Wildlife

Sex, water and rock and roll: Sturgeon spawn while singing on the rocks

By |

How does a scientist use sound to save a 150-million-year-old fish? In Wisconsin, Ron Bruch and Chris Bocast are trying to help restore sturgeon stock by listening for the sound they make when spawning that some call “thunder.” The sound can be heard here. “It’s a real low frequency, you can almost feel it instead of hear it,” said Bruch, fish supervisor with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “One of the important measures of success is knowing your stock is spawning.”

Bocast, a University of Wisconsin-Madison doctoral student in acoustic ecology, discovered the sound while working on an audio book about sturgeons.

Echo

Gray wolves in western Great Lakes region no longer endangered starting next month

By |

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has removed gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal endangered species list. The western Great Lakes region includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The delisting takes effect Jan. 27. State departments will manage wolves after the delisting.

Echo

Population of endangered Great Lakes bird remains stable

By |

Michigan officials listened to the sweet songs of Kirtland’s warblers throughout the state in June — and the chorus was a positive one. The population of the endangered birds remains steady, according to the annual survey by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. Officials surveyed in mid-June when the birds defend their nesting territories.  Birds are detected by listening for their songs — as their singing can be heard for up to a quarter mile.  Since only males are belting out songs, populations are estimated by doubling the number of singers

The 2011 survey documented 1,805 singing males, which is approximately what the population has been in recent years.  The bird made a strong comeback after singing male populations hit a low in 1974 and 1987, when only 167  were observed. Warblers nest on the ground in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario —but most prominently in northern Michigan’s jack pine forests.  The population declined rapidly as modern fire suppression stopped the natural wildfires that provided the barren landscape and young jack pines that warblers love to nest in. State and federal officials now harvest and replant approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees a year to mimic natural processes.  Large prescribed burns aren’t safe or economical in northern Michigan, according to the state officials.

Wildlife

Lake Erie water snake slithers off the endangered species list

By |

A nonpoisonous Lake Erie water snake is no longer listed as a federally endangered species. The snake’s numbers plunged as more people settled Lake Erie’s western islands, according to the Toledo Blade. Populations rebounded after federal and state agencies protected inland and shoreline hibernation and breeding grounds. Earning federal protection in 1999, the water snake is the 23rd species to be delisted, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wildlife

Great Lakes eels are a conservation challenge

By |

Something slithers beneath the surface of the Great Lakes and it’s not a sea lamprey.

It might look similar, but the mysterious American eel isn’t a sucker.

And it’s in trouble. Its population is decreasing dramatically and no one is sure why.

Wildlife

Endangered species protection is proposed for two freshwater mussels

By |

Two funny-named species of freshwater mussels currently found in rivers of the Great Lake states were recently proposed for Endangered Species Act protection.

The rayed bean and snuffbox mussels were recently proposed to be listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Chemical contaminants, sedimentation, nonpoint source pollution and mining are threats to their habitat’s water quality, according to the service.

Wildlife

Gulf oil Great Lakes update: Backyard rescue efforts not much help for small birds

By |

Last month Echo reported that Great Lakes migratory birds are threatened by the Gulf oil spill. Regional bird expert Francie Cuthbert, a University of Minnesota professor, was busy with fieldwork when we tried to reach her then. But she got back with us for this update:
Female Great Lakes piping plovers will head south for the winter ahead of the males in a couple weeks. Since nothing is cleaned up, they will almost certainly be affected by the spill, Cuthbert says. She expects only a small percentage of plovers that come in contact with the oil to survive.

Wildlife

Warbler increases Great Lakes presence

By |

The number of Kirtland’s warblers recorded in the Great Lakes region in 2009 was the highest since a census of the birds began in 1951.

The rare bird faces challenges from climate change and funding for its protection.

It lives only in parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario.

Wildlife

Three cheers for the snake lady

By |

An Ohio activist dubbed “The Snake Lady” and a university researcher have been honored for their efforts to conserve the threatened Lake Erie watersnake. Kristin Stanford and Richard King of Northern Illinois University are among this year’s 18 recipients of the recently announced U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Recovery Champions awards. According to a U.S. F&W press release, the pair has put in a combined 35 years of work to save the snake and its habitat. King has been working since the 1980s and identified early declines in the population and threats to the species. Stanford has “worked tirelessly to reach out to residents of the Lake Erie islands”  to teach them how to live with the snake.”

“The dedication of Ms. Stanford and Dr. King to the conservation of the Lake Erie watersnake, through both scientific methods and strong public involvement, has recovery efforts for this species to the point that the next step is  to propose removing it from the list of endangered and threatened species.  There is no greater measure of recovery success,” said Midwest Regional Director Tom Melius.