. Next, we address progress made on each of the major questions: (1) Location, (2) Distribution, (3) Persistence, and (4) Habitat use. Prey species surveys and National Lynx Survey results are also summarized. We conclude each section with the current status and future plans for each research topic. We believe it is important to recognize that the project is only 8 months old. A complete answer for any of the questions will require the several years of data collection which is built into the project master plan. We caution that results presented in this report are preliminary because of the few animals that have been collared, and because of the relatively few locations that have been obtained. Management recommendations should not be made from the little information that has been obtained to date. However, with the number of Canada lynx now radiocollared, and with expectations of more in the near future, there will be sufficient data for management recommendations by the end of the second year of this project.Item Distribution of Lymnaeid Snail Hosts of the Giant Liver Fluke in Northeastern Minnesota(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2016) Vannatta, J. Trevor; Moen, RonaldLymnaeid snails are important intermediate hosts for many trematode parasites, such as the giant liver fluke, but little is known about their habitat associations. Lymnaied snail surveys were conducted across St. Louis County and Lake County in 2015. 84 locations were sampled for snails and several habitat variables were measured (calcium carbonate, substrate type, lake area, pH, etc.). ArcGIS data was queried to obtain landscape variables such as cover type near sampling locations. Lymnaea megasoma, L. stagnalis, L. elodes, L. catascopium, and Fossaria spp. were found in the study area. Lymnaea megasoma L. elodes, and Fossaria spp species were associated with higher CaCO3 concentrations compared to locations without these species. L. megasoma was associated with smaller proportions of open water on the landscape scale, suggesting this species favors quiet bays and stagnant channels. Fossaria spp. were not found in close association with open water suggesting this species inhabits small woodland ponds and vernal pools. No giant liver fluke cercariae were found during this survey. However, xiphidiocercariae and strigea cercariae were found in the study area. Xiphidiocercariae cercariae were not associated with higher CaCO3 concentrations (mean with cercariae = 59 ppm; without cercariae = 58 ppm). Strigea cercariae were associated with higher CaCO3 concentrations (mean with cercariae = 91 ppm; without cercariae = 58 ppm). Infection with either one of these cercariae decreased survival time in L. megasoma. L. megasoma warrants futher study as this species is restricted to the Great Lakes basin and may be an important wildlife parasite intermediate host in this area.Item Evaluation Plan for an Earthworm Rapid Assessment Tool Training Program for Land Managers in Northern Hardwood Forest Types in the Western Great Lakes Region(2012) Hueffmeier, Ryan MInvasive species are causing environmental and economic harm all across the globe. Stopping the introduction of non-native species is the most effective way to deal with them. Non-native earthworms are one particular invasive species affecting the Great Lakes region. There is a need for a rapid assessment method to understand current impacts and identifying areas still earthworm-free. Through research in Minnesota and Wisconsin an Invasive Earthworm Rapid Assessment Tool (IERAT) was developed. The IERAT is a tool for the identification of earthworm impacts using visual indicators. Once earthworms are established there is no known effective way to remove them from the landscape and it is proposed that outreach and education are an effective method to prevent new introductions and to slow the spread of earthworms in northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes region. This project develops the evaluation framework of the IERAT training. Using the framework evaluators will be assessing the tools’ validity, reliability of land mangers to use the tool, ability of trainers to conduct workshops, best dissemination techniques, changes in participants’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors from before and after the training, and effects on management decisions. The evaluation plan will be carried out during the second year of training season. The results of the evaluation will be used to make appropriate adjustments to the IERAT and trainings. With earthworm distribution data that the IERAT provides, land managers will be able to develop important areas of protection and work with other interested parties to protect these areas for future generations.Item Mixed-species forest ecosystems in the Great Lakes region : a bibliography.(University of Minnesota, 2002-02) Gerlach, John P.; Puettmann, Klaus J.; Zasada, John C.; Gilmore, Daniel W.