Use of ecological indicators to assess the quality of Great Lakes coastal wetlands
Over 2000 coastal wetland complexes have been identified in the Laurentian Great Lakes watershed, each providing critical habitat for numerous aquatic and terrestrial species. Research has shown there is a direct link between anthropogenic activities (urbanization and… Read More
Impact of adjacent land use and isolation on marsh bird communities
Over the next half century the human population is expected to grow rapidly, resulting in the conversion of rural areas into cities. Wetlands in these regions are there- fore under threat, even though they have important eco- system services and functions. Many obligate marsh… Read More
The relative importance of road density and physical watershed features in determining coastal marsh water quality in Georgian Bay
We used a GIS-based approach to examine the influence of road density and physical watershed features (watershed size, wetland cover, and bedrock type) on water quality in coastal marshes of Georgian Bay, Ontario. We created a GIS that included landscape information and water… Read More
Development of the Water Quality Index (WQI) to assess effects of basin-wide land-use alteration on coastal marshes of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Water-quality impairment for many coastal wetlands of the lower Great Lakes has been attributed to nutrient and sediment inputs from agricultural and urban landscapes, although for some marshes, point-source pollution from municipal or industrial waste- treatment facilities and… Read More
Primary determinants of macrophyte community structure in 62 marshes across the Great Lakes basin: latitude, land use, and water quality effects
We collected water quality, land use, and aquatic macrophyte information from 62 coastal and inland wetlands in the Great Lakes basin and found that species richness and community structure of macrophytes were a function of geographic location and water quality. For inland… Read More