How an infamous Great Lakes shipwreck became trendy on TikTok

By Clara Lincolnhol

As the gales of November approach, social media users are channeling an infamous Great Lakes shipwreck as tongue-in-cheek inspiration for a new fall aesthetic. It began with a video comedian Django Gold posted to TikTok in September. “Brat Summer is over. It’s time for Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Fall,” Gold says in the short video, which has nearly 23,000 likes. Gordon Lightfoot’s song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” plays in the background.

Study reveals the Great Lakes’ top 10 most harmful invasive species

By Shealyn Paulis

Researchers have revealed the Great Lakes’ 10 worst aquatic invasive species, spotlighting the plants and animals that pose the greatest threat to the region’s delicate ecosystems, fisheries and recreational waters. The recent study, published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research, is the first to compare all 188 nonnative species in the lakes with the same methods and pinpoint which are causing the most harm to the region, its authors said. At the top of the list is the zebra mussel. These small but mighty mollusks are believed to have made their way into the Great Lakes in the 1980’s through ballast water in ships from Europe. They can now be found in all five Great Lakes.

Great Lakes recreational fishing is worth more than anglers spend, study finds

By Clara Lincolnhol

After a day out on the water, the total amount of money spent on fishing gear, transportation and food doesn’t truly reflect the worth of a fishing trip to Great Lakes anglers. Some people are willing to pay $100 more for a fishing trip than what it costs, according to a recent Appalachian State University study funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. “This study raises awareness of the importance of managing the Great Lakes fishery,” said Rob Southwick, co-author of the study and president of Southwick Associates, an economics and market research company that specializes in outdoor recreation. The study is the first of its kind to find the surplus value — the measure of what a person is willing to pay for a good or service beyond its market cost — of recreational fishing trips in the Great Lakes region, Southwick said. The researchers asked more than 8,000 licensed anglers questions about their spending on fishing.

NOAA taps invasive mussels to track Great Lakes pollution

By Daniel Schoenherr

Zebra and quagga mussels have threatened Great Lakes ecosystems since they arrived in the 1980s. Now the invasive species are acting as unlikely allies in identifying pollution hotspots. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mussel Watch program is collecting the mollusks at sites across the Great Lakes to measure the concentration of harmful pollutants in their tissue. A report with the results, expected this fall, will serve as an indicator to communities that they may be in need of cleanup, said one of the program’s leaders. Mussel Watch started along the Atlantic coast in 1986 and is the “longest running continuous contaminant-monitoring program of its kind in the United States,” according to NOAA.

Mussels native to Michigan’s fresh water. Image: Daelyn Woolnough

Harnessing mussels to filter fresh water: A biological cure for contaminants is being studied

By Amalia Medina

Water tanks line a room in Philadelphia’s Water Works on the bank of the Schuylkill River. Inside are small fish that are hosts to tiny organisms that researchers say can help solve polluted waterways. Tucked under the fish gills are microscopic mussels that will mature and become capable of filtering 10 to 15 gallons of water per day. Those data points make Lance Butler, who leads the research, hopeful. In essence, mussels are “our canaries in the coal mine for our water,” he said.

From pet to ‘monster.’ The battle to rid Michigan’s Glen Lake of giant koi

By Gabrielle Nelson

Robert Karner and the Glen Lake Association are on a mission to preserve the crystal-clear waters of Glen Lake next to Sleeping Bear Dunes and protect its ecosystem from invasive species. That includes Eurasian watermilfoil and one that’s gaining attention, Japanese koi. In May, bowfishers partnered with the association, a preservation and protection organization for the 46 square miles of the Glen Lake/Crystal River watershed, caught and removed four invasive koi from Little Glen Lake on the Leelanau Peninsula. “Not all invasive species are actionable,” or able to be removed, once they are introduced to a lake or river, said Karner, a biologist at the Glen Lake Association. “But a big fish like Japanese koi, at least that’s something we think is manageable.”

The removal is part of a three-year effort to remove invasive koi from the lake to protect native plants and animals.

: A Blanding's turtle stands at the edge of a wetland. Image: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Michigan and Ohio receive $500,000 to study rare turtles

By Ruth Thornton

State wildlife agencies in Michigan and Ohio have received nearly $500,000 in federal funding to study rare turtles. The grant is part of more than $7 million distributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to benefit rare and declining fish and wildlife and their habitats across the country. Other states receiving funding under the program this year include Minnesota, Iowa, Hawaii and North and South Carolina. Michigan’s work will focus on Blanding’s and spotted turtles, two rare species that often occur in wetlands. The funding will allow researchers to understand how the populations of both species are doing, especially the survival of nests and baby turtles.

Forty years on, future of contaminant plume under Ann Arbor still murky

By Elinor Epperson

Gelman Sciences LLC manufactured medical filters for decades, but that’s not the public health issue the company is known for. Dioxane from Gelman’s Scio Township plant leaked into Ann Arbor’s groundwater, creating a plume of contamination more than 4 miles long. That contamination was discovered by a University of Michigan graduate student, Dan Bicknell, who alerted the state environmental regulator on June 26, 1984. But Gelman had been dumping the chemical since 1966. And 40 years after Bicknell blew the whistle, the plume is larger than ever.

Green infrastructure job trainings aim to support growing field

By Elinor Epperson

As more green infrastructure projects are installed across the state, more workers are needed to maintain them. Friends of the Rouge, a Detroit-area nonprofit that manages the River Rouge watershed, is offering a short course about maintaining green infrastructure like rain gardens. The course is an opportunity for workers to expand their job skills and contribute to green projects in the metropolitan area. Cyndi Ross, the restoration manager at Friends of the Rouge, said more green projects in the city means more trained workers are needed. “It’s in demand, and the demand is growing,” she said.

Every summer, toxic algae blooms form on Lake Erie, posing a health risk to humans and animals. Image: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Experts predict moderate Lake Erie toxic algae bloom

By Gabrielle Nelson

Lake Erie’s annual algae bloom has begun to form weeks ahead of schedule off the coast of southeast Michigan, but scientists say they expect only a moderate bloom this year. “There was scum off Monroe,” said Richard Stumpf, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer who leads the federal government’s bloom forecasting effort. “It’s not huge now, about 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles), but it has actually started up in that area.”

Cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, fouls hundreds of square miles of western Lake Erie every summer, typically from July to October. The putrid, sometimes toxic, blooms pose a risk to human and animal health and the region’s tourism economy. Under the right conditions, they produce harmful toxins that can sicken humans and kill pets.