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SOLEC 2002
State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference 2002
Biological Integrity of the Great Lakes
Overview
As parties to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the governments of Canada and
the United States are responsible for accurate reporting on the state of the Great Lakes. The
State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference is a result of this commitment for reporting.
With the establishment of a consistent suite of ecosystem indicators, the health of the
Great Lakes basin can be objectively assessed. Regular reporting of a core set of indicators
will promote more efficient and successful management as well as creating more accessible
information for policy makers and the public.
The first two conferences in 1994 and 1996 developed a series of ad hoc indicators to
evaluate the state of various Great Lakes ecosystem components. SOLEC 98 went beyond
the previous SOLECs and presented a comprehensive list of ecosystem indicators for
review and discussion. This suite of indicators objectively represents the state of the Lakes
while establishing consistent biennial reporting. SOLEC 2000 began the actual assessment
of the state of the Great Lakes using the suite of indicators.
SOLEC 2002 will focus on continuing to update and assess the state of the Great Lakes
using the suite of indicators with an emphasis on biological integrity.
Biological Integrity
The theme for SOLEC 2002 is biological integrity; "Integrity" is not specifically defined
in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), therefore the following
definition will be used during SOLEC 2002:
"biological integrity is the capacity to support and maintain a balanced integrated
and adaptive biological system having the full range of elements (the form)
and processes (the function) expected in a region's natural habitat. "
-by James R. Karr, modified by Douglas P. Dodge
The challenge for SOLEC 2002 and beyond, is to prepare a list of indicators that integrate
information collected at all trophic levels in the basin. This integration will provide indicators
to measure the state of biological integrity in the Great Lakes.
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SOLEC Assessment Scheme
^ Good
^^^^^^ Mixed, Improving
1
V
Mixed
Mixed, Deteriorating
Poor
Indicator Assessment*
This executive summary presents assessments on 19
of the 45 indicators from the following categones: (1)
ecosystem health (2) human health (3) chemical/
physical and biological stressors and (4) human
response/activities. The authors of the indicator reports
were asked to assess, in his or her best professional
|udgment, the overall status of the ecosystem
component in relation to established endpomts or
ecosystem ob|ectives, when available. Five broad
categones were used:
GOOD — the state of the ecosystem component is presently meeting ecosystem
objectives or otherwise is in acceptable condition.
MIXED, IMPROVING — the ecosystem component displays both good and
degraded features, but overall, conditions are improving toward an acceptable state.
MIXED — the state of the ecosystem component has some features that are in good
condition and some features that are degraded, perhaps differing between lake basins.
MIXED, DETERIORATING — the ecosystem component displays both good
and degraded features, but overall, conditions are deteriorating away from an acceptable
state.
POOR - the ecosystem component is severely negatively impacted and does not
display even minimal acceptable conditions.
*The assessments are extracted from the 2002 Implementing Indicators Report
which is available at SOLEC 2002.
Management Challenges
HABITAT ALTERATIONS
- Encourage place-based stewardship activities
- Control suburban sprawl; minimize human habitation impacts
- Identify, protect, rehabilitate critical habitats, both aquatic and terrestrial
CONTAMINANTS AND PATHOGENS
- Emphasize agricultural best
management practices
- Foster contaminant reducing activities,
mass transit; energy efficiency; recycling
- Encourage brownfield redevelopment
NON-NATIVE SPECIES
- Understand relationship between
economic well being and increased
threat of introducing non-native
species
- Prevent non-native species
introductions
- Continue maintenance of sea lamprey
control
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Indicator
Ecosystem Objective
Assessment
State of the Ecosystem
Human E-f°& ^^ Fecal
TT i i Coliform Levels
Health XT .
in Nearshore
Recreational
Waters
Waters used for recreational activities
involving bodily contact should be
substantially free from pathogens,
including bacteria, parasites and viruses,
that may harm human health
Recreational waters have become contaminated with animal and human feces from sources such as combined sewer
overflows, that occur in certain areas after heavy rains, agricultural runoff and poorly treated sewage
From 1998-2000 both U.S. and Canada, showed some variation in beach closures as a result of changing sampling
rep-imes.
It has been observed in the Great Lakes basin that unless new contaminant sources are removed or introduced, beaches
tend to respond with similar bacterial levels after events with similar precipitation and meteorological conditions
Drinking Water
Quality
To have all treated drinking water safe
to drink and free from chemical and
microbial contaminants
Overall the quality of the drinking water in the Great Lakes basin is good. This is in large part due to our current
technologies
Minimal risk of human exposure to chemical contaminants
Turbidity levels are declining in source water
Total coliform and ~E.co.lt levels are highest in raw waters especially during the spring, summer and early fall
Air Quality
Air should be safe to breathe, and thus
air quality in the Great Lakes ecosystem
should be improved and protected
Overall there has been significant progress in reducing air pollution in the Great Lakes basin
For most substances of interest, both emissions and ambient concentrations have decreased over the last 10 years or
more, however these concentrations depend on weather and climate conditions
Chemical
Contaminants in
Edible Fish
Tissue
The health of humans in the Great
Lakes ecosystem should not be at risk
from contaminants of human origin.
Fish and wildlife in the Great Lakes
ecosystem should be safe to eat;
consumption should not be limited by
contaminants of human origin.
Since the 1970s, there have been declines in many persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals in the Great Lakes
basin
However, PBT chemicals, because of their ability to bioaccumulate and persist in the environment, continue to be a
significant concern
Fish Consumption Advisory Programs are well established in the Great Lakes. All jurisdictions have extensive fish
contaminant monitoring programs and issue advice to their residents about how much fish and which fish are safe to eat
Ecosystem Walleye
Health
To restore and protect historically
important, mesotrophic habitats that
support natural stocks of walleye as the
top predator fish
Reductions in phosphorus loadings in the 1970's and fishery management programs in the 1980's both led to increased
adult survival of Walleye, especially in Lake Erie
Declines after the mid 1990's through to 2001 occurred in most areas due to shifting environmental states and changing
fisheries
Hexagenia
To restore and maintain a balanced,
stable, and productive Great Lakes
basin ecosystem with YLexagenia as the
dominant, large, benthic invertebrate
Historical declines in the abundance of Hexagema in some Great Lakes habitats
Declines linked to eutrophication, low dissolved oxygen in bottom waters and pollution of bottom sediments
Strong recovery in western Lake Erie shows that properly implemented pollution controls can bring back recovery of a
major Great Lakes mesotrophic ecosystem
Sea Lamprey
To control sea lamprey in supporting
fish community objectives, in particular
objectives for lake trout, the top native
predator
The first complete round of stream treatments with the lampricide TFM, as early as 1960 in Lake Superior, successfully
suppressed sea lampreys to less than 10% of their pre-control abundance in all of the Great Lakes
Recent increases in sea lamprey in the Great Lakes have signaled a need for increased stream treatments; however it will
take another 2-4 years to see any significant effect on lamprey populations
Lake Trout
To restore lake trout as a principal
salmonine predator in the coldwater
communities of the Great Lakes
Lake trout abundance dramatically decreased in the Great Lakes after the introduction of sea lamprey
Rehabilitation will not be achieved until natural reproduction is established, and to date, sustained natural reproduction is
only occurring in Lake Superior, and some areas of Lake Huron
Diporeia
To maintain a healthy, stable
population of the benthic
macro invertebrate Diporeia in offshore
regions of the main basins of the Great
Lakes
Populations are currently in a state of decline in portions of Lakes Michigan, Ontario, Huron and Eastern Lake Erie
In areas of the Lakes where Diporeia 1$ still present, abundances are much lower than the 1970's and 1980's
Declines coincide with introduction of non-native mussel species
Amphibian
Diversity and
Abundance
To maintain diversity of Great Lakes
wetland amphibian communities, and
to sustain breeding amphibian
populations across their historical
species range
Some amphibian populations are declining (American toad, Chorus Frog, and Green Frog), butthis couldbeanatural
periodic fluctuation. Only continued monitoring will tell us the real trend
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Indicator
Coastal
Wetlands Area
by Type
Ecosystem Objective Assessment
• Reverse the trend toward loss of Great ;\
Lakes coastal wetlands, ensuring x^ 1
adequate representation of wetland
types across their historical range
State of the Ecosystem
• Wetlands continue to be lost and degraded, yet the ability to track and determine the extent and rate of this loss in a
standardized way is not yet feasible
• Efforts are under way to assess the use of remote sensing technologies to determine the extent of wetland loss.
Chemical/ Phosphorus
Physical
and
Biological
Stressors
Contaminants in
Snapping Turtle
Eggs
Contaminants
Affecting
Productivity of
Bald Eagles
^ No n -Native
. ,4 ' Species
• The goals of phosphorus control are to
maintain an oligotrophic state in Lakes
Superior, Huron and Michigan; and to
maintain algal biomass below nuisance
condition in Lakes Erie and Ontario
• To assess the sensitivity of wildlife i 1
species to contaminants | |
• To assess the potential harm to wildlife Ts.
eating contaminated prey, and to assess ' 1/
the success rates of nesting attempts
and the number of developmental
deformities in young bald eagles
• Reporting non-native species
introductions into the Great Lakes
• Strong efforts begun in the 1970's to reduce phosphorus loadings have been successful in maintaining or reducing
nutrient concentrations in the lakes, although high concentrations still occur in some local embayments, and in Lake Erie
• Phosphorus loads have decreased due to changes in agricultural practices and improvements in sewage treatment
• Average concentrations in open waters of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario are at or below target levels
• Snapping turtle eggs with the highest contaminant levels also show the poorest developmental success
• Contaminant levels decreased in snapping turtle eggs from 1984 to 1999, except for two Lake Ontario sites, Cootes
Paradise and Lynde Creek
• Concentrations of organochlonne chemicals are decreasing or stable but still above No Observable Adverse Effect
Concentrations (NOAEC's) for the primary organic contaminants DDE and PCBs
• The number of bald eagle territories has increased markedly from the population decline caused by DDE
• The percentage of nests producing one or more fledglings and the number of young produced per territory have risen
• Established territories in most areas are now producing one or more young per territory indicating that the population is
healthy and capable of increasing; recently, an active territory was also reported from Lake Ontario
• Since the 1830s, there have been 63 non-native aquatic animal (fauna) species introduced into the Great Lakes
ecosystem will highlight the need for
more effective safeguards to prevent
the introduction and establishment of
new non-native species
In almost the same time frame there have been 83 non-native aquatic plant species (flora) introduced into the Great
Lakes ecosystem
Ship ballast water is the major vector transporting unwanted organisms into the Great Lakes
Contaminants in
Whole Fish
• Great Lakes waters should be free of is.
toxic substances that are harmful to fish ' ^
and wildlife populations and the
consumers of these biota
>• Since the late 1970's levels of historically regulated contaminants in such as PCBs, DDT and Hg have generally declined
in most fish species monitored
Human Mass
Ti / Transportation
Responses/ r
Activities
Water Use
Solid Waste
UK Department of
Regions
• To promote sustainable development by i 1
increasing public transit use, to decrease 1 1
pollution emissions and energy
consumption
* lo promote sustainable development, by 1
specifically to reduce the amount of water
used and the amount o f wastewater
generated in the Great Lakes basin
• In order to promote sustainable I ^
development, the amount of solid waste \r
generated, which provides a measure of
the inefficiency of human land based
activities, needs to be reduced
• The observed trend from transit authorities in Ontario from 1993-2000 shows an increase in public transit
established urban areas in Southern Ontario, but the converse for rural areas of Northern Ontario
• Visible increase in ridership for transit agencies serving inter-regional areas
• Public transit ridership increases with increased urban density
• U.S. public transit ridership has remained relatively constant from 1996 to 2000, with Chicago having the larg
of transit use
ridership in
-est percent
• Per capita municipal water use in Canadian municipalities has decreased by 15% from 19 83 -1999, where as the US. per
capita use has increased by 10% from 1985 1995
• By category hydroelectric use continues to be the largest; residential, commercial and industrial water use increased by
— 50% in the Canadian side of the Great Lakes basin from 1983-1999
^ • In Ontario the per capita municipal solid waste generation (MSWG) has decreased —45% from 1991 to
• MSWG in Minnesota has increased by -10% from 1994 to 2000
• At the same time the amount of residential recycling in Ontario has increased 41% from 1992-2000
2001
DRAFT - SOLEC 2002
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