INTEGRATION PAPER
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES
NOVEMBER 1996
EPA905-D-96-001a
S.O.LE.C. '96 - THE YEAR OF THE NEARSHORE
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State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference 1996
INTEGRATION PAPER
0BAFT
Prepared for the
SOLEC STEERING COMMITTEE
by
Kent Fuller
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Harvey Shear
Environment Canada
November 1996
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements v
Executive Summary vi
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 SOLEC '94 2
1.2 Aquatic Community Health Update 3
1.2.1 Exotic Species 3
1.2.2 Community Structure 3
1.3 Habitat and Wetlands 4
1.4 Human Health 4
1.4.1 Trends in Environmental Levels of Contaminants 4
1.4.2 Hospital Admissions and Death Rates 5
1.4.3 Fish Consumption Advisories 6
1.4.4 Contaminant Burdens in Humans • 6
1.5.5 Overall Rating 6
1.5 Toxic Chemicals 6
1.6 Nutrients 6
1.7 Economy 6
2.0 The Nearshore Ecosystem 7
3.0 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Integrity: Saving the Pieces 10
3.1 Integrity 10
3.2 Biodiversity 11
3.3 Sustainability 12
3.4 SOLEC '96 Framework 1.3
4.0 Indicators 16
5.0 State of Nearshore Ecosystem Health 17
5.1 Nearshore Waters 18
5.1.1 Areas Within the Nearshore 18
5.1.2 State of the Resource 19
5.1.2.1 Human Health 23
5.1.2.2 Evaluation of the State of Nearshore Waters 26
5.2 Coastal Wetlands 28
5.2.1 Ecological Processes 30
5.2.2 Ecological Functions and Values 31
5.3 The Land by the Lakes 31
5.3.1 Ecosystem Health for the Land by the Lakes 32
5.3.1.1 Coastal Ecoregions 33
5.3.1.2 Special Communities 33
5.3.1.3 Overall Assessment 35
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6.0 Major Stressors and the Nearshore 37
6.1 Key Stressors 39
6.1.1 Land Use 39
6.1.2 Land Use Has Been Destructive to the Nearshore Ecosystem .. 41
6.1.3 Current Land Use is not Efficient 41
6.1.4 Planning and Incentives are the Keys to Sustainability 42
6.2 Physical Stressors 42
6.3 Biological Stressors 49
6.4 Chemical Stressors 51
6.4.1 Pollution 52
6.4.2 Nutrient Enrichment 53
7.0 State of Information and Knowledge About the Nearshore 54
7.1 Information Indicators 55
7.2 General Findings 56
7.3 Nearshore Information Management 57
8.0 Management Challenges 58
8.1 Overall Challenges 58
8.2 Subject Area Challenges 60
8.2.1 Nearshore Waters 60
8.2.2 Coastal Wetlands 62
8.2.3 Land by the Lakes 62
8.2.4 Plan for Protection and Recovery 62
8.2.5 Involve Private Landowners 63
8.2.6 Educate to Build Support 63
8.2.7 Land Use 64
8.2.8 Information Management 64
Appendix A. SOLEC Steering Committee
Appendix B. To be read with Section 1.4.4
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List of Tables and Figures
List of Tables
Table 1. Three Layered System 14
Table 2. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Nearshore Waters 27
Table 3. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Coastal Wetlands 32
Table 4. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Great Lakes Coastal Regions 34
Table 5. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Special Great Lakes Ecological 35
Communities
Table 6. Indicators of Overall Ecosystem Health for the Land by the Lakes 36
Table 7. Land Use Indicators 44
Table 8. Overall State of Data 56
List of Figures
Figure 1. Nearshore Waters 10
Figure 2. Key Stressors of the Nearshore Ecosystem 15
Figure 3. Trends in contaminant concentrations in lake trout and walleye 25
Figure 4. Canadian and U.S. Ecoregions 33
Figure 5. Contaminant concentrations in the spottail shiner 54
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Notice To Readers
This Working Paper is part of a series of Working Papers that are intended to provide a
concise overview of the status of the nearshore conditions in the Great Lakes. The
information they present has been selected as representative of the much greater
volume of data. They therefore do not present all research or monitoring information
available. The Papers were prepared with input from many individuals representing
diverse sectors of society.
The Papers will provide the basis for discussions at SOLEC '96. Readers are
encouraged to provide specific information and references for use in preparing the final
post-conference versions of the Papers. Together with the information provided by
SOLEC discussants, the Papers will be incorporated into the SOLEC '96 Proceedings,
which will provide key information required by managers to make better environmental
decisions.
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Acknowledgements
This paper could not have been completed without the unflagging dedication of a
number of very patient individuals, specifically:
Shannon Daher
Susan Holland Hibbert
Simone Rose
Nancy Stadler-Salt
Nicole Swerhun
Jennifer Wittig
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 1996 State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC '96) focuses on the state of
nearshore ecosystems of the Great Lakes. For purposes of the conference, the
nearshore is defined as the area directly affected by the Lakes through hydrology and
climatic influence. The nearshore waters are defined as those supporting warm water
fisheries.
The purpose of the conference is to provide a forum and bring together experts and
decision makers who will benefit from better knowledge of the Great Lakes ecosystem and
related information sources.
The five background papers developed for the conference are summarized together with
indicators for use in characterizing the state of the ecosystem in each subject area.
The background papers address the aquatic nearshore, coastal wetlands, land
near the lakes, impacts of changing land use, and information management.
Basic conclusions are:
Nearshore Waters
There is little doubt that the nearshore aquatic environment of the Great Lakes has been
altered physically, chemically, and biologically by human activity. About 25 years ago
however, with the signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, society began to
act, and the trend to worsening conditions began to slow down and in the case of water
quality, to improve. Large reductions in nutrient loads showed dear results in the lakes
and stand as a model for future protection initiatives. Toxic chemical loadings have been
reduced as have concentrations in biota. Some problem areas of contaminated sediment
remain. Also, persistent bioaccumulative contaminants continue at levels which may be
causing problems. Some habitat loss is permanent and habitat losses continue as do
losses in biodiversity. Continued vigilance is needed to prevent repetition of past
problems.
Coastal Wetlands
The state of coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes ecosystem is known only in part. There
is no inventory or evaluation system in place for the majority of coastal wetlands. The
general location of coastal wetlands is known from remote sensing and aerial
photography, but there is no commonly accepted system of classification, nor is there
systematic information as to their quality, rate of loss or rate of degradation. Much is
known about the stressors that degrade wetlands and some local areas have been
relatively well studied as to their condition, but it is not possible at this time to provide a
comprehensive review of the state of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. A limited evaluation
of selected wetland features is provided. This evaluation indicates poor or degrading
conditions for most features.
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Land by the Lakes
The health of the land by the lakes (nearshore terrestrial ecosystems) is degrading
throughout the Great Lakes basin. Indicators are provided summarizing the state of:
the 17 terrestrial coastal ecosystems; 12 special ecological communities that exist
within those ecosystems; and each of the 5 lake basins.
Impacts of Changing Land Use
Land development continues to be the greatest source of stress on the nearshore
ecosystem. Over the last half century, the prevailing pattern of development has
become urban sprawl, that consumes vast areas of land and destroys natural habitat
and farm land. Urban sprawl is inefficient from both an ecological and an economic
perspective and is, thus, clearly unsustainable. Improved coordination of planning
among jurisdictions, greater use of development restrictions, and serious application of
economic incentives to contain urban sprawl are the keys for more sustainable
development.
Information and Information Management
Review of the state of information and information systems is summarized using
indicators of data: coverage, time frames, applicability and usability. The overall ratings
are "fair". The overall finding is that there are no widely accepted indicators for
measuring the state of the nearshore, data have generally been collected on an as
needed basis by individual agencies, and their utility in assessing the state of the
nearshore is questionable in any particular situation.
Major management challenges
Bringing together existing nearshore ecosystem information into accessible CIS
based formats;
Developing easily understood indicators to support understanding of the state of
the system and obtaining wide spread agreement on what needs to be done;
• Integrating the concepts of biodiversity and habitat into existing programs
traditionally devoted to pollution control or natural resource management for
harvest and
Integrating Lakewide Management Plans (LAMPs), Fisheries Management Plans
and Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for Areas of Concern so that they become
fully viable management mechanisms, useful for decision makers throughout the
Great Lakes basin ecosystem in taking action and assessing results.
It is expected that all background papers will be revised following the conference and
will be used to prepare a State of the Lakes report similar to the one published in 1995.
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1.0 introduction
This paper is intended to present a summary of background information and major
ideas for consideration during the 1996 State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference
(SOLEC '96). Further background information, findings and conclusions are contained
in five subject area papers: Nearshore Waters. Coastal Wetlands. Land By The Lakes,
Impacts of Changing Land Use (stressors resulting from changing land use), and
Information and Information Management which are provided for use before and during
the conference.
The 1996 SOLEC conference is the second in a series convened by the Governments
of the USA and Canada, the first of which was held in 1994. The 1996 conference is
focused on the nearshore areas of the ecosystem, but retains the basic objectives from
the earlier conference. The conference objectives are to:
• Provide information on the state of the nearshore ecosystem to help strengthen
decision making and management within the basin;
• Develop support for an integrated environmental information system to help
direct plans and programs;
• Provide information on existing Great Lakes strategies and build cooperative
actions needed to strengthen and complement them;
• Provide a forum for improved communication and network building for involved
groups and individuals within the basin.
• Inform local decision makers of environmental issues that affect nearshore areas
of the Great Lakes basin.
The focus on the nearshore was chosen because of its ecological importance and
because of the concentration of human use and impacts upon it. It was also chosen
because of the need to begin to bring together the scattered information sources and
many institutions which deal with the nearshore areas and to support an integrated
ecosystem perspective.
The background papers give an overview of the state of the nearshore ecosystems, as
well as the stressors that impact upon those systems, and the sources of those
stressors. In addition, the information management paper examines the state of
information on the nearshore ecosystem and its availability. As with SOLEC '94,
SOLEC '96 examines the state of the ecosystem including human beings.
Ecosystem health has been assessed in terms of the status of nearshore aquatic
communities; the health, productivity and areal extent of wetlands; and the status of the
terrestrial plants and animals. The stressors have been described in terms of their
trends, and their impacts on the nearshore.
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Of the stressors impacting the ecosystem, the largest single category is human use of
land. The background paper on changing land use examines land use policies and
practices throughout the basin, and gives case study examples of good and bad
practices.
1.1 SOLEC'94
SOLEC '94 set the stage for the present conference by looking at conditions throughout
the Great Lakes Ecosystem. In preparation for SOLEC 94, seven working papers were
prepared on the following topics: 1) state of the aquatic communities; 2) state of human
health; 3) state of habitat; 4) trends in contaminants, 5) nutrients and 6) the economy. A
paper integrating these topics was also prepared.
The findings in these papers were presented and discussed extensively at the SOLEC
94. Over 400 government and non-government representatives concluded with the
findings of the papers that:
• loss of aquatic habitat has been catastrophic, and largely ignored to date by
government programs focused on contaminants;
loss of native species has been equally catastrophic, with a collateral loss of
biological diversity among the remaining species;
non-native species invasions have impacted on ecosystem integrity;
• contaminant concentrations in fish and wildlife, as well as in sediments have
declined dramatically since the early 1970s, but are still a problem;
• there is a global component to contamination, which will make virtual elimination
of contaminants from the ecosystem very difficult;
• the composition of the food chain is important in contaminant movement within
the ecosystem;
• hormone mimicry is an emerging issue to be researched and monitored;
• the present phosphorus control strategies have resulted in attainment of agreed-
to targets, but that there is pressure to relax these targets because of the impact
of zebra mussels on the ecosystem;
• the maintenance of a healthy economy is essential to restoration of the Great
Lakes, and further that in any future SOLEC, economics must be assessed
along with other ecosystem stressors;
• human health is no worse as a result of people living in the Great Lakes basin,
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than in any other industrialized nation, and is certainly better than in most
countries in the world.
The results of the SOLEC were published as the State of the Great Lakes, in August,
1995. In preparation for SOLEC '96, the authors of the background papers for SOLEC
'94 were asked to provide an update on the state of ecosystem stressors and the states
of ecosystem health that were evaluated in 1994. The authors have concluded the
following regarding changes since 1994:
1.2 Aquatic Community Health Update
While the overall evaluation of individual Lakes has not changed, there have been
some changes reported in the status of both exotic species and community structure.
1.2.1 Exotic Species
Zebra mussels Range extensions of zebra and quagga mussels are continuing. In
Lake Erie, they have now been confirmed to extend distribution onto soft sediments and
vegetation. Colonization of deep water sediments by quagga mussels appears to be
having a negative impact on Diporeia.
Ruffe Ruffe (fish) has now extended its range from Lake Superior to Lake Huron.
Goby The round goby (fish) is expanding its range in the Great Lakes. Only Lake
Ontario has not had a range extension reported. In Lake Erie, the species has been
found in Eastern Lake Erie and has become more abundant in Central Basin tributaries
on the south shore.
Sea lamprey Sea lamprey in northern Lake Huron are increasing in abundance.
Inability to control sea lamprey in the St. Mary's River seems to be a major factor in this
population explosion.
1.2.2 Community Structure
Lake Superior No major changes in status.
Lake Huron No major changes in status, except for the presence of ruffe.
Lake Michigan No major changes in status.
Lake Erie Lake Erie remains a very stressed ecosystem. Since 1990, walleye,
smelt, and yellow perch populations have been declining. An interaction of declining
productivity and historically high abundance of walleye in the late 1980s appear to be
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contributing factors. Zebra mussel densities continue to increase lake-wide. The
unexpected extension of zebra mussel distribution to soft sediments means that
abundance is likely to continue increasing. Effects of zebra mussel on water clarity of the
Detroit River from Lake St. Glair and in Lake Erie have resulted in large improvements in
water clarity in some nearshore areas. Associated with these elevated levels of zebra
mussels, however, Lake Erie is also experiencing summer blooms of blue-green algae,
which is causing problems for water supplies. Finally, recent increases in round goby
abundance and the arrival of ruffe in Lake Huron create opportunities for more disruption
of aquatic community structure.
Lake Ontario The Lake Ontario ecosystem is experiencing a dramatic decline in
productivity. Decreasing nutrient loading from Lake Erie (due to reductions in phosphorus
loading and the effects of zebra mussels), has contributed to the collapse of alewife.
Levels of abundance of alewife (the principal prey for salmon and trout) continues to be
low. Fish management agencies in New York and Ontario have reduced stocking levels
salmon and trout in response to the collapse of alewife. On a positive note, lake trout are
now showing increasing natural reproduction in Lake Ontario, and a recent sighting of a
deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) indicates that this formerly "extirpated"
native species may be recovering.
1.3 Habitat and Wetlands
It is the opinion of the authors of the SOLEC '94 paper on Habitat and Wetlands, that
there has been little, if any, recovery in the status of these two features in the Great
Lakes, with the exception of improvements in some Areas of Concern (AOCs). On the
positive side, habitat as an issue needing attention has gained wider support, and is
increasingly becoming important to more agencies and organizations.
The kinds of inventories and assessments proposed in the 1994 paper have
NOT been undertaken. As a result, there is no current and adequate trend
information such that some measure of gains or losses could be reported. The authors
cannot say if the improvements in habitat and wetland restoration in inland areas or in
AOCs are enough to offset the losses believed to be occurring at the time of SOLEC '94.
1.4 Human Health
1.4.1 Trends in Environmental Levels of Contaminants
Contaminants There is no evidence of dramatic shifts of the kind or levels of
bioaccumulating contaminants in the tissues of residents of the Great Lakes Basin.
However, the levels of such contaminants in the tissues of people eating large amounts of
Great Lakes fish may be up to several fold higher than in people who do not eat such fish.
Beach closings Available statistics indicate persistent bacterial contamination at
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many beaches in the Great Lakes basin, especially in late summer. There are not
enough studies of illnesses related to recreational use of Great Lakes waters to draw
any conclusions regarding trends.
Drinking water The occurrence of outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis in several
municipalities in the Great Lakes basin due to contaminated drinking water is an
indication that new infectious diseases are emerging. Drinking water analyses still show
relatively high levels of trihalomethanes and other toxic water disinfection byproducts
in some areas of the Great Lakes basin, and of heavy metals, especially lead , the latter
due mainly to lead solders in old plumbing.
Radioactivity Atmospheric and total radioactivity has declined in the Great Lakes
basin following the cessation of the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons, and
following the Chernobyl disaster.
1.4.2 Hospital admissions and death rates
The available studies on hospital admissions were related to specific regions, recent
years, and air pollutants only, and thus can not be used to derive trends. The following
indications of trends are based largely on statistics for the whole of Canada. It is likely
that the Ontario portion of the Great Lakes basin would show similar trends.
Children The proportion of Canadian children with low birth weights declined during
the 1980's from about 8 % in 1980 to about 6 % in 1990.
Hospitalization rates for Canadian children gradually declined during the 1980's .
Respiratory and digestive system problems were the most frequent causes for
admission, apart from injuries. There has been no dramatic change since then.
Adults No hospitalization statistics for adults in the Great Lakes basin were
available for review.
Overall Canadian incidence rates for cancers increased steadily from 1970 to the late
1980's and then appear to have levelled off.
In view of the recent concern about environmental contaminants which are endocrine
disrupters, it may be of interest that the rates for cancers of the female reproductive
system have continued to decline steadily, while for men the rates for prostate and
testicular cancer have increased during the last 20 years.
Cancer is still mostly a disease of older people; therefore as the Canadian population
ages, cancer rates may increase in part due to this factor.
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1.4.3 Fish Consumption Advisories
Advisories to restrict consumption offish due to bioaccumulating contaminants are in
effect in many parts of the Great Lakes basin.
1.4.4 Contaminant Burdens in Humans
Based on studies of blood samples and breast milk samples, levels of bioaccumulating
contaminants in tissues of residents of the Great Lakes basin are similar to those of other
regions in the temperate zone, and are lower than those in the far North and Arctic. No
significant changes have been reported since 1994. Additional information regarding
findings from the Great Lakes Human Health Effects Research Program are presented in
Appendix B.
1.4.5 Overall Rating
As in 1994, based on the available limited information, one would have to rate the state of
human health in the Great Lakes basin as mixed/improving.
1.5 Toxic Chemicals
Most recent analysis of temporal trend contaminant data in fish communities has indicated
that the previous upward trend of most contaminants has ceased and decreases are
again being measured in many cases. An exception to this is the recent documentation of
toxaphene increases in the Lake Superior system. Retrospective analysis is now
underway to identify any potential new sources of this compound.
1.6 Nutrients
The authors of the Nutrients paper have reviewed the data since 1994, and have
concluded that there has been no appreciable change in the nutrient status of the Lakes,
and that the rating remains "good". The implications of this continued status of lower
nutrient concentrations is cause for concern, however, for the fishery (see Section 1.2.2).
1.7 Economy
Although unemployment in the Canadian side of the basin has remained relatively high,
there have been improvements in the USA. Industrial restructuring, including continued
mechanization and modernization, on both sides of the Lakes, will result in a healthier
though much smaller manufacturing sector. The service sector will be expected to pick up
the balance of the employment shortfall, especially in key growth sectors, such as tourism
and electronics. The resurgence of the research and technology development sector, is
of course, linked to the markets for this research and may rebound in the Basin.
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Urban sprawl that had slowed down as a result of the recession can be expected to
accelerate with the improvement in general economic conditions in both Canada and
the USA. Continued loss of natural habitat lands and agricultural lands will continue in
pace with urban sprawl. The cessation of migration from the basin and a general return
to growth will further serve to deteriorate land use conditions in the Basin.
Pollution prevention has been enthusiastically accepted by many as the preferred
approach to environmental management. However, the success of strong voluntary
pollution prevention programs is built upon on the sturdy foundation of a sound
regulatory framework. Without enforcement of a strong regulatory structure, there is
less incentive for companies to implement new pollution prevention activities. The
pollution prevention technical assistance providers, housed in regulatory and
non-regulatory offices, often find businesses open to voluntary pollution prevention
solutions to achieve an environmental end points required by regulations. Businesses
also are receptive to the message that pollution prevention will improve their bottom
line, benefitting both the economy and the environment. Acceptance of pollution
prevention continues.
All of the preceding information relating to SOLEC '94 should be viewed as background
for SOLEC '96.
2.0 The Nearshore Ecosystem
The nearshore areas, both aquatic and terrestrial, are the most diverse and productive
parts of the Great Lakes ecosystem and at the same time, support the most intense
human activity. As a result, the areas that contain the greatest biological resources are
subject to the greatest stress. These are the areas most used by humans (and where
the majority of humans live - there are 33 million residents living near the lakes) and
consequently these are the areas with the most to save and the most to lose.
The Great Lakes basin ecosystem includes the lakes and the entire area draining into
them. For the purposes of SOLEC '96 the nearshore land area includes only land that
is affected by the presence of the Lakes. The nearshore consists of interactive areas
where the lakes influence land and where land directly influences the lakes. The
remainder of the basin is important as a source of stressors affecting the nearshore, but
is not otherwise the focus of SOLEC '96.
The land by the Great Lakes uniquely and dynamically intersects with life inland and in
water. The effects of the Lakes - waves, wind, ice, currents, temperature, and the rising
and falling of lake levels - constantly shape the 16,000 km of shoreline. Five hundred
river mouths empty into the lakes, each with differing water chemistry and biological
components. Rains, snowmelt and winds scour and nourish the land, carrying soils and
other materials to the water, then depositing them far away. The ever-changing
shoreline, in turn, buffers inland, life-sustaining systems and interacts with coastal
marsh systems. It harbours plants and animals adapted to a severe microclimate that
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suffers frequent and harsh storms, and those that thrive in sheltered areas where the
seasonal temperature extremes are moderated by the presence of the lakes. Because
of the varied habitats and micro-climates, many rare species and communities are
found here.
The extent of the land by the lakes, is defined by the lakes themselves. Wind and wave
action shape the beaches, dunes, and shore bluffs, while local climatic effects of large
water bodies, exert a huge influence on shoreline habitats and determine the biological
communities. These communities, in turn, sustain an amazing diversity of wildlife that
enriches the Great Lakes basin.
In terms of water quality, nearshore areas are more varied than the huge masses of
relatively stable water in the central areas. This is because the nearshore areas are
more affected by waste discharges, land runoff, construction and other human
activities. As a result, the quality of nearshore waters varies more from place to place
and from time to time. It is also the case that during the spring season shallower water
warms faster than, deep areas, forming a vertical thermal bar which limits mixing of
nearshore waters with the open lake areas until later in the season when surface waters
gradually become warmer across the lakes. It is the mixing of water between the
nearshore and open lake areas which facilitates the dilution of nearshore pollutants.
The dilution example also illustrates the physical linkages which nearshore waters have
with adjacent ecosystems, and the exchange of materials and energy which occurs with
those ecosystems.
Virtually all species of Great Lakes fish use the nearshore waters for one or more
critical life stages or functions. Nearshore waters are areas of permanent residence for
some fishes, migratory pathways for anadromous fishes, and temporary feeding or
nursery grounds for species from offshore waters. Fish species diversity and
production in nearshore waters are higher than in offshore waters. From lake to lake,
fish species diversity is generally highest in shallower, more enriched embayments with
large tributary systems. Fish may move into tributaries to spawn, then feed and grow in
nearshore waters, and spend the winter in offshore waters. Nearshore areas are
essential to migratory and resident birds and also for amphibians and mammals as well.
For humans, the nearshore is the area where we: obtain drinking water; boat; swim;
fish; build marinas and condominiums; locate industry; and locate sewage treatment
facilities.
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DEFINITION OF THE TERM
"Nearshore AREAS"
For the purposes of SOLEC '96, the nearshore areas of the Great Lakes are defined in
terms of living ecosystems. These are both on land and in the water.
The land areas are those with ecosystems directly affected by the lakes. The water
areas are the relatively warm shallow areas near the shores. The nearshore zone also
includes coastal wetlands which are dependent on lake levels. In both directions,
nearshore areas are generally within 10 miles of shore. Exceptions are in Lake
Superior where warm water seldom extends far from shore and in Lake Erie where both
the central and western basins are relatively shallow and warm and thus are considered
to be "nearshore" in their entirety.
On land, the nearshore zone is that area which is affected by the Lakes - waves, wind,
ice, currents, temperature, and the rising and falling of lake levels constantly shape and
modify the 16,000 km of shoreline.
In water, the nearshore zone consists of areas with water warm enough to support a
community of warm water fish and associated organisms. These areas represent
approximately 25% of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Ontario; 90% of Lake Erie; and only
5% of Lake Superior because of its very deep and cold nature. In general these are
coastal areas of less than 30 metres in depth except in Lake Superior where they are
ess than 10 metres in depth. The nearshore waters also include the connecting
channels and virtually all of the major embayments of the system.
3eyond the nearshore areas and its lake-associated ecosystems (on land and in water),
the SOLEC '96 Impacts of Changing Land Use paper addresses sources of stressors
affecting the nearshore areas. These source areas extend upstream far beyond the
nearshore area to include virtually the entire Great Lakes basin.
A depiction of the aquatic nearshore is shown in Figure 1.
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Nearshore Waters of Each Great Lake
N
25 0 125 km
Figure 1. Nearshore Waters
3.0 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Integrity: Saving the Pieces
The state of the lakes can be expressed in many ways, but a fundamental beginning
point is the health of the ecosystem in terms of its integrity. The stated purpose of the
U.S./Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is to restore and maintain the
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin
Ecosystem.
3.1 Integrity
Integrity is not specifically defined in the Agreement, but is understood to include the
health of the biological populations and interactive communities of the ecosystem, and
its ability to withstand stress or adapt to it. Ecosystem integrity includes the health of
living things, the ability of systems to self organize, and also the physical and chemical
environment needed to support good health. An important part of this is genetic
diversity.
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An essential concept in dealing with ecosystems is that ecological communities are
dynamic and exist within ranges of conditions that occur as the result of natural forces.
Communities exist in balance with these natural conditions and their composition
changes throughout various states that tend toward stability and increasingly complex
interrelationships. When compared to younger communities, mature communities are
relatively stable and contain proportionately more organisms that are longer lived.
These communities also have more specialized and demanding habitat requirements.
The Great Lakes ecosystem, although subject to natural disturbances, was in a
relatively mature and stable state before the arrival of European settlers. Since human
exploitation of the fisheries and landscape, stable communities of organisms sensitive
to disturbances have become rare. Part of the challenge of protecting the ecosystem is
to maintain the full spectrum of ecological communities.
Another important aspect of ecosystem integrity is resiliency and the ability of healthy
systems to self organize and recover from stress or disruption. In individual organisms
this is known as homeostasis: the tendency to maintain, or the maintenance of, normal,
internal stability in an organism by coordinated responses of the organ systems that
automatically compensate for environmental chances. Much the same result occurs in
ecosystems as a result of interactions between component parts.
3.2 Biodiversity
An important aspect of resiliency is biodiversity. It is the diversity of genetic traits within
species and among them that supports the ability of ecosystems to survive and prosper
even though challenged by changing conditions. The native species and living
communities contain within their genetic makeup the "memory" of thousands of years of
conditions which they have survived within the Great Lakes Basin.
Ecosystems are dynamic in time scales measured from minutes to millennia and
continue to change and evolve. However, the speed of changes being caused by
humans far exceeds the changes which occur naturally and does not allow time for the
organisms to adapt or evolve. As a result, human intervention is necessary to ensure
that component pieces of our ecosystems are not lost and ecosystem integrity can be
restored and maintained.
Much of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem has been permanently altered, but much
remains. Although some component parts have been lost, it is still those native plant
and other living communities which provide the best opportunity for attaining ecosystem
integrity and sustainability. It is true that any miscellaneous degraded assemblage of
organisms would probably begin to evolve into new stable communities over tens or
hundreds of thousands of years, but not that much time is available. It has been
suggested that altered and reorganized ecosystems may be just as healthy as prior
systems and that ecosystem outcomes can be selected by managers or public opinion.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 11
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This might work if people are willing to wait for thousands of years of adaption and
evolution, but until time can be manipulated, the prudent choice appears to be
management toward the full range of ecosystems that existed at the time of European
settlement, as a general goal.
An important aspect of restoring and maintaining integrity and sustainability is the role
of high quality areas which contain viable populations of rare or easily disturbed species
and/or communities. This includes protecting habitat necessary for all life stages of all
species. Sufficient habitat and biodiversity must be protected to ensure survival in the
event of catastrophic change in any one area.
An essential aspect of this is the protection of viable populations and communities that
are representative of the full range of nearshore ecosystems throughout the basin. This
can not be accomplished by preserving a few ecological zoos containing representative
samples. It must include fully functioning ecosystems throughout the basin. Living
communities are complexes of hundreds and thousands of species of organisms
including microbiological organisms such as bacteria, fungi, nematodes, etc.
Another aspect is the concept of critical habitat. While exact definition or identification
of critical habitat remains elusive, the idea is that some habitat is essential for survival
of various species and genetic stocks or strains within species. Critical habitat is often
associated with reproduction and protection of early life stages, but it applies to all life
stages including migration.
3.3 Sustainability
Sustainable development is an important concept which is related to ecosystem
integrity. Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As a society
we are still falling far short of this goal since we continue to deplete our non-renewable
resources and spend our ecological "capital" by destroying unique habitats and
biodiversity.
Every human society has to solve and continue to solve the basic economic problems
of how to produce the goods people need or want and distribute them where and when
they are desired. Also, they must do so in such a way that information about the
changing conditions feeds back into the economic development process and
adjustments are made.
For development to be ecologically sustainable, the knowledge gained from the
accumulation of ecological insights concerning the impacts of human activities on
health and functioning of ecosystems must feed back into the development process
and be used to adjust those activities to protect the health and functioning of
12 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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ecosystems.
Sustainable development is a direction toward an economy developed by technologies,
land use practices, laws and institutions that take account of ecological understanding.
The great challenge is how to create ways of life and communities within which humans
prosper while our actions renew and restore the natural life support system upon which
all life and prosperity depends.
SOLEC '96 focuses on two ecosystem integrity aspects of sustainability: 1) that human
use and economic development of the ecosystem should be sustainable in the long
term; and 2) the idea that biological communities should be self sustaining with a
minimum (or zero) human assistance.
Ecosystem integrity is measured both in terms of biological integrity and in terms of
human health. Human health aspects of ecosystem integrity are difficult to assess
because of the multiplicity of factors affecting human health. As reported in SOLEC
'94, there is some direct evidence of human health effects resulting from exposure to
pathogens and to persistent bioaccumulative toxic contaminants, but most human
health related information is in the form of exposure to health risks.
3.4 SOLEC '96 Framework
For purposes of SOLEC1 96, the ecosystem is viewed as a three layered system
somewhat as shown in Table 1 and Figure 2. The highest level of system integrity is
measured at the level of ecological and human health. The second level is that of the
physical, chemical and biological environment which can also be thought of as habitat.
Within the environment are many factors which may be necessary for health or may be
stressors which adversely affect health. In many cases a factor may be necessary for
ecosystem health, but may become a stressor when present in excessive amounts.
The third level of the system consists of the sources of stressors, nearly all of which are
the result of human activity. An underlying fourth layer can also be envisioned which
would be factors that stimulate or limit stressors. The fourth layer would also include
programs for control and remediation which are beyond the purview of SOLEC '96.
SOLEC '96 addresses the state of the ecosystem, not the state of programs created to
deal with stresses. Such programs are the subject of other conferences and reports.
By viewing the state of the Great Lakes ecosystem in the three layers of health, habitat,
and stressors, it is easier visualize cause effect relationships and to organize
discussion.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 13
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Table 1. Three Layered System
ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY &
SUSTAINABILITY(I)
Ecosystem Integrity/Health
• Self Sustaining Communities
of Indigenous Species
• Ecological Balance
• Genetic Diversity
• Productivity
• Unimpaired Reproduction
• Healthy Organisms
Human Health
• Reduced Illness (Including
absence of endocrine effects)
• Reduced Exposure to Risk
Human Welfare
• Quality of Life
Swim
Fish and Hunt
Eat Fish and Game
Drink Water
Aesthetic Enjoyment
Satisfaction/Feeling of
Well-being
• Economic Benefit
Recreation Industry
Tourism Industry
Commercial Fishery
Reduced Health Cost
STRESSORS (2)
Physical Stressors
• Turbidity
• Sedimentation/Burial
• Loss of Beach
Nourishment
• Sunlight Deprivation
• Loss of Access to Habitat
• Changes in Lake Levels
• Changes in Groundwater
Levels
• Changes in Stream Flow
(Volume or timing)
• Loss of shelter or substrate
Biological
• Pathogens/Parasites
• Genetic Loss
• Predator Loss or Excess
• Lack of Food/Prey
• Lack of Seed/Breeding
Stock
Chemical
• Nutrient Excess or Lack
• Contaminants
SOURCES (3)
Land Use
(Includes urban, recreational
and agriculture) (4)
• Land filling or Shore
Modification
• Land Clearing
• Dredging
• Stream Channelization
• Urban Storm Drains
• Dams and Dikes
• Point Source Discharges of
Pollution
• Nonpoint Sources of
Pollution
• Contaminated Sediment
• Airborne Discharge and
Deposition
Exotic Species
Navigation
Excess Harvest or Stocking
(1) Can also be thought of in terms of impacts or impairments of integrity.
(2) Changes in environmental conditions beyond "natural" changes which would occur in the absence of
human activity.
(3) Primarily categories of human activities, not individual sources or underlying institutional, social or
economic factors)
(4) Land Use includes three main categories of development: urban sprawl; recreational development
(summer homes, marinas, etc.); and agriculture/forestry.
14
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Figure 2. Key Stressors of the Nearshore Ecosystem
ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY & BENEFITS
•cological Health
Self Sustaining Communities of Native Species
Genetic Diversity
Productivity
Unimpaired Reproduction
Healthy Organisms
Human Health and Welfare
STRESSORS AND SOURCES
Health
Healthy Humans
Reduced Exposure and Risk
Quality of Life
ECOLOGICAL
INTEGRITY AND
BENEFITS
Swim
Fish and Hunt
Eat Fish and Game
Drink Water
Aesthetic Enjoyment
Satisfaction/Feeling of Well-being
Economic Benefit
STRESSORS
Recreation Industry
Tourism Industry
Commercial Fishery
Reduced Health Costs,
Physical
Environment
Biological
Environment
Chemical
Environment
SOURCES
Filling or
Shore
Modification
Dams
OT
Dikes
Dredging
&
Draining
Navigation
Exotic
Species
Introduc-
tion
KEY STRESSORS
Chemical
Toxic Contamination
Excess Nutrients
Biological
Excess Competition
Pathogens
Exotic Species
Genetic Loss
Population Disruption
Physical
Sedimentation
Habitat Access Loss
Habitat Degradation or Loss
Hydrologic Modification
Excess
Harvest
or
Stocking
Land
Development,
Erosion
& Runoff
Air.
Emission
&
Deposition
Point
Source
Discharges
Contaminated
Sediment
FACTORS
THAT
STIMULATE
OR LIMIT
STRESSORS
-------
In examining the state of the Lakes it is useful to ask questions with respect to the three
layers:
What is the state of biological health including humans?
What is the state of habitat (physical, chemical and biological environment) with
respect to presence of factors which are needed by, or are stressors upon,
various life forms including humans?
• What is the state of the sources of major stressors and is sufficient progress
being made in dealing with them?
To answer these questions it is useful to think in terms of indicators of the state of each
of the three levels. This is the subject of the next section.
4.0 Indicators
The purpose of indicators is to provide simple, brief expression of the state of the
ecosystem based upon aspects of the system that can be measured and accepted as
characterizing its condition. Such indicators can cover various levels of the health of
the ecosystem including biological health, stressors, sources, and programs to address
problems at all levels.
The health of the living components of the ecosystem, including humans, is the ultimate
indicator which reflects the total effect of stresses on the system. The ecosystem
effects of stress is often expressed as impairments and are the most meaningful
indicators as far as most people are concerned, i.e. is the system healthy and can we
swim, fish, eat the fish and drink the water? Although effects on the living system are
the ultimate indicators, measures of the physical, chemical and biological stressors and
sources that affect the system are equally important in describing the state of the Lakes
and providing vital information for programs that address stressors and sources.
Indicators are used to measure the state of living components in terms of both
ecosystem health and human health, although human health is most often measured in
terms of risk rather than direct health effects.
For the nearshore areas of the Great Lakes there are no widely accepted or generally
available indicators that can be used to summarize the state of the ecosystem. As a
consequence, the authors of the background papers have developed indicators to the
best of their ability. In addition, the SOLEC '96 steering committee has added
indicators where necessary. All are based to some extent upon data, but the evaluation
and rating assigned are primarily best professional judgement by knowledgeable
people. It is hoped that further development of indicators will be stimulated by this
effort.
16 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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For purposes of simplification, a small number of indicators for each of the background
papers has been chosen and are shown in this paper. These simple indicators are
intended to summarize the state of the ecosystem and progress being made in
addressing the many stressors and their sources.
For a description of the indicators used in evaluating the state of nearshore waters, land
by the lakes, wetlands, and information management, please refer to sections 6, 7, and
8.
5.0 State of Nearshore Ecosystem Health
The state of the nearshore areas of the Great Lakes varies from near pristine in parts of
the Lake Superior basin to severely impacted throughout much of the Lower Lakes.
Historically, the nearshore ecosystem suffered extensive loss and decline primarily due
to physical, chemical and biological factors associated with urbanization and farming
during the past two centuries. Cause for encouragement can be found in the progress
made in controlling chemical problems during the past two decades. Pollution control in
recent years has resulted in decreasing concentrations of nutrients and most toxic
contaminants in the system. However, as more is learned about the chronic effects of
some bioaccumulative contaminants, concern continues. This is particularly the case
with respect to possible impacts on reproduction of wildlife and humans.
Unfortunately, physical and biological factors continue to adversely impact the
nearshore ecosystem primarily due to intensifying use of land and the spread of exotic
species both on land and in aquatic systems. Some progress has been made in
protecting wetlands, but irrevocable losses continue in both geographic extent and in
genetic diversity. The following is a summary of some of the information to be found in
the SOLEC '96 background papers. For additional information on impacts on aquatic
communities, the reader may wish to review the 1994 SOLEC paper Aquatic
Community Health of the Great Lakes.
In addition to changes in the nearshore areas being directly caused by human activities,
the areas are also being degraded because human activities are disrupting natural
processes and preventing the normal changes which would otherwise occur. The
nearshore is normally a dynamic area with physical forces of wave action, currents and
water level changes which cause continuous change in shorelines and biological
communities. Alteration of these forces and processes can have major impacts.
The overall rating of the nearshore situation in 1996 is mixed, with some indicators
rated as good, while others are rated as poor. Some trends are system wide, but
conditions also differ substantially from lake to lake.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 17
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5.1 Nearshore Waters
There is little doubt that the nearshore aquatic environment of the Great Lakes has
been altered physically, chemically, and biologically by human activity. About 25 years
ago however, with the signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, society
began to act, and the trend to worsening conditions began to slow down and in the
case of water quality, to improve. Some problem areas of contaminated sediment
remain. Also, persistent bioaccumulative contaminants remain at levels which may be
causing problems. Some habitat loss is permanent and habitat losses continue as do
losses in biodiversity. Continued vigilance is needed to prevent repetition of past
problems.
5.1.1 Areas Within the Nearshore
Tributaries Tributaries deliver nutrients and warm water to the nearshore areas as
well as providing rich nearby habitat. The principal spawning and nursery habitats for
one third of Great Lakes fishes are located in the tributaries. Flood plains also enhance
productivity and maintain diversity. At low water levels, nutrients are mineralized and
accumulate; during flooding, nutrients are dissolved and high primary production and
decomposition rates occur. The resulting conditions are optimum for spawning and
nursery for many species offish.
Connecting Channels The Great Lakes connecting channels are also important
spawning and nursery habitats. While researchers have captured 21 species offish
larvae in the St. Clair River proper, close to three times that number (60 species) have
been found in waters connected and adjacent to the river. Young-of-the-year of 48
species were caught in tributaries of the St. Clair River, while larvae of 33 species and
juveniles of 27 others have been reported from Munuscong Bay on the St. Mary's River.
Embayments Embayments represent another kind of diverse and sheltered habitat
for fish species in nearshore areas. Although many embayments contain wetlands, they
also include areas of open water. Often, an embayment is an area of transition between
open water and riverine habitats.
Exposed Coastline and Offshore Shoals Although total fish numbers are generally
lower in sheltered habitats, these areas present unique features optimum for certain
species, particularly those adapted to turbulent environments. Offshore shoals are
spawning habitats for some species and feeding areas for aquatic birds. Coastal
upweliings also provides cold water species periodic access to shallow littoral habitats.
Temperature Temperature is a key attribute of the Nearshore. It controls growth,
reproduction, and survival of fishes and other aquatic biota, and can regulate food
supplies, competition, and predation. For species near the northern limit of their range,
18 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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the availability of sheltered shallow habitats, which warm early in spring, is essential for
survival. For other species, using warmer nearshore areas effectively increases the
growing season and may significantly increase production.
5.1.2 State of the Resource
Vegetation - Algae and Macrophytes 77 out of 133 young-of-the-year fish species
examined are moderately to strongly associated with aquatic vegetation; more species
are associated with submergent than emergent vegetation. Wetlands provide critical
spawning and nursery habitats for many fish species; several authors reported high
species richness of young fishes from wetland habitats.
Phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients important to algal growth are added to lakes in the
nearshore zone through land runoff from farms and urban areas, sewage treatment
plants and combined sewer overflows.
Data from recent sampling indicated elevated concentrations of phosphorus and nitrate-
plus-nitrite, as well as the highest concentrations of chlorophyll a, were observed in
inshore waters. In Lake Ontario, where the spring phosphorus guideline is 0.010 ppm,
excess levels are observed at "nearshore" stations. Similarly, in Lake Erie, where the
total phosphorus guideline is basin-specific (0.015 ppm for the Western Basin, 0.010
ppm for the Central and Eastern Basins), exceedances are also observed, both at
stations that meet the "nearshore" criteria, and offshore.
An overabundance of nutrients leads to nuisance algal populations in the water and
algae attached to rocks and structures. Macrophytes depending on nutrients stored in
sediment may cause navigation problems for recreational boaters in shallow water
areas.
Long term chlorophyll data reflect the results of phosphorus control programs. After
1988-89 in Lake Erie there was a further reduction attributed to the establishment of
zebra/quagga mussels and to their filtering of algae and deposition of wastes on the
lake bottom. A reduction of 30-50% at the Grand Bend location in 1993-94 is
consistent with the delayed establishment of mussels in parts of Lake Huron. Similarly,
large recent reductions in chlorophyll at Kingston and Brockville followed the
establishment of mussels in eastern Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte in 1992-94.
In a short while (10 years), the zebra mussel impacts on Lake Erie planktonic algae
have been dramatic in all three basins. In the western basin, however, a longer term
view of the data (30 years) provides a very different perspective relative to the
phosphorus loading control effects. Over that period, declines in chlorophytic plankton,
including several "weedy" species due to phosphorus control were of greater
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 19
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importance than the decline experienced in 1988 attributable to zebra mussels.
Zooplankton Zooplankton are important parts of aquatic food webs, filtering and
eating algae and then providing energy and nutrients for fish. Populations of
zooplankton cycle seasonally in response to temperature and food availability, as well
as predation by fish. In the western basin of Lake Erie, since the late 1920s,
zooplankton increased with eutrophication and then declined as nutrient loading was
controlled. Recently, an exotic species the spiny water flea Bythotrephes, has
appeared, disrupting zooplankton populations.
To some extent, the challenges to the zooplankton community seen in the lower lakes
are present in all lakes. In the last 13 years introduced species have changed energy
flows in the lakes so that expectations offish yield based on previous trophic structure
may not be realized.
Benthic Invertebrates Dramatic changes in the community structure of benthic
invertebrates have occurred over broad areas in the nearshore zone. These changes
have been attributed to changes in water and sediment quality resulting from nutrient
and other pollution abatement programs, and to ecological changes caused by the
zebra mussel.
The increase in abundance and distribution of the burrowing mayfly provides dramatic
evidence of improved conditions in the western basin of Lake Erie. This organism was
historically abundant in the western basin, but a gradual increase in productivity of the
basin over time, along with a period of calm weather in the mid 1950s resulted in a
severe decline in oxygen concentrations that virtually eliminated the population. A
small increase in the population was noted near the mouth of the Detroit River in 1980,
but it was not until 1991 that the population increased to any major extent. By 1995,
burrowing mayflies were found throughout the western half of the basin and in much of
the eastern half.
Fish The native fish fauna of the Great Lakes basin comprises 153 species in 64
genera and 25 families and is relatively large and diverse. Status and trend information
are available for a number of fishes commonly found in the Great Lakes.
The lake sturgeon, which does not reproduce until it is about 25 years old, was one of
the first species to approach extinction in the Great Lakes. The blue pike, a high-value
species that reproduced at about four years of age, became extinct by overfishing. The
walleye, a closely related species, was also severely overfished in Lake Erie. Catches
declined from highs of about 2.3-2.8 miHion kg annually in the late 1940s-Jate 1950s to
about 25,000 kg in 1971.Closure of the fishery due to mercury contamination in the
early 1970s followed by the imposition of more stringent catch regulations allowed
walleye numbers to rapidly increase and the species again supports a healthy, self-
20 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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sustaining, high-value fishery.
High-value cold water fishes that use the nearshore waters during the colder months of
the year declined to virtual extinction in all or some of the Great Lakes; these species
include the lake trout, lake whitefish, and lake herring. Native populations of lake trout
were nearly extinguished in the Great Lakes as a combined result of overfishing,
predation by the introduced sea lamprey and impaired reproduction, possibly the result
of bioaccumulative persistent toxic substances. Lake whitefish populations reached
record lows in the 1950-1960s in Lake Huron, and the 1950s in Lake Michigan but have
since recovered.
The loss of native genetic diversity affects the status of the Great Lakes ecosystem
irreversibly. Habitats, particularly those in deep water, that were occupied productively
by native species and stocks that had become adapted to them following the retreat of
the glaciers from the basin about 10,000 years ago, were left unoccupied. Other
vacated habitats in shallower water were left open to invasion by undesirable exotic
species that had gained access to the basin as a result of human activities.
In Lake Superior, lake trout are presently maintained by stocking and natural
reproduction of wild fish. Brook trout and lake sturgeon populations have not recovered
from earlier declines. Lake herring are recovering strongly, but the introduced rainbow
smelt has not recovered to earlier levels of peak abundance. Lake whitefish are
abundant; sea lamprey has been reduced to about 10% of its former peak abundance;
ruffe are increasing in abundance.
In Lake Huron, the fish community is recovering, but is unstable after decades of over
harvest and the effects of introduced species. Some lake trout are reproducing ;
whitefish are more abundant than at any other time in the century. Walleye and yellow
perch are once again abundant. In the 1980s, the sea lamprey increased in abundance
in the northern end of the lake, causing continuing high mortality and reversing recent
gains in lake trout restoration in that area.
In Lake Michigan, large numbers of stocked, breeding-age lake trout are present in lake
trout refuges. Pacific salmon abundance is sharply reduced since the 1970s. Numbers
of adult Pacific salmon deaths are correlated with the incidence of the introduced
pathogen that causes bacterial kidney disease. Alewives were more than 80% of the
biomass in catches in the 1970s but declined to about 10% in the mid-1980s-1990s.
The biomass of rainbow smelt decreased from 15-20% in the 1970s to less than 10% in
the mid-1980s and 1990s. Slimy sculpin abundance peaked in the late 1970s, but in
the 1980s-1990s declined to less than 20% of peak 1970s levels, probably in response
to predation by trout, salmon, and burbot.
In Lake Erie fish populations have improved, but continue to change. Lake trout
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 21
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restoration goals are being met and lake whitefish are recovering. Walleye and yellow
perch are intensively managed to provide productive recreational and commercial
fisheries in the United States and Canada. Abundance of major forage fish species
such as rainbow smelt, spottail shiners, emerald shiners, gizzard shad, and alewives,
may be declining.
Fish from nearshore waters in areas of contaminated sediment sometimes have
harmless or cancerous tumours. Tumour production may be a response to degraded
habitat. Tumour outbreaks have been found in populations of benthic species,
including brown bullhead, white sucker, common carp, bowfin, and freshwater drum. Of
white suckers sampled from nine Areas of Concern, 5.3% had liver tumours. Incidence
of liver tumours in white suckers is associated with exposure to carcinogenic
contaminants; tumour prevalence of 5% or greater is an indication of such exposure.
Bullhead from the Cuyahoga and Detroit rivers had tumour prevalence of 8-10%, and
those from the Buffalo River and Presque Isle Bay, about 20%. These river systems
have elevated levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in some sediment. In
1982, when a coking facility on the Black River (Ohio) was operational, the bullhead
population had a liver cancer prevalence of 38.5% The coking facility closed in I983. By
I987, PAH concentrations in surficial river sediment had declined to 0.4% of the
concentration in 1980, and the cancer frequency in the bullhead population also
declined to about one-fourth of that for I982. Areas of sediment most contaminated with
PAH were dredged in 1990, and two years later the cancer incidence in bullhead
exceeded that in 1982. This case history shows that natural, unassisted remediation
can be effective in reducing the incidence of cancer in bullheads in some systems, and
that dredging with traditional methods can temporarily increase cancer incidence and
degradation of the health of native species. Collectively, these data show that bullhead
liver tumours track PAH levels in natural systems, making tumours a good biomarker for
exposure of benthic fish to carcinogens in sediment.
In Lake Ontario, the fish community has improved considerably from the low point of the
1960s. For example, lake whitefish, typically most abundant in the eastern end of the
lake, were nearly absent in the 1970s, began increasing in 1980s, and are now 30-40-
fold more abundant. In addition, lake trout have finally begun to reproduce naturally in
Lake Ontario, after an absence of natural reproduction of some 45 years.
Birds Nearshore waters are used periodically by a variety of waterfowl, from late
summer until migratory flights the following spring. Dabbling ducks begin to use areas
next to coastal wetlands for resting and refuge in August and September. Sites with
open water in winter are important for mallards as resting areas.
The nearshore is an important area for migrating and staging waterfowl, especially
diving and sea ducks. In spring and autumn, some sites are internationally important for
Tundra Swans, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Common
22 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Goldeneye and Common and Red-breasted Mergansers. Birds use the nearshore most
in autumn but flocks are more concentrated in the spring due to less open water.
These sites, where ice thaws first and, presumably, food is first available, may be more
critical or limiting in the spring.
Lesser scaup appear to be responding to abundant supplies of zebra mussels. If this
trend continues, an increased use of nearshore waters during the October-November
and March-April periods can be expected.
Islands, most of which occur in water less than 30 m deep provide nesting habitat for
many species of aquatic birds. These include species of colonially nesting gulls, terns,
herons, cormorants, as well as species of waterfowl, two species of aquatic raptors and
several species of reptiles and amphibians.
Ospreys and Bald Eagles are two aquatic raptors which historically nested along the
shoreline of the Great Lakes and on offshore islands. On Lake Erie only the eagle has
re-colonized the shoreline (mainland) sites. Neither species has returned to nest on
islands, and there are no eagles or ospreys nesting on Lake Ontario, although suitable
habitat exists on mainland and islands.
Most species waterbirds are absent from the Great Lakes during winter, having
migrated in September and October. Adult Herring Gulls remain, but Great Black-
backed Gulls immigrate from the Atlantic; several species come from the Arctic. Most
Ring-billed Gulls also leave. For over-wintering gulls, the Niagara River is the major
staging and congregating area. Large numbers offish provide excellent feeding habitat
for gulls in this area.
Bald eagles over-winter along the St. Lawrence River from Gananoque to Mallorytown,
Ontario, an area open for most of the winter. The eagles feed on ducks and deer
carcasses, most of the latter being intentionally provided by man.
Mammals Otter, mink, beaver, muskrats, and raccoon occur in sheltered parts of
the system including embayments, tributaries, and connecting channels. Larger
mammals including deer, moose, wolves, and coyotes, use the ice bridges in nearshore
waters as migration routes.
5.1.2.1 Human Health
Infectious Organisms as Health Hazards During this century, water-borne infectious
illnesses became rare in the Great Lakes basin, with effective treatment of drinking
water and sewage, and because of immunization programs. However, even modern
water treatment plants have weaknesses. In 1993 about 400,000 inhabitants of
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 23
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Milwaukee became infected, and about 4,000 were hospitalized, by a protozoan
parasite (Cryptosporidium).
Some sewage treatment plant discharges are not disinfected before release, especially
during storm flows, and thus contribute to the pathogen load of nearshore waters. In
addition, some sewage plant effluents, especially those carrying industrial wastes, are
toxic to algae and probably also to other aquatic organisms. Other effluents such as
urban stormwater and agricultural runoff also contain pathogens and toxic chemicals .
The chemical disinfectants used to kill pathogens in sewage and in drinking water also
can create toxic byproducts. In densely settled and heavily used areas, the numbers
and kinds of toxic chemicals found even in treated waters can be considerable. The
leaching of components of the materials used for water distribution and storage
systems can further contribute to the mix of chemicals in water.
Beach Closures Although improved sewage treatment and nutrient control has
made beach closings far less common than in the past, they remain a problem in some
urban areas. Closings are an indicator of problem conditions, but it is important to
recognize that information on closings does not represent a consistent set of data.
There is no standard rule for deciding when to close a beach nor is there a requirement
that beaches be monitored. As a result., some problem situations may not be
recognized or reported. Nonetheless, available information is of interest.
In 1981-94, 42 of 83 counties reported they had no beach closings due to pollution.
Beach closings in the other 41 counties varied widely. Only 2 of 15 counties bordering
Lake Superior reported pollution problems; similarly, 17 of 33 on Lake Michigan, 6 of 13
on Lake Huron, 2 of 2 on Lake St. Clair, 11 of 13 on Lake Erie, and 4 of 8 on Lake
Ontario reported closings. Generally closings were fewer in northern counties where
human population density was low and there was little industrial development;
conversely, more closings occurred in southern counties where the shoreline was more
intensively developed, population density was high, and there was extensive industrial
development.
Drinking Water Treated and tap waters usually meet microbiological standards and
objectives; while chlorination led to increased concentrations of chloroform and other
chlorination byproducts in tap water, treatment also reduced bacteria numbers
essentially to zero for Escherichia coli and coliforms.
Nevertheless there is a need for further studies to clarify regional and seasonal
variations in the levels of water disinfection byproducts.
24 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Total PCB Levels in Great Lakes
Lake Trout* / Walleye**(1 977-1 994)
Units: ug/g wet weight +/- S.E.
for whole fish, age 4+
Figure 3. Trends in contaminant concentrations in lake trout and walleye
Fish Consumption Advisories Consumption of contaminated sport fish and wildlife
can significantly increase human exposure to Great Lakes pollutants. Fish from
contaminated sites may contain high levels of toxic bioaccumulating contaminants, and
may show elevated levels of abnormalities, including tumours . Therefore both
provincial and state governments have issued sportfish consumption guidelines.
Recent studies show an association between the consumption of contaminated Great
Lakes fish and body burdens of persistent toxic substances, including PCBs, other
organochlorines, heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and PAHs. Fish eaters may
have three- to four-fold higher levels of contaminants than those in the general
population.
Trends in contaminant concentrations in lake trout and walleye versus time are plotted
in Figure 3. Generally there has been a decline in levels from those seen in the early
70's, but recently, there has not been any further decline. Further information on
contaminants is available in the 1994 SOLEC paper Toxic Contaminants^
Smog The Great Lakes basin contributes to air quality problems because of the
industrial and urban development around the lower Great Lakes. Local concentrations
of ground-level ozone and acid aerosols can be significantly elevated over what is
observed at sites well inland from the shores.
Ground-level ozone deposits poorly on lake waters, so that it travels further than would
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper.
25
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otherwise be the case. On the other hand, the ammonia which normally neutralizes
acid aerosols dissolves well so that such aerosols persist longer in the acid state. The
Great Lakes also develop local lake breeze circulations, which can confine pollutants
and under the right conditions cycle them around the lake shorelines . This limits
dispersion and creates something of a "pressure cooker" in which greater
concentrations of smog can form in urban plumes (e.g. Chicago).
In Ontario, the highest concentrations of ground-level ozone are measured at Long
Point on the Lake Erie shoreline, followed by stations near Lake Huron. There is a
similar pattern around all of the Great Lakes south of Lake Superior. During smog
episodes, acid sulphate concentrations have been measured near Lake Erie which
were more than twice that observed inland. Ozone levels were high as well.
This local pollution 'enhancement' mechanism is due to the very existence of the lakes
and cannot be changed. Abatement measures designed for inland sites may not be
sufficient near the shores or over the lakes.
Further, the potential health impacts need to be properly assessed and communicated
to the public. We may have to advise citizens that the summer air on that Lake Erie
beach or in other recreational areas is worse than it would be in the city, considering
the impacts of the total pollution load.
Climate Change- A potential human health concern A higher rate of mortality can
be expected due to heat stress as climate changes (similar to those experienced in
Toronto and Chicago in 1995). Climatic conditions may change sufficiently to allow the
spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and Lyme disease into Ontario unless
strong public health measures are introduced. Changes in weather stability may alter
the frequency, severity and duration of extreme events such as severe storms, wildfires,
droughts, floods, landslides, and coastal erosion and add to suffering and loss of life.
Fatalities and respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses attributed to severe air quality
incidents are likely to worsen in a 2xCO2 climate. The young, the elderly and those
with respiratory ailments are particularly vulnerable. The frequency of high ground level
ozone pollution episodes is likely to increase with "heat waves".
5.1.2.2 Evaluation of the State of Nearshore Waters
Indicators for nearshore waters (Table 2) were developed under the four broad
categories, within which are individual indicators. These categories and indicators are
consistent with the International Joint Commission's recent report on proposed
indicators.
26 . SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Table 2. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Nearshore Waters
Desired Outcome
Healthy human
populations
Healthy fish and wildlife
Virtual elimination of
persistent toxic
substances
Absence of excess
nutrient loading, leading
to cultural eutrophication
Indicators
Fish consumption advisories
Beach closings, measured in median number of consecutive days closed for a
given year
Drinking water purity
Acute human illness associated with locally high levels of contaminants
and/or
Chronic human illness associated with long-term exposure to low levels of
contaminants
Status of exotic species
Status of native species and their habitats
Levels of persistent toxic chemicals
Concentrations of persistent toxic substances in biota
Dissolved oxygen depletion of bottom waters
Water clarity/algae blooms
Rating
Mixed/improving
Inadequate data
Good
Inadequate data
Inadequate data
Poor
Mixed/improving
Mixed/improving
Mixed/improving
Good
Mixed/improving
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5.2 Coastal Wetlands
The state of coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes ecosystem are known only in part.
There is no inventory or evaluation system in place for the majority of coastal
wetlands. Much is known about the stressors that degrade wetlands and some local
areas have been relatively well studied as to their condition, but it is not possible at
this time to provide a comprehensive review of the state of Great Lakes coastal
wetlands.
The general location of coastal wetlands is known from remote sensing and aerial
photography, but there is no commonly accepted system of classification nor is
there systematic information on their quality, rate of loss or rate of degradation.
Aspects of wetlands that could be used in developing indicators relate to both
ecological quality and stressors. Quality measures include various aspects of
structure and function, species richness, disturbance sensitive species, disturbance
tolerant species, growth rates and form. The diversity and abundance of aquatic
invertebrate, fish and wildlife communities have also been used, as have population
survival and mortality. Measures of stressors have also been developed ranging
from visual change over time to measures of invasive plants and fish, turbidity,
sedimentation, water level, and pollutants. Sources of stressors can also be
measured in the form of shore modification, land use changes, removal of
vegetation, road construction, etc. All of these measures could be developed into a
system of indicators, but they have not as yet. For a further discussion of potential
indicators, please refer to the wetlands paper.
Wetlands are generally defined as land that is saturated with water long enough to
promote aquatic processes as indicated by poorly drained soils, water-loving
vegetation, and various kinds of biological activity adapted to wet environments.
Names for various kinds of wetlands differ in the U.S. and Canada, but the general
categories for coastal wetlands are marshes, swamps and peatlands. Marshes are
periodically or continually flooded wetlands characterized by emergent vegetation
that is adapted to living in shallow water or moisture saturated soils. Swamps are
wetlands dominated by trees or shrubs with standing water present most or part of
the year. Peatlands are wetlands in which plant materials are produced faster than
they decay and partially decomposed plant material (peat) accumulates.
Eight types of Great Lakes coastal wetlands can be identified by their morphological
setting, which reflects the influence of lake processes, especially exposure to
waves. These categories are described in the SOLEC '96 Coastal Wetlands
background paper.
28 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Although consistent basin-wide information on the state Great Lakes coastal
wetlands is not available as noted above, some general information can be reported
on a lake by lake basis .
Relatively few wetlands of the Great Lakes have escaped the impacts of humans.
In many respects, the upper lakes have been less affected than the lower lakes.
The diversity of Lake Ontario wetlands has suffered as a result of water-level
regulation associated with construction and operation of the St. Lawrence Seaway .
Unlike site-specific disturbances, this subtle, yet pervasive environmental alteration
has affected nearly all wetlands of Lake Ontario. Regulation has also caused
greater increases in invasive plants such as purple loosestrife and reed canary
grass. Site-specific disturbances in Lake Ontario include extensive shoreline
development (especially around large barrier beach wetlands and near larger cities),
dredging and filling (especially near harbors, marinas, and waterfront
developments), and chemical contamination.
Most of the extensive Great Black Swamp of western Lake Erie has been drained
and converted to other land uses, primarily agriculture. Much of the remaining
wetland has been diked for intensive management and is hydrologically isolated
from the lake. The innovative Metzger Marsh Restoration Project seeks to develop
means to allow diked wetlands to be reconnected with the lake and restore multiple
wetland functions. Extensive use of revetments to protect shoreline property from
erosion has limited the supply of sediments in the littoral drift of western Lake Erie.
The few remaining natural wetlands that were once protected by barrier beaches
and sand spits are thus losing their protection as losses to erosion cannot be
replenished. Examples include Cedar Point in Ohio and Woodtick Peninsula in
Michigan. As with Lake Ontario, site-specific disturbances occur also.
The deltaic marshes of Lake St. Clair are intact in many places, but shoreline
development, dredging, and placement of dredge spoils have taken their toll. Many
of the wetlands on the Canadian side have been diked for management. Increased
water clarity in Lake St. Clair resulting from the filtration activities of zebra mussels
has dramatically increased the extent of submersed aquatic vegetation in much of
the lake.
In the upper Lakes, some extensive wetlands still remain, such as those of Saginaw
Bay in Lake Huron. However, much of the Saginaw Bay region resembles western
Lake Erie in having been drained and converted to farmland. Chemical
contamination and physical disturbance from human activities are also a concern.
Northern Lake Michigan has numerous wetlands, many in ridge and swale
formations that developed as lake levels dropped over the last 4000 years and
many in drowned river mouths. Watershed activities such as logging and agriculture
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 23.
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have affected these wetlands. Hydrology of most drowned-river-mouth wetlands
has been altered by road construction across the wetland and, in many cases, by
upriver dams. Industrial and municipal development has altered large areas of
wetland at the lower reaches of these river systems; landfills and chemical
contamination of sediments are included among the impacts. Green Bay in western
Lake Michigan has a storied history of abuse that has been detailed by Harris et al.
Wetlands of Lake Superior have probably been affected to some extent by water-
level regulation associated with the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. However, as the
uppermost lake in the system and with more natural water-level management, the
effects are not as striking as in Lake Ontario. Alterations of Lake Superior wetlands
include site-specific activities such as harbor and marina development, shoreline
development, road construction, and chemical contamination, as well as watershed
impacts, especially from logging activity. However, comparatively, wetlands of Lake
Superior are probably less affected by human activities than those of the other
lakes. Site-by-site evaluations of Great Lakes wetlands within the state of Michigan
(lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, St. Clair, and Erie) have been reported by Albert.
5.2.1 Ecological Processes
Great Lakes coastal wetlands are complex ecosystems. Climatic factors drive
many of the basic physical and biological cycles in wetlands, but wetlands are
also heavily influenced by water level fluctuations, both short term long term, as
well as diking of wetlands, modification of shorelines and many other influences.
Longer term water level fluctuations are very important for coastal wetlands.
Differences between recorded all time high and low water levels range from 1.1
m to 1.8 m depending on the lake (International Joint Commission, 1989). These
changes have profound impacts on the wetland plant communities, causing
landward or lakeward shifting of vegetation communities. As discussed in the
coastal wetlands paper, and in this paper in the section on stressors, human
regulation of lake levels is the most pervasive stressor of Great Lakes coastal
wetlands.
In many cases, individual wetlands have unique ecosystem conditions and, thus,
cannot easily be compared to one another.
Common ecological characteristics shared by coastal wetlands, in terms of nutrient
dynamics, include: temperate; climate; nutrient regimes closely linked with
hydrologic regimes; highly productive macrophyte and phytoplankton communities
supporting large populations of bacteria and zooplankton; and relatively shallow
water, so that exchange between the water column and sediments is rapid.
30 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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5.2.2 Ecological Functions and Values
Most wetlands provide some combination of the following functions:
food conveyance and storage; sediment control; water quality improvement; water,
food, and timber supplies; recreation; aesthetics; open spaces; history; education;
research opportunities; barriers to waves and erosion; and biodiversity through
habitat for fish, shellfish, waterfowl, wildlife, and for rare species.
The habitat value of coastal wetlands include both conditions for vegetative and
animal communities at all levels of the food web. At the lower end of the food web
wetlands provide habitat for innumerable microbes, invertebrates, and shellfish.
Reptiles and amphibians are commonly found in wetlands for at least part of their
lifecycle and a large number offish species require wetland habitat for spawning,
feeding, or shelter. Birds are attracted to wetlands by abundant food sources and
sites for nesting, resting and feeding.
With respect to rare, threatened or endangered species, wetlands provide for many
of them, some of which are rare for the reason that so little wetland area remains
undisturbed. About one fourth of plant species, one half of fish species, two thirds
of birds and three-fourths of amphibians listed as threatened or endangered in the
U.S. are associated with wetland.
An assessment of the state of wetlands, based on four desired outcomes and
eleven indicators is presented in Table 3.
5.3 The Land by the Lakes
The land by the Great Lakes uniquely and dynamically intersects with life inland and
with life in water. The effects of the Lakes -waves, wind, ice, currents, temperature,
and the rising and falling of lake levels - constantly shape the 16,000 km of
shoreline. Five hundred river mouths empty into the lakes, each with differing water
chemistry and biological components. Rains, snowmelt and winds scour and
nourish the land, carrying soils and other materials to the water, then depositing
them far away. The ever-changing shoreline, in turn, buffers inland, life-sustaining
systems and interacts with coastal marsh systems. It harbors plants and animals
adapted to a severe microclimate that suffers frequent and harsh storms, and those
that thrive in sheltered areas where the seasonal temperature extremes are
moderated by the presence of the lakes.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper IL
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Table 3. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Coastal Wetlands
Desired
Outcome
Preservation of
wetland area
Wetland quality
Healthy habitat
Healthy fish
and wildlife
Indicators
Land-use changes, encroachment /development
basin-wide
Landuse adjacent to wetland
Wetland size, abundance
Shoreline modification
Water level fluctuation:
Lake Ontario
Lake Superior
Unregulated Lakes
Protection from erosive forces
Levels of persistent toxic chemicals
Status of plant communities
Status of individual plant species
Status of exotic species
Concentrations of persistent toxic substances in
biota
Rating
Poor
Poor
Poor to mixed/deteriorating
Poor to mixed/deteriorating
Poor
Poor to mixed/deteriorating
Good
Inadequate data
Mixed/improving
Mixed/deteriorating
Mixed/deteriorating
Poor
Mixed/improving
The extent of the land by the lakes, is defined by the lakes themselves. The physical
changes caused by wind and wave action that shape the beaches, dunes, and shore
bluffs, and the local climatic effects of large water bodies, exert a huge influence on
shoreline habitats and determine the biological communities. These communities, in
turn, sustain an amazing diversity of wildlife that enriches the Great Lakes basin.
The relationship of nearshore terrestrial ecosystems to other Great Lakes systems is
one of interdependence. Nearshore terrestrial ecosystems buffer coastal marsh, lake
plain, and inland wetland and terrestrial systems, protecting them from severe wave
and wind action generated by the lakes.
5.3.1 Ecosystem Health for the Land by the Lakes
The review of the state of the land by the lakes contained in the SOLEC '96
background paper The Land by the Lakes: Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems The
32
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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paper looks at the nearshore ecosystem as two layers:
5.3.1.1 Coastal Ecoregions
The land by the lakes paper divides nearshore land into 17 geographic coastal
ecosystems based upon physiographic and biological features. The coastal
ecoregions are shown in Figure 5. Table 4 provides a summary rating for each region
and trends within it. The factors used in the evaluation are presented in the working
paper.
Canadian and U.S.
Ecoregions
Canadian
1 Thunder Bay - Quetico
2 LakeNipigon
3 Abitibi Plains
4 Lake Timiskaming Lowland
5 Algonquin - Lake Nipissing
6 Frontenac Axis
7 Manrtoulin - Lake Simcoe
8 Lake Erie Lowland
17
25
25km
U.S.
=rie and Ontario Lake Plain
10 Southern Lower Michigan
11 Northern Lacustrine-Influenced
Lower Michigan
12 Northern Lacustrine-Influenced
Upper Michigan & Wisconsin
13 Southeastern Wisconsin Savanna
14 Northern Continental Michigan,
Wisconsin, & Minnesota
15 Northern Minnesota
16 South Central Great Lakes
17 Southwestern Great Lakes Morainal
Figure 4. Coastal Ecoregions
5.3.1.2 Special Communities
The land by the lakes paper identifies 12 special nearshore ecological communities
which may occur in more than one of the regions. The identity and status of these 12
special communities is summarized in Table 5. The factors used in the evaluation are
presented in the working paper.
The quality of the 12 special lakeshore ecological communities is rated based on the
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 33
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percent of the community remaining in a healthy state, major stresses and sources of
stress, processes and functions impaired by the stressors, species and communities
endangered or threatened, and stewardship activities in place. Within the 17
ecoregions and special communities are hundreds of kinds of living communities which
range widely in condition. Reporting on this finer level of detail is beyond SOLEC '96
and is left for others to address.
Table 4. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Great Lakes Coastal Ecoregions
ECOREGION
Thunder Bay-Quetico
Lake Nipigon
Abitibi Plains
Lake Timiskaming Lowland
Algonquin-Lake Nipissing
Manitoulin-Lake Simcoe
Lake Erie Lowland
Frontenac Axis
Erie /Ontario Lake Plain
Southern Lower Michigan
South Central Great Lakes
Southwestern Great Lakes
Morainal
Northern Lacustrine-Influenced
Lower Michigan
Southeastern Wisconsin Savanna
Northern Lacustrine-Influenced
Upper Michigan and Wisconsin
Northern Continental Michigan,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota
Northern Minnesota
RATING
C
B
A
B
B
D
D
C
D
C
C
C
B
D
B
B
B
TREND
Moderately Degrading
No Change
No Change
No change
No Change
Moderate-severely degrading
Severely degrading
Moderately degrading
Severely degrading
Moderately degrading
Severely degrading
Severely degrading
No change
Severe degrading
Moderately degrading
No change
Moderately degrading
34
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Table 5. Indicators of Ecosystem Health for Special Great Lakes Ecological
Communities
Ecological Community
Sand beach
Sand dune
Bedrock beach/cobble
beach
Unconsolidated shore bluff
Coastal gneissic rocklands
Limestone cliffs/talus
slopes
Lakeplain prairies
Sand barrens
Arctic disjunct
communities
Atlantic coastal plain
communities
Shoreline alvars
Islands
Rating
C
D
D
C
C
B
F
D
B
C
F
C
Trend
Moderately Degrading
Moderately Degrading
Moderately Degrading
Moderately Degrading
Moderately Degrading
Moderately Improving
Severely Degrading
Moderately Degrading
No Change
Moderately Degrading
Severely Degrading
Moderately Degrading
5.3.1.3 Overall Assessment
With respect to an overall lake by lake evaluation of the land by the lakes, four
indicators were selected:
1. Loss of significant ecological communities and species.
2. Interruption of shoreline processes by lake edge armouring.
3. Representation of coastal biodiversity within protected and adequately stewarded
areas.
4. Gains in biodiversity investment habitats protected through public ownership or
policy.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper.
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These indicators have been rated as follows, in the table below.
Table 6. Indicators of Overall Ecosystem Health for the Land by the Lakes
INDICATORS
1 . Lake Superior
Loss of shoreline species/communities
Interruption of shoreline processes by armouring
Representation of biodiversity in lakeshore parks
and protected areas
Gains in biodiversity investment areas
2. Lake Michigan
Loss of shoreline species/communities
Interruption of shoreline processes by armouring
Representation of biodiversity in lakeshore parks
and protected areas
Gains in biodiversity investment areas
3. Lake Huron
Loss of shoreline species/communities
Interruption of shoreline processes by armouring
Representation of biodiversity in lakeshore parks
and protected areas
Gains in biodiversity investment areas
4. Lake Erie
Loss of shoreline species/communities
Interruption of shoreline processes by armouring
Representation of biodiversity in lakeshore parks
and protected areas
Gains in biodiversity investment areas
5. Lake Ontario
Loss of shoreline species/communities
Interruption of shoreline processes by armouring
Representation of biodiversity in lakeshore parks
and protected areas
Gains in biodiversity investment areas
STATUS OF INDICATORS
Good
*
*
*
Mixed/
improving
*
*
*
*
Mixed/
deteriorating
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Poor
*
*
*
36
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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The concept of identifying geographic regions and special resources or communities
within them is a powerful approach to reporting the state of the ecosystem. Also, it
could be extended to both coastal wetlands and nearshore waters. As a further step,
the indicators can serve as a means of obtaining agreement on acceptable conditions.
This can set expectations and be extended to setting goals and tracking progress in
protection and restoration.
It is the hope of the SOLEC '96 organizers that conference participants will find the
systematic reporting developed in the land by the lake paper to be useful and provide
feedback for further developing the approach.
For long term use the boundaries of the ecoregions used in the land by the lakes paper
need refinement since the they are based upon multiple sources and the regions
overlap to some degree.
The overall conclusion is that the health of the land by the lakes, nearshore terrestrial
system is degrading throughout the Great Lakes basin. To address this situation it is
concluded that a conservation strategy for Great Lakes coastal areas is urgently
needed which would involve all levels of government, reflect commitments to
conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development and secure broad support
from citizens of the basin. It is further concluded that the most effective approach
would be to place special emphasis on protecting large core areas of shoreline habitat
within 19 identified Biodiversity Investment Areas.
6.0 Major Stressors and the Nearshore
The previous chapter discussed the state of the nearshore ecosystem in terms of
ecological and human health, the top level in Figure 2, illustrating the SOLEC '96
framework. This section deals with level 2, the stressors affecting the ecosystem and
sources which appear in level 3.
The Great Lakes nearshore ecosystem evolved, in many respects, as a result of
naturally occurring stress. Coastal wetlands are maintained by changing lake levels
which periodically drown or dry out invading species and leave conditions where
unique assemblages of wetland plants can compete. Terrestrial conditions are often
severe due to changing lake associated groundwater water levels and unusual
conditions such as those in beach and dune areas. Also, the oak woodlands and
savannas evolved with periodic droughts and the presence of fires. The nearshore
waters are not as obviously stressed, but they too are far more dynamic than the stable
habitat provided by deep water areas.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 37
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In addition to the continuing natural changes, the nearshore has evolved with gradual
long term changes over thousands of years. Natural changes such as the advance
and retreat of glaciers or long term changes in lake levels occur slowly enough for the
living components of the ecosystem to respond through geographic movement and
natural selection. Human induced stressors cause change in far shorter time frames
which do not allow time for adaptation or recovery.
Human activities have now added new stresses to the nearshore during a relatively
brief period of time. This has been a factor in invasion and explosive growth of exotic
species which benefit from human disturbance. Disturbed and simplified systems are
least able to resist invasion. Very often the invading species itself results in a further
simplified and less stable system, e.g. lamprey elimination of top predator fish.
Highly evolved and complex communities of organisms tend to take a long time to
become established and often include species that are sensitive to disturbance to
which they are not adapted. On the geologic time scale, the 10,000 years since
glaciation of the Great Lakes is relatively brief. Compared to older areas of the earth
this ecosystem was young and simple at the time of European settlement. The aquatic
system was dominated by relatively few fish species. When they were exploited
through excessive harvest and stressed by pollution and exotic species, native
populations crashed and some became extinct.
Underlying many of the adverse effects on the ecosystem were changes in the
processes that supported it. Two major examples are the exclusion of fire from the
native landscape and changes in hydrology. Much of the vegetation of the region,
particularly the prairies and oak woodlands, had evolved with fire which occurred
naturally or at the hand of Native Americans who arrived soon after the glaciers
departed. When fire was suppressed through fragmentation of the landscape and
through active control, conditions changed so that species that had evolved with fire no
longer had an advantage. As a result, native and exotic species usually suppressed by
fire began to take over the landscape.
Changes in hydrology include: volume, timing and duration of stream flow; surface
moisture and groundwater; and lake levels. Stream flows are strongly affected by both
agricultural and urban land uses. In most cases, peak flows were minimized by native
landscapes which caused much rainfall to be absorbed into the soil and runoff to be
slowed by vegetation and other physical obstructions. Also, flows during drier periods
tended to be maintained by continuing release of shallow groundwater. Replacement
of native plants with crops and urban uses led to major acceleration in runoff. This in
turn caused flood damage including major changes in stream beds, lack of water
during some periods and serious loss of habitat. In some urban streams habitat has
been seriously altered in another way by year around flows from septic fields and
waste treatment plants which prevent drying of areas which were previously inundated
only periodically.
38 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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In some respects, the arrival of European settlers changed the ecosystem as much by
altering natural stressors such as fire and natural hydrologic cycles as they did by
introducing new ones. However, some of the introduced changes were massive.
Among the largest were the large scale removal of native vegetation, hydrological
modification, pollution and introduction of exotic species.
6.1 Key Stressors
Key stressors of the nearshore ecosystem can be divided into physical, chemical and
biological. As shown on Figure 2, physical stressors include sedimentation,
hydrological modification, habitat loss or degradation. Chemical stressors include toxic
contamination or excess nutrients. Biological stressors include exotic species, excess
competition, pathogens, genetic loss and population disruption. There are many
sources of these stressors as shown in the figure, but one underlays virtually all of the
others to at least some degree, i.e. use of land by humans. The 1996 SOLEC
background paper Impacts of Changing Land Use provides full discussion of the topic.
Some important aspects are as follow.
6.1.1 Land Use
The largest human impacts in the past have been logging and clearing of land for
agriculture. Agricultural use of land continues to have major impacts on the
ecosystem, and changes in agricultural land uses continue to occur. Some agricultural
stresses may be increasing as crop rotations are shortened and emphasis continues
on cash crops. However, overall stress from agriculture is decreasing as the volume of
pesticides used and their persistence is decreasing and environmentally compatible
management practices are being adopted.
In contrast, sprawl continues unabated and is occurring at more than one scale.
Urbanization is sprawling outward from central cities into the surrounding areas; and at
a wider scale, construction of second homes and recreational development are
occurring near amenity features, very often in the nearshore areas of the Great Lakes.
Urban sprawl has been the dominant form of growth and development in both the U.S.
and Canada for the past 50 years, and can be expected to continue. A current
example is in the Chicago area where from 1970 to 1990 the metropolitan population
grew by 4%, while developed land grew by 55%. The city and 90 older inner ring
suburbs lost 770,000 in population while the 165 outer ring suburbs gained a million.
During that time the average miles driven annually per individual increased from
approximately 7,000 to more than 11,000. Vehicles on the roads increased by more
than a million in that 20 year period, and gasoline purchases increased from
approximately 5.2 billion to 5.7 billion gallons annually.
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The question at hand is whether ecosystem considerations can be given greater
recognition, and whether development can take place in ways that preserve natural
communities and process so that they can exist in as nearly self sustaining fashion as
possible.
To accomplish this it must be recognized that development results in both direct impact
on habitat and biodiversity through physical destruction, and indirectly by imposing
many indirect stresses.
Looking at the basin as a whole, forestry accounts for about 40% of the basin, but it is
concentrated in the northern areas, predominantly around Lake Superior. Throughout
the nearshore zones, forests are increasingly being devoted to recreational use and
development, particularly in the southern portions of the basin. Water accounts for
about 33% or the basin. Agriculture covers about 24%.
The major impact on the ecosystem from agricultural land use came with the initial
removal of native vegetation: hydrology changed; fire was removed from the
landscape; and soil erosion escalated. Some progress is being made in controling soil
erosion, but an example of continuing erosion and sedementation problems is the
Illinois River where the undredged portions of the river and its hundreds of backwater
lakes are being filled by sediment from eroding farmlands. Many Great Lakes harbors
are in similar trouble.
About 3% of the land in the basin is classified as urban, but it contains a huge
population which is located primarily in coastal areas. In Canada six metropolitan
areas contain 66 percent of the basin population and in the U.S. 81% of the population
is located in the eleven largest metro areas.
Within the nearshore zone of the Great Lakes land development is the most rapidly
occurring change and is an increasing source of stress on the ecosystem.
Quantification of the collective effect of land development is not available ,but localized
effects are well documented.
One of the challenging aspects of land development is the number of local
governments involved. For example, in the U.S. there are 213 counties that are partly
or entirely within the basin and many times that number of municipalities and special
districts. In both countries most land use is regulated primarily by local governments
which set their own priorities. Providing these governments with the information they
need to understand the ecosystem and how it can be protected in sustainable fashion
is a substantial challenge.
An important aspect of protecting the ecosystem is anticipating and planning for
sustainable growth. One aspect of this is identifying important ecological functions
and resources and incorporating them into plans for open space and other land uses
which they complement. This can be done using both nonregulatory incentive
40 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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measures and regulatory mechanisms such as zoning.
How growth and development takes place is as important to ecosystem impacts as
whether it takes place at all. The SOLEC '96 paper Changing Land Use looks at the
costs of sprawl and how development can be modified to have less adverse impact.
6.1.2 Land Use Has Been Destructive to the Nearshore Ecosystem
Rapid population growth, intensive industrial and agricultural activity, and sprawling
urban development have resulted in significant stress on the nearshore ecosystem.
Nearshore waters continue to be polluted , and in some cases have been severely
contaminated, from sanitary sewage, industrial toxic substances, and urban and
agricultural runoff.
Although there has been some improvement in air pollution from industrial sources, air
quality affecting living organisms in the nearshore ecosystem is of concern, especially
for ground level ozone, as urban transportation systems become more energy
intensive, increasing greenhouse gas releases continue to pose a challenge. Wetlands
and other natural habitat areas within the nearshore ecosystem are under threat of
destruction and alteration by increasing urban sprawl and second home cottages.
Finally, shoreline protection and other shore hardening caused by development have
interfered with natural shoreline processes and, in some cases, resulted in the
irreversible loss of beaches.
6.1.3 Current Land Use is not Efficient
Notwithstanding recent attention to more intensive forms of urban development,
development throughout the basin continues to be predominantly land consuming
urban sprawl. High density intensive development in urban areas facilitates the
economic viability of public transit as an alternative to the private automobile for
commuters. Urban communities with higher population densities typically require less
costly municipal infrastructure through sewers and roads, use less water and energy
and create less pollution. As a result, taxation to pay for municipal services may be
significantly lower, making these communities more competitive from that perspective.
Economic efficiency resulting from reduced urban sprawl is accompanied by higher
environmental efficiency. Urban services, such as transportation and water and
wastewater can be provided at reduced levels of energy and natural resource use.
Reduced use of natural resources generally implies reduced pollution and stress on
ecosystems, including the nearshore ecosystem. Urban sprawl has also contributed to
the loss of some of the best farmland in the basin, as housing and industrial
development replaces agriculture. Farming that shifts to lower productivity soils and at
greater distances from final markets is less efficient and more resource intensive. In
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 41
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addition, urban sprawl promotes the clearing and conversion of natural habitats
including wetlands.
6.1.4 Planning and Incentives are the Keys to Sustainability
Despite increasing levels of awareness about the consequences of urban sprawl
among urban officials and planners at all levels of government, urban sprawl continues
to be the major pattern of new development. The incentives of relatively low market
prices for agricultural and natural lands and the ease of conversion of those lands to
other uses continues to favour low density development. Planning systems that are
intended to bring order to and ensure balance in development have not been able to
contain urban sprawl. Fragmentation of responsibility for planning issues among levels
of government has contributed to this problem. Agricultural land protection through
land banking, conservation easements, or specific prohibitions against urban
encroachment on agricultural and natural lands are options to this end.
Finally, market place incentives that would promote more sustainable development,
such as full cost, user-pay development charges or impact fees, are inconsistently
applied in different jurisdictions. At the same time, many jurisdictions believe they
should compete for short term jobs and tax revenues that come from new
development. Direct and indirect subsidies for new development through public
provision of roads, water, sewers and sewage treatment facilities mask the real long
term economic and environmental consequences of urban sprawl and continue to
favour unsustainable development.
A set of indicators by which land use impacts on the nearshore ecosystem have been
evaluated is outlined in Table 7 . These indicators are intended to be instructive and to
generate discussion around how to measure the impacts of human land use activities
on the ecosystem. It is hoped that this initial identification of indicators related to land
use will assist in the determination of information research needs for better
understanding the impacts of land use on the nearshore and other ecosystems.
6.2 Physical Stressors
Major physical stressors and sources are: sedimentation, habitat destruction,
hydrologic and fire regimes, climate and ultraviolet radiation, lake level regulation,
hydro and thermal electric power generation, extraction of minerals, shoreline
modification, dredging and filling, land clearing, marine transportation, and the
interruption of the transport of sediments by longshore currents.
Lake Level Fluctuations Lake level fluctuations contribute to shore erosion;
sediment transport; sand dune maintenance; formation and maintenance of coastal
wetlands; fluctuations in nearshore groundwater and its related effects. As discussed in
the coastal wetlands paper, lake level changes are essential to the ecological health of
42 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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coastal wetlands. Seasonal and long term fluctuations in levels are determined
primarily by precipitation and evaporation, but are controlled by humans in Lakes
Ontario and Superior, in addition to being influenced by humans in the other lakes.
At least two fish species are affected by water level and flow regulation. Lake sturgeon
have declined through loss of spawning habitat and blockage of migration routes.
Walleye were historically common in the St. Lawrence River, but numbers declined
sharply following the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project in
1958, when rapids and rocky Whitewater areas, preferred spawning habitat, were
flooded.
Thermal-electric Power The effects of power production can be significant. About
90 thermal-electric plants draw their cooling water directly from nearshore waters and
use once-through cooling . Fish are drawn into the plant with cooling water. Fish too
large to pass through screens are impinged and killed; smaller fish that pass through
screens (entrainment) are killed by collision with screens and other surfaces in the
system, or by heat/cold shock. Estimates are that more than 100 million fish were
killed by impingement and more than 1.28 billion by entrainment annually in the 1970s
in the Great Lakes and connecting channels. More recent summaries, which include all
power plants sited on Great Lakes and connecting channels, indicate even larger fish
losses. Recent losses of young fish in Lake Michigan and western Lake Erie are
significant, representing 3-10 % of the total annual production.
Disposal of coal ash from power plants is a growing problem. Leaching and aerial
transport can result in deposition of coal ash into nearshore waters. Coal ash
composition varies with the source of the coal; selenium and mercury are common in
some ash, and radioactivity in some ash exceeds background levels in the basin.
Hydropower Production Few hydropower dams have fish ladders or other devices
that allow fish clear passage over or through dams. When areas above dams were
flooded, resident stream fish were replaced by species better suited to a warmer, lake-
like environment. Stream fishes below dams were also adversely affected. Dams
usually operate in a daily peaking mode, with exceptionally high flows occurring once
or twice a day when power is most needed. As well, temperatures on the exposed
stream bed fall below freezing in winter and rise above air temperature in summer,
both conditions lethal for organisms living in the stream bed.
Some recent relicensing agreements for dams in the U.S. will lessen the adverse
effect of dams by calling for water release patterns which will mimic the inflow pattern
to reservoirs above dams. This should help set an environmentally beneficial
precedent for relicensing.
Hydropower dams on the St. Marys and St Lawrence rivers are obstacles to upstream
movement offish. The Moses-Saunders Dam has a fishway designed to pass
American eels, but its effectiveness is in doubt, because the number of eels recorded
using it has fallen from about 1.3 million in 1983 to less than 50,000 in 1990-91. In the
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 43
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Table 7.
Land Use Indicators
Desired Outcomes
Efficient
Urban
Development
Human
Health
Protection
Indicator
Urban population density
Suburban land conversion
Centre town economy
Brownfields
Recreation opportunity
Energy use
Waste created
Wastewater quality
Industrial water use
Residential water use
Traffic congestion
Transit use
Air pollution levels
Beach closings
Land fill capacity
Stormwater quality
Sewage quality
Actual State
Poor
Poor
Mixed
Poor
Mixed
Poor
Poor
Mixed
Mixed
Poor
Poor
Poor
Poor
Inadequate data
Mixed
Poor
Mixed
Likely Change
Stable
Deteriorate
Deteriorate
Stable
Improve
Improve
Improve
Improve
Improve
Stable
Deteriorate
Deteriorate
Improve
Inadequate data
Stable
Stable
Improve
Data
Urban population per area
Land conversion rates
Fiscal condition/ vacancies/
etc.
Number and area
Number and area of parks
Energy usage per capita
Residential and industrial
waste
Loadings of nutrients and
toxics
Volume per facility/ per
capita
Volume per household
Time spent commuting
Public transit commuting
rates
Particulates and ozone
levels
Days unswimmable
Capacity remaining
Loadings of nutrients and
toxics
Loadings of nutrients and
toxics
Data*
Status
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Good
Good
Mixed
Good
Mixed
Inad. data
Mixed
Poor
Mixed
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Human
Health
Protection
Cont'd
Non-Human
Resource
Health
Protection
Pollution prevention
programs
Respiratory illness
Fish advisories
Outdoor recreation
Wetland habitat
Agriculture and natural land
loss
Wildlife populations
Forest clearing
Forest replant and renewal
Mineral extraction
Fisheries pressure
Hunting pressure
Hardening of land surface
Municipal pesticide/fertilizer
use
Agriculture
pesticide/fertilizer use
Conservation tillage
Ground water quality
Contaminated sites
Cottage and second homes
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Poor
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Poor
Poor
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Poor
Improving
Stable
Improving
Improve
Deteriorate
Deteriorate
Stable
Stable
Stable
Stable
Deteriorate
Stable
Deteriorate
Stable
Improve
Improve
Deteriorate
Improve
Deteriorate
Industrial and municipal
programs
Illness and mortality
incidences
Allowable fish consumption
Opportunities and
participation
Number and area
Area lost to rural
development
Species and population
Cutting rates
Successful replant rates
Depletion rates
Fishing restrictions
Hunting restrictions
Area of roads and buildings
Application rates
Application rates
Area practising no-till
Area/number contaminated
wells
Area and number
Occupation per coastal area
Poor
Mixed
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Good
Poor
Mixed
Good
Mixed
Poor
Poor
Mixed
•Data status: Good - universally available In a usable form; Mixed = basic data available but needs assembly or variable among different jurisdictions; Poor = not available at all or severely deficient data base.
-------
St. Marys River, the area of the St. Marys Rapids is substantially reduced because
most of the flow is diverted for power production. Historically the rapids supported a
productive fishery for lake whitefish; the remaining rapids now support a valuable
recreational fishery for stocked trout and salmon.
Sand and Gravel Mining More than 1 million cubic metres of underwater deposits
of sand and gravel were mined in 1975, the last year for published records. However,
removal of gravel likely affects some species. For example, lake whitefish need
gravelly substrates for spawning and fry production, and lake sturgeon require gravel
and coarser rocky materials.
Marine Transportation and Recreational Boating Marine transportation and
recreational boating in the basin are supported by various activities and developments
that can act as stressors on nearshore waters. One of the major stressors in harbours
and rivers is vessel passage effects. The passage of larger vessels that fill much of
narrow channels acutely disrupt normal water level and flow conditions, in the St. Clair
and Detroit rivers the density and diversity of submersed aquatic plants were found to
be lower in channels used by large commercial vessels than in adjacent channels
unused by these vessels. During periods of solid ice cover vessel passage can cause
removal of shoreline vegetation.
In the St. Marys River, vessel passage in winter destroys ice bridges used by wolves
and moose to cross from Ontario to Michigan, and closes naturally open pools in the
ice field where bald eagles fish.
Shoreline Modification A common response to the threat of flooding and erosion is
to construct dikes, revetments or break walls. By reducing erosion, these structures
reduce the supply of sediments that naturally nourishes the shoreline and replaces
eroded sediments. Hard shoreline structures also shift wave energy farther down shore
and may locally accelerate erosion of beaches and wetlands elsewhere.
When dikes, revetments or break walls are constructed along the gently sloping shore
of a wetland, a "backstopping" effect can result. Wave energy can scour sediments
from in front of the revetment, leaving an abrupt boundary between upland and deep
water, and eliminating the ability of a marsh to shift shoreward during high water levels.
Drainage Wetlands are drained to convert them to agricultural, urban or industrial
land uses. Drainage destroys the wetland and all its natural functions. Even drains
that just pass through wetlands can affect water and contamination levels with resulting
reductions in diversity and value.
46 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Dredging and Disposal of Dredged Material The major dredging related concerns
are for contaminated sediments and the precautions needed to excavate and dispose
of them safely without adverse impact on water quality or biota. Material dredged from
all five lakes up to 1972 totalled 357.2 million m3-, and between 1985 and 1989, more
than 15.8 million m3 of sediment were dredged from the Great Lakes, about 87% of the
total from Lake Erie. Most dredging projects were either small (<25,000 m3) or very
large (> 100,000m3).
Filling destroys wetlands, eliminating all their functions. For example, 83% of the
original 3900 hectares of western Lake Ontario marshland from Niagara River to
Oshawa had been lost, generally to urbanization. Some sections have lost 100% of
coastal wetlands through filling.
Diked Wetlands Dikes are built to surround intensively managed wetlands.
However, isolation from lake waters and the surrounding landscape results in
elimination or reduction of many of the functional values of wetlands. These include
flood conveyance, flood storage, sediment control, improvement of water quality, and
habitat for fish, shorebirds and many less common plants and animals. Diking is more
common in the flat flood plains of the Lower Lakes basin , where about 17% of
Canadian coastal wetlands and 51% of US coastal wetlands have been diked .
Road Construction Many of the coastal wetlands on all the lakes are crossed by
roadways. The hydrology of these wetlands is altered by constriction under narrow
bridges placed along causeways that partially dam the river and wetland. Excessive
sediments are deposited allowing invasion of plant species that would otherwise not
tolerate the hydrologic regime of the original wetland. Water-level changes due to
seiches are also dampened by the reduced connection with the lake. In addition,
roadways can contaminate wetlands with by-products of combustion and with road salt
in winter.
Climate Change - A potential stressor Vast changes have occurred in the past due
to climatic change and the evolution and radiation of new species. However, those
changes occurred over thousands and tens of thousands of years. The slow speed of
those changes allowed the ecosystem to adapt and adjust to them. While some
species became extinct, many more moved geographically or adapted sufficiently to
survive, preserving biodiversity. At today's rates of change, the system is losing
resiliency. Exotic species are surging into the ecosystem, enjoying temporary
advantage due to the absence of predators and pathogens. However, they are driving
out species and stocks which are adapted to the full range of conditions which occur
over hundreds and thousands of years in this ecosystem. To the extent this "genetic
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 47
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memory" is lost, the system loses diversity and resiliency. When the exotic species
crash, or just become limited by adaptations within the system, the naturally evolved
genetic diversity that would ordinarily fill the niches may be gone.
Mathematical models suggest an average warming of 3-8 °C for the Great Lakes basin
by the later half of the next century. The greatest impacts are expected to be the
indirect changes in other climate conditions, not just temperature change. Rainfall
patterns, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, snow season length, extreme heat events
and the frequency and severity of weather disasters such as thunderstorms, hail and
tornadoes are all expected to change regionally.
The most profound direct impact of changes in climate is on the hydrological cycle of
the Great Lakes and future water supplies. This could result in:
• Net basin supplies declining significantly (by 2 to 113 %) while long term lake
levels could fall to or below historic lows, and mean outflows would be reduced;
Outflow to the freshwater portion of the St. Lawrence River Basin declining 20 to
40 % with salt water intrusion potentially reaching further upstream;
• Ground water recharge rates declining. Water temperatures warm and
buoyancy driven turnover or mixing of the water in lakes might occur less
frequently;
• Depletion of dissolved oxygen; changes in water quality; with fish and other
aquatic organisms being affected.
• Loss of native plants and animals as exotic species invade;
Impacts on the forestry industry including species shifts north, and increased
risk of fire, insects and drought;
Agricultural production will also be impacted as the frequency and severity of
drought is expected to increase as evaporation increases with rising
temperatures;
• The sport and commercial fishery will be affected as warm water species
become dominant, and habitats change for native species;
Other aspects of society that could be affected include tourism, transportation, and
48 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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power generation.
Ultraviolet-B Radiation With the thinning of the protective ozone layer (especially
at both poles) more ultraviolet (UV) radiation is able to penetrate the through the
earth's atmosphere. This has implications to biological ecosystems (in the form of
increased stress on living tissue) and their ability to adapt (especially to UV-B).
Vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to UV-B is dependent on how deep the UV
radiation penetrates. This in turn depends on the clarity or amount of suspended
sediments in the water. Increased clarity can mean increased penetration of UV-B
radiation. The biological health of the resident biota; the time that the biota spend in
the near-surface region; and the stability of the near-surface region are other factors to
consider regarding UV-B effects. An early effect is expected to be a reduction in algal
productivity.
Other effects include frog populations that are dwindling across many regions of mid-
latitude. Since frogs are an integral link in northern and mid-to-high latitude food
chains, declining frog populations place migratory birds and higher order predators at
risk.
6.3 Biological Stressors
Biological stressors of nearshore ecosystems include native and exotic organisms
including plants, animals, insects and diseases. The clearest examples of biological
stressors are exotic species which are discussed separately in the next section. Native
species can also become stressors when populations get out of balance. An example
of this is removal of key predators in either aquatic or terrestrial systems. The resulting
over population of prey species such as deer or forage fish can have severe impacts
on other components of the ecosystem. Another example is excess predation due to
excessive predator to prey relationships. Closely related to this is excessive human
harvest which depletes the productive capacity of the living resource. The cause of
population disruptions can be either natural or the result of human activity, but human
caused impacts tend to be longer lasting.
An example of natural causes would be weather events which cause food shortages or
other stresses and population changes.
Over fishing Separating the effects of overfishing from those of habitat degradation
and the introduction of exotic species is difficult or impossible in many cases because
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 49
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all three factors were operating simultaneously. However, the effect of overfishing on
the walleye in Lake Erie is clear. Commercial catches declined from 2.3-2.8 million kg
in the late 1950s to about 25,000 kg in 1971. With more stringent catch regulations
now in place for both commercial and recreational fisheries, walleye now support a
self-sustaining fishery shared by both recreational and commercial interests.
Exploitation offish stocks in the other lakes resulted in the decline of the native fish
community throughout the system and allowed introduced species such as alewife and
smelt, only marginally suited to the Great Lakes, to establish rapidly and to accelerate
the decline of the native fish community.
Overfishing has also contributed to the a loss in the genetic diversity of the native fish
fauna of the Great Lakes. This includes the loss associated with the extinction of
several native species, including the blue pike and some deepwater ciscoes
(whitefishes), and to the loss of genetic diversity resulting from the extirpation of local
stocks of native fishes by overfishing, together with habitat loss and the introduction of
exotic species. Although the loss due to species extinctions is relatively obvious and
unequivocal, the loss due to the extirpation of local stocks is less so.
Waterfowl that nested in the Great Lakes region, or migrated through it and used the
nearshore waters for feeding and resting areas, were sharply reduced by market
hunting and habitat destruction.
Exotic Species Global transfer of exotic organisms is one of the most pervasive
and perhaps least recognized effect of humans on aquatic ecosystems of the world.
Such transfers to new environments lead to loss of species diversity and extensive
alteration of the native, or pre-invasion community. These changes, in turn, have broad
economic and social effects on the human communities that rely on the system for
food, as a water supply, or for recreation.
The rate of introduction of exotic species has increased markedly since the 1800s, as
human activity in the Great Lakes basin increased. Almost one-third of the
introductions were reported in the past 30 years. The first introductions of aquatic
plants occurred when ships discharged solid ballast in the late 1800s. The opening of
the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 greatly increased the number of ocean-going
vessels entering the Great Lakes and dramatically increased the entry of exotic
species by ships. Deliberate releases declined after the 1800s, entry by canal
increased slightly through 1959, entry by railroad and highway occurred mostly in the
1800s, and unintentional releases were consistently high since the late 1800s.
50 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Of the fish pathogens introduced into the Great Lakes, Glugea, a protozoan, caused
extensive mortality in rainbow smelt in Lakes Erie and Ontario in the 1960s and 1970s.
A second pathogen, the cause of bacterial kidney disease, has been implicated in the
massive mortalities of Pacific salmon in Lake Michigan in 1988-1994. Other introduced
pathogens cause salmon whirling disease and furunculosis, mainly in fish hatcheries,
where fish are more vulnerable to outbreaks of disease.
The arrival of the zebra mussel in Lake St. Clair in 1986 set the stage for long term
changes in the structure of pelagic and benthic communities in the Great Lakes and in
the economic and social future of lake users. The zebra mussel which feeds by
filtering particles from the water, may cause substantial changes in the food web by
removing most phytoplankton and smaller zooplankton and other suspended materials
from the water and depositing them on the bottom. This action greatly reduces the
plankton community and the amount of food available to planktivorous fish that feed
above the bottom, and greatly increases the food supply for benthic communities and
bottom-feeding fish. As a result, the overall production offish in the Great Lakes will
probably be reduced.
Introduced plant species outnumber all other groups of introduced organisms, but the
effect of only a few of these is known. Purple loosestrife has spread throughout the
Great Lakes basin, replacing cattail and other native wetland plants and making
wetlands less suitable as wildlife habitat Eurasian water milfoil is also increasing its
range in the Lake St. Clair ecosystem. Massive beds of the plant can make boating
and swimming impossible and reduce fish and invertebrate populations.
In summary, the collective ecological, social, and economic effects of exotic species in
the Great Lakes are enormous. Most introduced species have not been thoroughly
studied to determine their effects on the ecosystem, but some clearly have had serious
adverse effects. Introduced species exist at almost every level in the food web and
their effects must certainly pervade the entire Great lakes aquatic community. As long
as human-mediated transfer mechanisms persist, and habitat alterations and other
factors that stress native aquatic communities are allowed to occur, the Great Lakes
ecosystem will be at substantial risk from exotic species.
6.4 Chemical Stressors
Chemicals play important positive roles in ecosystem health when present within
normal ranges. Toxic chemicals, however, can have adverse effects on animal and
plant populations.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 57
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In heavily populated areas the salt used to de-ice roads in the winter may change the
chemical balance of nearshore terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. It is
estimated nearshore waters are three times as salty as in the mid-1800s. The impacts
to terrestrial ecosystems is unknown although it is thought that salt from road runoff is
a factor in the spread of some exotic species such as the common reed (Phragmites
communis).
A change in the acid-base balance of systems may affect plants and surface water. At
this time, the effects of acid-base balance changes on nearshore terrestrial
ecosystems are not known.
Most chemicals are essential to life and have been present in the system for a very
long time. The exception to this are synthetic substances. Human activity has both
changed the concentrations of chemicals in the system and added substances which
are entirely new to the system. Synthetic substances such as chlorinated organic
pesticides did not occur naturally and their effects are not completely known. What is
clear is that persistent toxic substances have had adverse effects as discussed in the
1994 SOLEC paper on toxic contaminants and in the 1996 nearshore waters paper.
6.4.1 Pollution
Discharges and Spills Pollution has severely degraded portions of the Great Lakes
system. Aerial inputs of some contaminants are also significant. Organochlorine
compounds have reached unacceptably high levels in Lakes Michigan and Ontario;
these and other industrial pollutants, including oils and metals, are at high levels in
sediments in some areas in the connecting channels and in certain harbors throughout
the system.
Agricultural Runoff Annual loadings of suspended solids and sediments to the
Great Lakes total 60 million metric tons, about 80% of which comes from erosion of
Great Lakes shorelines and the rest from tributary inputs. Total loadings vary from
about 2.8 million metric tons in Lake Huron to about 22.5 million metric tons in Lake
Michigan. Nutrients and contaminants are associated with this sediment.
Persistent Toxic Contaminants in Water, Sediment, and Biota A variety of
organochlorine contaminants and metals bioaccumulate in fish. Contaminants often
undetectable in water samples may be detected in small, young-of-the-year fish.
Because fish integrate spatial and temporal changes in contaminant availability,
contaminant body-burdens provide a good basis for assessing environmental change.
Forage fish also provide an important link in assessing contaminant transfer to higher
52 SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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trophic levels (eg. fish eating birds, mammals). A common forage fish, the spottail
shiner (Notropis hudsonius) was selected as the principal biomonitor. This fish remains
close to shore all of its life, and is a good indication of nearshore contaminant
concentrations. An example of the trends in contaminants in this nearshore fish species
is shown in Figure 5. For a fuller discussion of toxic chemical trends in the Lakes,
please refer to the SOLEC '94 paper Toxic Contaminants and the SOLEC '96 paper on
Nearshore Waters.
Airborne Contaminants The atmosphere has been shown to be an important and
sometimes predominant pathway for toxic contaminants to the Great Lakes. There
have been several studies dealing with the atmospheric loadings of contaminants and
their relative importance as compared to point sources, tributary loadings etc. Recent
publications concluded that gas flux (transfer) is the most important process for several
of the priority pollutants (pesticides, PAHs, PCBs), and as significant as dry and wet
deposition for others (heavy metals). Unfortunately gas transfer is not well quantified,
and integrated air-water assessments for each lake are needed. To establish the
relative importance of the atmospheric contribution to the loadings of contaminants to
the Great Lakes, it is essential to have better loadings data from point and non-point
sources.
6.4.2 Nutrient Enrichment
The control of excess nutrients and related problems in the open waters of the Great
Lakes is a major success and is reported in the 1994 SOLEC paper Nutrients: Trends
and System Response and elsewhere. However, problems caused by excess nutrients
remain in some embayments and other localized areas.
In wetlands the nutrient content of the water is important in determining productivity
and species composition. Rare plants may disappear and other plants adapted to low
nutrient environments can be killed by excess nutrients. In addition, nutrient enrichment
may cause excessive algal blooms. Depletion of dissolved oxygen may occur when
these plants die and decay. The low diversity of fish and wildlife together with the
slimy, foul-smelling water in turn discourages recreation.
Both urban and rural areas contribute human-induced nutrient additions to streams
leading to coastal marshes. However, with modern sewage treatment reducing nutrient
loads, agricultural practices are now the biggest source.
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper 53
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1800-
V 1200-
I
m 600_
Leamington
75
1 ' ' I ' ' T I I I I I I I I I I I ,
80 85 90 95
4000-
^ 3000-
2000-
1000-
0
OQ
Number River
^TT r i | i i i i | i i r ry i i i i |
75 80 85 90 95
Figure 5. Contaminant concentrations in the spottail shiner
7.0 State of Information and Knowledge of the
Nearshore
A primary source of information for an assessment of the state of information
management was gathered from a questionnaire sent to over 1000 Canadian and U.S.
federal, provincial, state, regional, non-government agencies and academia. The
survey results attempted to identify existing data and information for the nearshore
zone of the Great Lakes. The survey results do not, however, give an indication of the
value of these databases for assessing the state of the nearshore ecosystem. In
particular, they do not address what information is needed, and not available.
54
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper
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Data have been collected and analyzed in the Great Lakes for many years, for a
variety of studies. A very extensive data base exists on the physical, chemical and
biological components of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem. There are two critical
issues to consider in data and information management: 1) How to ensure access to
data collected, and 2) What information is (required to be collected) needed in the
future.
SOLEC '96 authors have proposed a set of indicators in an attempt to identify what
needs to be collected, and why. In the background paper dealing with information
management we have assessed the state of information to measure these indicators,
and the reader is referred to that paper for details.
7.1 Information Indicators
Four indicators have been used to assess the overall state of data for all the indicators
used in this paper: data coverage; data time frame; data applicability; and data
usability.
Data coverage refers to how well the data cover the Great Lakes nearshore area. If
sufficient data are available for the entire Great Lakes shoreline, then the rating is
"good". If data only cover a small portion of the Great Lakes shoreline, then the rating
is "poor"
Data time frame refers to how recent the data are. Ongoing monitoring programs that
collect data on a regular basis are considered good" while data that have been fairly
recently collected, but need updating are considered "fair", and old data are
considered "poor".
Data applicability refers to how well data can be used to address the indicators
discussed in this paper. If data are available and applicable to one or more indicators
than this is considered "good", and if the data do not address any of the indicators
identified then they are considered "poor.
Data usability, refers to how well the data can be used across disciplines. If data can
be used for more than one purpose, having cross-discipline applications then they are
rated "good". If the data are discipline specific then they are considered "fair". If the
data are collected for one unique study and have no use beyond that one study then
they are rated "poor".
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An evaluation of the overall state of data based on these four categories is presented
in Table 8.
7.2 General Findings
Since there are no widely accepted indicators for measuring the state of the nearshore,
data have generally been collected on an as need basis by individual agencies, and
their utility in assessing the state of the nearshore is questionable in any particular
situation.
Binational activities carried out under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
(Lakewide Management Plans, Great Lakes International Surveillance Plan) have
provided major data coverage. Unless the data collection efforts are repeated however,
the data quickly become out of date. On-going monitoring programs provide the best
long-term data that can be compared over the years. However, a number of these
programs seem to have been ended in recent years.
Table 8.
Overall State of Data
Desired
Outcome
Data to
"measure all
indicators
Indicator
Data coverage
Data time frame
Data applicability
Data usability
Rating
Fair
Fair
Fair
Fair
Basis for Rating
Only a few data sets cover the entire
Great Lakes shoreline. Most are lake or
site specific. Data collected on behalf of
international studies (e.g. surveillance or
Lakewide Management Plan studies)
generally have the best data coverage.
Some long term monitoring programs
have excellent up to date data such as
the water level information. Large data
sets collected on a one time basis (e.g.
shoreline classification) are becoming
out of date.
Most data sets have some applicability
to the indicators described above. If they
cannot be used directly, they can be
used in support of measuring the
indicator.
Some data are useable for a wide range
of applications, while others are very
study specific.
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7.3 Nearshore Information Management
For data and information gathered for the nearshore of the Great Lakes to be of value,
they need to be readily accessible, reliable, and shared effectively among partners.
Information management of all the data gathered for the nearshore is not a simple
issue. Many agencies collect, analyze and store information pertaining to the Great
Lakes. Today's electronic technology should facilitate identification and access of data
sources and assembly of information.
There are a number of issues which have an influence on nearshore information
management. These issues are even more pronounced when dealing with an area as
large as the Great Lakes and considering the large number of agencies, organizations,
institutions, and levels of governments involved. The issues are:
I. Data Collection, which includes:
• homogeneity or uniformity of data;
• compatibility of data among disciplines;
• compatibility of data among agencies; and
standards, guidelines and units to ensure compatibility and homogeneity.
ii. Documentation/cataloguing of Data (Metadata)
The amount of data generated and stored presents serious challenges to users of
data. Large quantities of data become unmanageable if the user has no way of
knowing what the data are, where to find them, or how to use them.
iii. Medium of Storage/archiving
If data are not stored properly, the data will be lost. There are no set guidelines for data
storage, back-up or maintenance amongst most of the agencies compiling nearshore
data.
iv. Availability and Access of data including:
• format constraints;
ownership/propriety/right-to-use; and
• commercialization/revenue questions.
v. Data Integration
Integrating data sets becomes important when one is involved in a mufti-disciplinary
activity such as SOLEC, or lakewide management planning. Problems arise when data
sets are combined. When two spatial data sets are overlaid, for example, the accuracy
SOLEC '96 - Integration Paper . 57
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of the resulting information is less than the least accurate input data. Integration is key
to meaningful policy formulation and planning decisions, yet to be useful in multiple
applications, data must be collected and automated to specified and agreed to
standards, including geographic coordinates to allow for this integration of data.
vi. Securing and Protecting Data
The provision of information should not be done without proper assurance that the data
will not be used improperly. When collecting data from humans, for example,
confidentiality is a critical issue. Storage and common access to data on humans
requires additional controls. It is important therefore, that proper care be taken in
securing and protecting data and information, including proper documentation of the
data to minimize the data being used for purposes other than that for which they were
collected.
vii. Data Stewardship
Storage and maintenance implies responsibility for the data and requires the
appropriate resources and agency commitment. The question of who maintains the
database is of particular importance when more than one agency has been involved in
the development of the data, and requires access to the data.
viii. Methods for Dissemination
Until very recently, data and information have generally been disseminated by tape, or
disk and sent by mail to the user. Within the past 5 years CD ROMs have been used
more often for data dissemination. Even more recently the use of the Internet using file
transfer protocol (ftp) for data transfer has become more common. This is by far the
fastest method of data transfer and dissemination. However not all agencies have this
capability, and even amongst those that do, not all individuals are aware of this method
of data transfer, plus clogging the Internet with huge data transfers violates one of the
informal rules of Internet etiquette.
8.0 Management Challenges
8.1 Overall Challenges
Managers, scientists and the public face a myriad of challenges in dealing with the
Great Lakes nearshore ecosystem. Four overall challenges have been identified as
described below. They are followed by more detailed challenges identified by the
authors of the background papers for their subject areas.
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The fundamental challenge of the nearshore is for managers and decision makers to
be able to understand it as an ecosystem and obtain enough information to make
informed decisions. Obtaining and communicating such information is a formidable
challenge for researchers and those responsible for monitoring the state of the
ecosystem.
The SOLEC framework of ecological health - stressors - sources offers a way to
organize thinking about the system and provides a framework for developing indicators
to be used at all three levels to define desired states and to measure progress.
Although the ecosystem is endlessly complex, there is an urgent need to agree upon
desired states, the present state, and key steps needed to attain what is desired.
Without this it is difficult to provide rational decision making or to measure progress.
The development of community based Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern,
Lakewide Management Plans, Fisheries Management Plans and various species
recovery plans provide an opportunity to involve the necessary interest groups and
develop practical plans. But they have yet to reach that potential.
Specific challenges that need to be met in the next two years include:
• Bringing together available information on the state of the nearshore ecosystem
into accessible GIS based formats and systems. This is particularly the case for
living resources such as: plant and other biological communities; various kinds
of coastal wetlands including information on quality and which areas are
threatened with loss; and fisheries including fish stocks and critical habitat.
• Developing easily understood indicators to support understanding of the state of
the system and obtaining wide spread agreement on what needs to be done;
and to measure progress.
• Integrating the concepts of biodiversity and habitat into existing programs
traditionally devoted to pollution control or natural resource management for
harvest.
Integrating LAMPs, RAPs, and fisheries management plans so that they
become fully viable management mechanisms, useful for decision makers
throughout the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem in taking action and assessing
results.
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8.2 Subject Area Challenges
8.2.1 Nearshore Waters
Management actions are required to protect wildlife in the nearshore. In particular:
Controls may be needed now or in the near future to protect double crested
cormorants, black-crowned night herons, ring-billed gulls, common terns, great egrets,
black and Foster's terns, little gulls, and Caspian terns. These controls consist of
colony protection, control of competing species, and habitat protection and
rehabilitation.
With respect to waterfowl, protection is required for roosting sites of Dabblers and
Geese, except the domesticated Canada Goose, which needs population control, and
protected areas are needed for Divers - Bay Ducks.
Aquatic raptors such as eagles and osprey need particular attention, including
nesting platforms for Osprey and the erection of platforms in specific areas for specific
pairs, restrictions on contaminants, restricted access to all nest sites, especially new
ones.
To protect fisheries, a coal ash storage/disposal policy is needed for power plants sited
in the coastal zone or on basin tributaries, to protect nearshore waters from ash and
leachate.
A Water Management Plan to accommodate the needs of the fish community and
those of power producers should be developed for Great Lakes tributaries and
interconnecting channels used for electro-generation.
Open lake disposal of uncontaminated materials needs to be addressed in terms of
spawning grounds and potential interruption of spawning migrations. Research is
needed to assess the effects of dredging activities on these species so that adverse
effects can be avoided or minimized.
Monitoring-based estimates of loading rates of pesticides into the Great Lakes are
virtually absent from the published literature, knowledge of these loads in the Great
lakes is needed to (1) develop and refine lake-wide management plans (LaMPs), (2)
predict equilibrium concentrations of herbicides in the Great Lakes and interpret their
effect on human and ecosystem health, and (3) provide a basis for assessing the
status of agricultural pollution on regional and national scales.
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The full and productive use of the diverse array of habitats in the Great Lakes
nearshore waters requires that the genetic diversity of the remaining native species be
protected by actions taken to perpetuate all recognized stocks of each species.
Joint Canadian-U.S. studies of benthic fishes in a gradient of polluted to pristine
locations, using standard methods, would enhance our knowledge of the development
of tumors and their usefulness as indicators of polution.
Evaluation of the dynamics of waterfowl use of zebra mussels should be monitored.
Goldeneye and common merganser are often attracted to nearshore waters kept ice-
free by heated water discharges or mechanical means. Each new ice-free area
caused by human activity needs evaluation.
To maintain genetic diversity, protection is needed for traditional colonial waterbird
nesting sites that have large and varied populations, especially in the lower lakes
where there is high demand for developmental lands.
Protected sites for unique feeding opportunities for waterfowl during migration are
critical.
For aquatic raptors, maintenance and creation of nesting sites (super-canopy trees and
artificial platforms) and accessible open water in winter in nearshore situations are
essential.
To maintain low phosphorus loadings and to avoid reversing hard won progress,
sewage treatment will have to become more stringent as populations increase. Human
sewage effluent in the lakes will be a management issue for the foreseeable future.
Optimization of existing infrastructure and application of necessary technologies are
needed if a reverse trend to worsening conditions is to be avoided.
The problem of untreated sewage discharges by combined sewer overflows must be
addressed.
Impacts from nearshore aquaculture operations needs to be assesed and
management action taken to prevent nutrient enrichment, and the possible spread of
disease from these operations.
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8.2.2 Coastal Wetlands
There is a need for a commonly accepted system of classification for wetlands, and a
need for more systematic information on the quality, quantity and rate of loss of
wetlands.
Development of indicators of wetland health is needed, to track the state of wetlands,
and aslo as an educational tool.
8.2.3 Land by the Lakes
Future stewardship of lakeshore lands needs to be oriented towards the goal of
protecting and restoring ecosystem health, as part of broad international efforts to
restore health to the Great Lakes ecosystem as a whole.
This stewardship effort should have two components:
• A concerted international effort to complete a core set of protected areas along
the Great Lakes coast, based both on representative examples of enduring
features of the full range of coastal landscapes and on protection of special
lakeshore biodiversity elements and communities; and,
• Development of coordinated shoreline management measures in areas between
the core protected areas to ensure that ecological processes are sustained, and
that shoreline areas with human uses also contribute to biodiversity
conservation.
8.2.4 Plan for Protection and Recovery
The 19 Biodiversity Investment Areas are clusters of shoreline areas with exceptional
biodiversity values which present key opportunities to create large protected areas.
These areas will preserve ecological integrity, and ultimately, help protect the health of
the Great Lakes themselves.
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8.2.5 Involve Private Landowners
Protecting ecosystems and their processes and functions only within fence lines is not
sustainable, nor does it contribute fully to the quality of life for humans and other
organisms. One alternative is to negotiate management agreements, possibly through
conservation easements that protect ecosystems. Many easements are perpetual, that
is, are transferred along with property ownership (The Nature Conservancy, 1992).
8.2.6 Educate to Build Support
Education for all citizens about shoreline ecosystems and their important functions is
needed. A translation of information into a common language will help the
dissemination of important facts. Whether in the classroom with school-age children or
with individual citizens, information is key to making wise decisions about ecosystems.
Need to identify means other than acquisition by public agencies to protect high quality
areas.
Knowledge and information gaps are hampering conservation efforts in several areas.
We need to determine:
• the effects of human-induced water level changes on the functioning of
shoreline natural ecosystems;
• long-term effects of artificially-high levels of beach/dune erosion or nourishment
on adjacent natural ecosystems;
• the impacts and responses of the 12 special lakeshore community types to the
stressors identified in the report, both individually and synergistically; and,
• the representation of coastal biodiversity within ecoregions and ecodistricts, to
assist in identifying candidate areas for protection or restoration.
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8.2.7 Land Use
Making environmental protection a priority objective for urban development is critical.
Prohibitions against sprawl—where it is already creating environmental and social
problems— would provide much needed breathing space and send clear messages to
the development industry and the residential and commercial markets that it serves.
Strong protection against farmland conversion, through agricultural land banking and
the greater use of conservation .easements, has not been embraced on either side of
the Great Lakes.
Removal of hidden financial and economic biases in favour of sprawl and against inner
city redevelopment and more compact urban development, as well as the adoption of a
full cost-pricing approach for different types of development, is especially important.
There is need for public education! The environmental and social impacts of suburban
lifestyle are, obviously, not well understood and appreciated by the public. Education of
the public by state and provincial agencies could help to reduce the demand for sprawl
housing—for example, by undertaking a public education campaign to advertise the
environmental, social, and long-term economic costs associated with sprawl.
If it is the economics of cheap agricultural land and subsidized municipal services that
have made sprawl so popular, it will take economic disincentives to discourage even
greater sprawl. Development charges and impact fees are perhaps the most powerful
tool for bringing the real cost of sprawl into the market for homes and new industrial
and commercial locations. That these fees are not applied evenly and universally
across the basin is a factor that continues to favour sprawl.
8.2.8 Information Management
Adopt a set of common indicators and protocols for assessing the state of the Great
Lakes Nearshore ecosystems.
Develop some general guidelines and standards for collecting data on these indicators.
Identify target areas for data collection to minimize overlap and optimize the use of
limited funds.
Look for partnership opportunities for data collection and identify custodians for the
long-term maintenance of that data.
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Agree to document nearshore data and information using some form of metadata
standard.
Agree on a set of common data exchange formats.
Post metadata, and where possible, data, on the World-Wide Web.
Set up a consortium of nearshore partners over the World-Wide Web through some
established Web site such as the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN) and the
Great Lakes Information Management Resource (GLIMR).
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Appendix A. STEERING COMMITTEE
State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference 1996
Conference Co-chairs:
Harvey Shear, Environment Canada
Paul Horvatin, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Canadian Members:
Doug Dodge, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Fred Fleischer, Ministry of Environment and Energy
Eileen Foley, Environment Canada
Susan Nameth, Environment Canada
Dieter Riedel, Health Canada
Simone Rose, Environment Canada
Larry Schut, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Foods & Rural Affairs
Nancy Stadler-Salt, Environment Canada
U.S. Members:
Dieter Busch, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Allegra Cangelosi, Northeast-Midwest Institute
Bill Cibulas, Association of Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
Susan Crispin, The Nature Conservancy
Don DeBlasio, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Michael Donahue, Great Lakes Commission
Kent Fuller, United States Environmental Protection Agency
John Gannon, National Biologic Service
Rich Greenwood, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Environmental Protection
Agency
Duane Heaton, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Bob Krska, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Tracy Mehan, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Gerry Mikol, New York Department of Environmental Conservation
Phil Pope, Purdue University
Steve Thorp, Great Lakes Commission
Binational Members:
Marg Dochoda, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission
John Hartig, International Joint Commission
Dale Phenicie, Council of Great Lakes Industries
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Appendix B. To be read with Section 1.4.4
Results of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Great
Lakes Human Health Effects Research Program have shown an association between
the consumption of contaminated Great Lakes fish and body burdens of persistent toxic
substances. The body burdens of consumers are two- to four-fold higher than those in
the general population. Other findings indicate:
Susceptible populations, i.e., Native Americans, sport anglers, the elderly,
pregnant women, fetuses and nursing infants of mothers who consumed
contaminated Great Lakes fish, continue to be exposed to persistent toxic
substances (PTSs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins,
chlorinated pesticides, and mercury;
Fish consumption appears to be the major pathway of exposure to PTSs;
• A significant trend of increasing body burden is associated with increased fish
consumption;
Sport fish eaters consumed 2-3 times more fish than the general population;
• Levels of contaminants in Great Lakes fish are above the advisory limits set by
the state and federal government;
Individuals who consumed Great Lakes sport fish for more than 15 years have
2-4 times more pollutants in their blood serum than non-fish eaters;
Men consumed more fish than women; and
Women consume Great Lakes fish during most of their reproductive years.
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