Each year the Illinois Lakes Management Association recognizes one outstanding professional or volunteer for their significant contributions to preserving and protecting the quality of Illinois lakes.
The Lake Guardian award, given annually, acknowledges each winner’s career-long efforts to ensure healthy lakes throughout the state of Illinois, and this year Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Pat Charlebois was selected from among several nominees.
Pat’s work on outreach efforts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species is especially important to protecting Illinois’ waterways. The development of tools to inform boaters, anglers, and the general public about the dangers of these species, as well as best management practices and regulations, continue to be instrumental in protecting delicate ecosystems, and Pat has lead the way in these areas.
To learn more about our work on aquatic invasive species, visit our AIS page.
The Pacific Ocean is the location of a very large collection of marine debris and waste nearly twice the size of the state of Texas. Dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” it is comprised of plastic and other materials that can be detrimental to animals and the environment.
There is growing concern and evidence that the Great Lakes may be home to their own, similar garbage patches.
From U.S. News & World Report:
“Researchers say the Great Lakes are becoming polluted with the same plastic particles that have created the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—an area of trash in the Pacific Ocean that’s twice the size of Texas.
Researchers say that Lake Erie has up to 1.7 million tiny plastic particles per square mile, which is a greater density than some parts of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. By definition, these so-called ‘microplastics’ have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters and are generally tough to see in the water.”
Follow the link above for the complete article on this ongoing research.
While parents, coaches, and friends gathered around to watch high school anglers show off their catch from a fishing tournament held early this week, IISG’s Sarah Zack was onsite to introduce competitors and on-lookers to simple practices that can prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Hosted by the Illini Bass Fishing Club, the event brought high school clubs from across Illinois to Clinton Lake on April 7 to see who could catch the most and the biggest bass. The tournament, one of few held at the high school level each year, gave IISG’s AIS outreach team an important opportunity to talk with young anglers about the threat of AIS to local waterways.
“Talking with the kids now plants that seed for future years,” said Brian Bevill, coach of the Illini Bluffs High School Bass Fishing Club.
During the few hours that IISG was onsite at Clinton Lake, Sarah talked with dozens of anglers and boaters from across Illinois. Frequent announcements from the tournament emcee also reminded the audience of the negative impacts AIS can have on the health of aquatic environments. Many of the people who visited the IISG booth had heard about Asian carp. But fewer people knew about the need to remove, drain, and dry all equipment after a day on the water. Most were also interested in learning about a new Illinois law that makes it illegal to drive with plants or mud still clinging to boats and trailers.
This High School Open is one of many fishing tournaments IISG’s AIS outreach team plans to attend this year in both Illinois and Indiana. This season especially, the team hopes to reach out to more amateur and semi-professional anglers with information about how they can prevent the spread of invasive species.
“These anglers want to make sure they’re doing their part to prevent the spread of AIS because they know that is an important part of preserving the sport of fishing for the future,” said Sarah. “It is encouraging that the message is being embraced. I was especially excited to work with the Illini Bass Fishing Club because of their commitment to AIS prevention.”
“We started this because we wanted to show kids in high school that if they care about fishing enough, and work hard enough, they can take it somewhere,” said Luke Stoner, executive administrator for the club. “What we really like to see are smiling faces and big old bass.”
This year, 134 students fought to catch the most and biggest fish. For many of the teams, the tournament marked their first day on the water this season. But after months of casting practice and learning how to “flip and pitch” the lure to trick the bass into biting, the student anglers were prepared.
Three teams brought in bags of fish weighing more than 17 lbs, and three fish came in at over 6 lbs. Their successes at this event will help students qualify to compete in sectional and state competitions slated for later this year.
“The competition in fishing is unlike any other sport,” said Kyle Sweet, a senior at Illini Bluffs High School in Glasford, IL. “In football, for example, you only play one other team at a time. Here we are competing with 67 teams and the fish at the same time.”
Studies continue to show the presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals and other personal care products in waterways throughout the country. And improperly disposed-of medicines have been shown to have numerous detrimental effects on plants, animals, and environmental processes.
A forthcoming paper in Ecological Applications confirms the presence of pharmaceuticals in rivers throughout the U.S.
From Nature World News:
“As it turns out, the antihistamine diphenhydramine – used in treating allergic symptoms as well as motion sickness, insomnia and a cold – decreased a biofilm’s photosynthesis by 99 percent in addition to drops in respiration. And it didn’t stop there. The chemical compound actually caused a change in present bacterial species, including a reduction of a group that digests compounds produced by plants and algae.
Nor was it the only one tested to render similar results; in fact, all the pharmaceuticals involved in the study had a measurable and negative impact on biofilm respiration.”
Read the complete article at the link above, and find more information about the study at our UnwantedMeds.org site.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources continues to explore every option to keep Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan, and one of the latest efforts involves distributing new fishing nets.
From The Daily Northwestern:
“In an effort to keep the lake clean, IDNR recently placed orders for brand new fishing nets, which will be distributed to visiting commercial fishermen who may be carrying carp residue beyond the barrier. IDNR often invites commercial fishermen into Lake Michigan so they can catch invasive species, Irons said. But their net residue may be causing inaccurate eDNA tests and ultimately reducing the IDNR’s ability to combat carp invasion.
The new nets will be distributed to fishermen before they cross the electric barrier and are guaranteed to be carp free, Irons said. IDNR is also discussing new methods of cleaning and bleaching fishing boats to reduce the presence of carp slime. Irons cites collaboration with the ACRCC as a huge factor in the ongoing fight against carp.”
Follow the link above for the full story about these and other efforts.
Researchers, several agencies, and a variety of industries have grown increasingly concerned that Asian carp DNA recently found in Lake Erie points to the presence of the highly invasive species.
From the Toronto Star:
“‘There are other explanations … for how the DNA could have got there,’ said Lodge. ‘They are possible, but not plausible.’
According to Notre Dame’s Center for Aquatic Conservation, plants and animals shed cellular material (like traces of DNA) into their surrounding environment, and this material can be collected and analyzed. Environmental DNA extracted from water samples can be used to determine if a target species has been in the vicinity.
Asian carp are a group of highly invasive bottom feeders that have infiltrated the waterways of the American Midwest. The fear is they could disrupt Lake Erie’s ecology if they increase to large numbers.”
Follow the link above for the complete article.
Genetic mapping of sea lamprey DNA may provide researchers some insight into controlling the invasive species, and may even lead to human health benefits.
From the Great Lakes Echo:
“Sea lamprey – unlike the silver and American brook species – come from the Atlantic Ocean, accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes through shipping canals.
Like the native silver lamprey, sea lamprey are parasitic, with sharp teeth and a sucking disc mouth that allows them to feed on the blood of host fish. Also like the silver lamprey, they are harmless in their early stages of development.
Sea lamprey spend the first four years of their life as larvae in the soft bottom and banks of lakes or streams, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
As they mature, they change into the harmful predator threatening the Great Lakes today, said Yu-Weng Chung-Davidson, a senior research associate on Li’s team.”
Follow the link above to read the complete article.
The Great Lakes may experience some pretty cold weather during the winter months, but that’s nothing like what newly discovered life in a subglacial Antarctic lake experiences.
From Live Science:
“Water retrieved from subglacial Lake Whillans contains about 1,000 bacteria per milliliter (about a fifth of a teaspoon) of lake water, biologist John Priscu of Montana State University told Nature News. Petri dishes swiped with samples of the lake water are already growing colonies of microbes at a good rate, Nature News reported.“
Visit the link above for more info, and read another article about the remote submarine used to explore the lake here (complete with video footage).
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, along with several other Sea Grant programs, universities, and researchers, have been involved in advising and establishing a number of aquaculture operations in the U.S. and around the world, including some aquaponics facilities. This video from our friends at Purdue University provides a terrific amount of detail about aquaponics and how the process could help sustainably grow food.
With the ability to grow plants and fish in a mutually beneficial system, aquaponics presents an especially viable and sustainable option to provide healthy and locally grown food for urban areas.
From The Atlantic Cities:
“Aquaponics is a method of combined fish and vegetable farming that requires no soil. The farmer cultivates freshwater fish (aquaculture) and plants (hydroponics) in a recirculating water system that exchanges nutrients between the two. Wastewater from the fish serves as organic fertilizer for the plants, while the plants clean the water of fish feces and urine. The net result: a 90 percent reduction in freshwater use compared with conventional fish farming, and a significant reduction in added nutrients such as fossil fertilizers. The system can be run without pesticides and, because the fish environment is spacious and clean, without antibiotics…
In the lab, the pumps made gushy sounds at regular intervals. The water dripped. As the plants’ leaves evaporated moisture, I could hear the place breathe. I picked a ripe, red tomato from a vine. This lab, I sensed, could morph into an urban oasis: a lush, breathing organism inside the city. Unlike static green spaces like parks, this would be an actual farm as well as a place of tranquility in the city — not to mention a space that could generate the food to feed that city, with minimal harm to the environment or human health, just steps from residents’ tables.”
Follow the link above to the complete article, and visit our aquaculture webpage for more information.
