Aquatic Research Laboratory - Lake Superior State University

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Aquatic Research Laboratory
“Creating Partnerships in Water Resources”
650 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 | 906-645-1949 | www.lssu.edu/arl
Mission Statement: “The LSSU Aquatic Research Laboratory
will combine education and research on aquatic biota and their
associated habitats within the Great Lake Basin to serve the
academic, scientific, and public communities.”
ARL Staff:
Ashley Moerke, Ph.D.: Co-Director
John Roese, Ph.D.: Interim Co-Director
Jun Li, Ph.D.: Fish Disease Lab Manager
Roger Greil: Manager
...and many LSSU students
State Legislators Angling for Votes Salmon
by Joseph Luttrell (‘14)
S
everal member of the Michigan Legislature
recently got the opportunity to enjoy the local salmon fishery. Over their 2-day visit, the
lawmakers and several of their legislative aids met
with LSSU President Dr. Tony McLain as well as
staff and students from the ARL. The visitors from
Lansing had opportunities to tour the LSSU campus
and the Little Rapids Restoration Project site, and
also enjoyed fishing charters going after some of
the ARL’s returning Atlantic salmon. “The fishery is
an extremely important resource for us to have not
only in Sault Ste. Marie, but to Michigan….” said
Representative Andrea Lafontaine, “…..and I hope it
continues to be.”
ARL student employee Joseph Luttrell (right)
explains hatchery operations to Senator Tonya
Schuitmaker (2nd from right) and members of her
staff.
Aquatic Research Laboratory | Volume 6 Issue 2
In addition to Lafontaine, Senators Howard Walker,
and Tonya Schuitmaker, and Representative Frank
Foster were introduced to the unique facility and
its educational and economic impact. Upon their
arrival, the lawmakers were given a tour of the
ARL by students working at the lab. The students
explained the day to day operation of the hatchery
and about the life cycle of the Atlantic salmon that
may or may not have eluded them earlier in the day
on their fishing charters.
Plans to relocate and expand the ARL also were
presented to the visitors. The proposed location
(at the other end of the hydroelectric plant) is five
times larger than the current facility and would
allow for additional, modern research space, enhanced fish-rearing capacity, and a state-of-the-art
fish disease testing laboratory. The added space
also would provide overnight accomodations for
visiting scientists, classrooms for outreach programs, an interactive visitor’s center, and an outdoor nature center in conjunction with the Kid’s
Fishing Pond. The proposed expansion would be a
significant enhancement to the salmon fishery that
the ARL has created and maintains. “I was pleasantly surprised and interested about what I found
in and about the facility” said Lafontaine, who
chairs the House Natural Resource Committee,
“The passion of the students giving the tours and
working in the hatchery was amazing.”
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ARL Highlights - For more information visit: www.lssu.edu/arl
Good Fishing, Dr. Steinhart!
by Tyler Jackson (‘14)
T
he LSSU Fisheries and Wildlife Club (FWC)
has, for several years, received regional and
national recognition from its professional parent society, the American Fisheries Society (AFS).
The club has been honored as the Most Active Student Subunit of the North Central Division for the
past seven consecutive years and the Outstanding
Subunit (nationally) by AFS in three of the past five
years. What these awards acknowledge is excellence
in providing students with field experience, fisheriesrelated community outreach, professional networking, and professional involvement through AFS.
While the student membership and club officers
have naturally changed over the past seven years, the
guidance provided by the club’s faculty advisor has
been a common denominator. For the past 4 years,
Dr. Geoffrey Steinhart has filled this role.
As the FWC advisor Dr. Steinhart has gone well
beyond the call of duty. Over the years Dr. Steinhart
assisted with field events, helped to build professional connections and relationships, guided the
planning of the Annual Whitefish Dinner, played an
integral role in acquiring a campus row house for
FWC members, and helped begin the Wendy Sak Memorial Award (contact LSSU’s Foundation for more
information or to make a donation). Dr. Steinhart
has always been someone that students could look
to for help. As a past president of the FWC myself, I
can certainly say that it was nice to have Dr. Steinhart
around to push me in the right direction when making decisions, and to reassure me that events would
go as planned. As busy university students, it was
easy to fall behind with the FWC’s yearly events but
Dr. Steinhart was always there to (tactfully) hound
us along. When asked about Dr. Steinhart’s involvement with the FWC, former FWC vice-president,
(USFWS Fish Biologist) Steve Gambicki said, “Without Dr. Steinhart’s involvement in the club, we would
certainly not have received the awards we have”.
As you may know, Dr. Steinhart and his wife, Dr.
Kristi Arend have left LSSU to pursue new opportunities in Ohio. I’m sure that I can speak for both past
and present members when I say; “Thank you, Dr.
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ARL co-director, Dr. Geoffrey Steinhart, served for
4 years as the faculty advisor to the award-winning
LSSU Fisheries & Wildlife Club.
Steinhart for all that you have done for the club over
the years. You will certainly be missed”. The FWC
now looks forward to a familiar face at club meetings, returning faculty advisor and ARL Co-Director,
Dr. Ashley Moerke. Under her guidance, we will
continue to provide professional opportunities for all
FWC members.
Congratulations!
• Sara Dimick – Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club
Fisheries and Wildlife Scholarship
• Dan Mockler – Izaak Walton League of
America Lock City Chapter Scholarship
• Adeline Dutton – Anglers of the AuSable
Fisheries Scholarship
• Jessica Haller – Wendy Sak Memorial
Scholarship
• Tyler Jackson – Headwaters Chapter of Trout
Unlimited Fisheries Scholarship
• Ryan Baldwin & William Bernier – Flint
Steelheaders Scholarship
• Adeline Dutton – Fred Waara Trout Unlimited
Scholarship
If you or your organization are interested in
establishing a scholarship at LSSU please contact our
Foundation Office ([email protected]).
To view the ARL FishCam visit: www.lssu.edu/arl/fishcam.php
News and Notes:
• LSSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife Club earned the 2012 Most Active Student Subunit Award from the North
Central Division of the American Fisheries Society for the 7th consecutive year.
• LSSU senior Jimmy Osga bested other undergraduate and graduate students from across the state
to take best poster honors during the 2013 annual conference of the American Fisheries Society’s
Michigan chapter. Five other LSSU undergraduate students also had the opportunity to present their
research at the conference.
• Last May, Sara Dimick, Dan Mockler, and Jimmy Osga, presented their senior thesis research at the
International Association of Great Lakes Research, held at Purdue University.
• Lab Manager, Roger Greil was a keynote speaker for the Michigan Outdoor Writer’s Association (MOWA)
banquet in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Several members of MOWA also took time out from their
conference to tour the ARL.
• Lake Superior State University’s Fisheries and Wildlife Club established the Wendy J. Sak Memorial
Fisheries and Wildlife Scholarship. This scholarship will be given to an active member of the Fisheries
& Wildlife Club. Wendy was a 1998 graduate of LSSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife program and was
instrumental in forming the award-winning Fisheries & Wildlife Club. Donations are being accepted
through LSSU’s Foundation (www.lssu.edu/foundation)
• Junior Fisheries and Wildlife Management students, Addie Dutton and Garett Price, were awarded
USEPA GRO fellowships, a prestigious fellowship awarded to only 40 undergraduate students
nationwide. As GRO fellows, Addie and Garret will receive up to $50,000 towards educational
expenses, including a summer internship at a USEPA research facility next summer.
• Drs. Ashley Moerke, Kristi Arend, Geoff Steinhart, and Nancy Kirkpatrick received a third year of funding
to work with the Bay Mills Indian Community researching the importance of tributary inputs to nearshore
fish communities in Whitefish Bay.
• Dr. Ashley Moerke, and colleagues from the University of Notre Dame, were awarded funding from the
Great Lakes Fishing Trust to evaluate impacts of contaminants delivered by spawning Pacific salmon in
Great Lakes streams.
• Dr. Greg Zimmerman and Dr. Ashley Moerke were awarded funding from the Great Lakes Commission to
conduct biological monitoring of the proposed Little Rapids restoration area.
• Superior AquaSystems continued to garner some impressive recognition and awards including: Sault
Ste. Marie SmartZone Business Accelerator Fund Grant ($7,000); Accelerate Michigan Innovation
Competition (semifinalist); Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest New Business Idea.
• In spite of area-wide tornado warnings, over 150 kids took advantage of the Kid’s Fishing Pond on the
11th annual Connor Gorsuch Kid’s Fishing Day, July 21. Over a typical summer more than 2000 kids
visit the pond to catch rainbow trout, bluegill, bass, and lake trout.
Thank You!
Please consider supporting the work of the Lake Superior State University Aquatic Research Lab. You can visit our
online giving site: lssu.edu/arl or send a check made payable to LSSU Foundation, 650 W. Easterday Avenue, Sault
Ste. Marie, MI 49783. Thank you to the many individual donors and organizations for their on-going generosity in
support of our work at the ARL.
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Superior Innovation and Collaboration
By the Superior AquaSystems Team
A
group of LSSU students has been working
to solve problems related to food security
and the protection of water resources. What
started as a new business idea to enter the Michigan
Clean Energy Venture Challenge (MCEVC) in the
fall of 2011, has grown to involve students from a
diversity of disciplines across campus. Now, Superior AquaSystems LLC is a Michigan-based company
comprised of students and faculty from Lake Superior State University with expertise in aquaculture,
fish health, engineering, business, and conservation
biology. They are designing an aquaculture system
that incorporates innovative technology to produce
healthy fish and plants, with minimal energy consumption.
The team has a greenhouse on the LSSU campus,
where they are developing the system. The prototype merges aquaculture with hydroponics (termed
aquaponics) and incorporates sustainable energy
concepts to reduce cost. Energy technologies under
consideration include solar photovoltaic cells, solar
thermal, thermoelectric, geothermal, and wind. The
autonomous system design requires minimal user
input with wireless monitoring of every component.
Furthermore, the system is modular making it easy to
incorporate new technology as well as being scalable
to expand for increased production.
The Superior AquaStystems team received financial
support from the Michigan Initiative for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (MIIE-TIE) and from Sault
The Superior AquaSystems LLC team.
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Ste. Marie SmartZone. They also won a cash award
from the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge
(MCEVC). The learning curve has been steep, but
the students have taken advantage of their funding
to travel to meetings and conferences to learn about
the industry. They are involved with the Aquaculture in Michigan (AIM) initiative, attended the recent
Michigan Aquaculture Association annual meeting,
the World Aquaculture Summit in Nashville, and the
International Aquaponics Conference in Wisconsin.
This fall the team plans to enter several business
plan competitions including Accelerate Michigan
Innovation Competition, the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest, and the Michigan Collegiate Innovation
Prize.
The company is currently headed by Thomas (Ted)
Doyle, a junior in Electrical Engineering. He is assisted by Zach Prause and Tyler Jackson, seniors
in Fisheries Management; Garret Price a senior in
Wildlife Management; Cameron Penny, a senior in
International Business; and Eric Johnston in Marine
Technology. LSSU advisors are Dr. Barbara Evans
(Biological Sciences); Roger Greil (Aquatic Research
Lab); Dr. Jun Li (Fish Health); Dr. Ralf Wilhelms
(Business); and Dr. Paul Weber (Engineering).
For more information contact Ted Doyle (tdoyle2@
lssu.edu) or Barbara Evans ([email protected]). More
information coming soon at https://www.facebook.
com/superioraquasystems. Videos can be accessed
online by searching for “Superior AquaSystems” on
YouTube.
LSSU Wades into Great Lakes Wetlands Monitoring Program
By Ryan Baldwin (‘14) and Brian Curell (‘14)
I
magine spending your summer in the lush green wetlands of the
Great Lakes--listening to the buzz of dragonflies and the calls
of Virginia rails--all while exploring the aquatic animals that inhabit these wetlands. Thanks to a grant funded by the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative, five LSSU students have had this opportunity
for the past three summers. Since 2011, LSSU students have been
working on a collaborative project, led by Central Michigan University researchers, to establish the first-ever Great Lakes-wide coastal
wetland monitoring program. Wetlands provide critical habitat
for birds and fishes and protect water quality; however, pollution
and land development have led to extensive degradation and loss
of wetlands across the Great Lakes system. Data collected by LSSU
researchers and their collaborators will directly contribute to a standardized assessment of wetland health that will be used to prioritize
protection and restoration strategies for Great Lakes wetlands.
Ryan Baldwin (left) and Brian Curell
(right), joined by Sara Kelso, boat to
their research site.
This grant also is providing two LSSU students, Ryan Baldwin (‘14) and Brian Curell (‘14), unique opportunities to conduct their senior thesis research. Ryan is using a manipulative experimental setup to determine how
previous exposure to physical disturbances (e.g., wave action from freighter traffic) affects the ability of aquatic
insect communities to resist and recover from future disturbances. Brian also is interested in physical disturbance effects on aquatic insects. He is evaluating how aquatic insect communities in the St. Marys River are affected by the frequency of disturbances, with high frequency simulating freighter traffic and the low frequency
simulating natural storm events. These projects will provide Ryan and Brian with valuable scientific training,
and also will contribute to understanding how changes in wave action due to natural (wind) and human (boating traffic) activities can influence aquatic insect community dynamics.
$ea Lamprey Impact$ on Native Lake Whitefi$h
By Dave Caraffino (‘04) and Roger Greil
W
hitefish are the most important commercial fish species in Michigan. Annual
catches of this tasty fish are worth more
than 12 million dollars in dockside value and significantly more on the retail and restaurant market.
The commercial fishery supports nearly 1,000 jobs
in Michigan and provides fine table fare both locally
and nationally. Because whitefish are important to
State and Tribal fishers, as well as the general public, natural resources agencies closely monitor their
populations. In recent years, sea lamprey appear to
be killing an increasing number of whitefish in some
areas of the Great Lakes, but biologists have questions about their ability to quantify the lamprey’s
impacts.
Continued on page 6
Lamprey wounds (circled) may have a significant
impact on whitefish harvests in Michigan.
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Lamprey & Whitefish
Continued from page 5
Whitefish that biologists or fishermen capture that
exhibit lamprey wounds are those that have survived
an attack by a lamprey. However, to fully understand the impacts of lamprey on whitefish, biologists
need to know the number of whitefish that are killed
by lamprey. In order to translate observed lamprey
wounds on surviving fish into a mortality rate, it is
necessary to know how likely it is that fish will survive an attack by a lamprey. In the 1960s, research
suggested that whitefish might have a 25% chance of
surviving an attack.
In 2012, ARL Manager Roger Greil teamed up with
Michigan DNR fisheries biologist and LSSU alumnus
Dave Caroffino (‘04) to better understand the impacts
of sea lamprey on native lake whitefish. Whitefish,
however, make poor “lab rats”, often experiencing
high mortality in captivity after being transferred
from the wild. Before studying the interactions of
lamprey and whitefish, Greil and Caroffino had to
see if whitefish could survive in captivity at the ARL.
Over the past two years with substantial help from
the student staff at the ARL, more than 100 whitefish
have been transferred to pens in the St. Marys River
power canal near the ARL. Survival rates depended
on numerous factors, and although they exhibited
signs of stress, many of the fish survived.
After determining that whitefish could be transferred
and kept alive, lamprey were obtained from a Tribal
commercial fisherman. To date, lamprey have attacked more than 30 whitefish and killed every one.
This suggests that the proposed 25% chance of survival may be too high. However, the whitefish transferred to the ARL have not been as large as many
captured by the commercial fishery, and past studies
with other species suggest larger fish have a higher
likelihood of surviving an attack. In addition, elevated stress levels could contribute to a lower likelihood
of survival. The research conducted to date has been
insightful and should inspire future work that builds
upon what was started at the ARL, as biologists continue exploring this important population parameter
to better understand the fish community dynamics in
the Great Lakes.
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Alumni Profile - Greg Fischer ‘92
A
s a student in LSSU’s Fisheries & Wildlife
Management Program, I did not understand
how important real world experience, gained
at the ARL, was going to be to my career. While not
the best student academically, I had the opportunity
to work at the ARL. I was able to learn, first hand,
about the operation and management of a hatchery.
After earning my degree at Lake State, I worked for
several agencies and eventually found a job with the
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, developing a new fish hatchery program rearing coaster
brook trout, walleye and lake sturgeon. This opportunity came my way due to a phone call from my old
friend and mentor at the ARL, Roger Greil! I spent
10 years as Hatchery Manager and Natural Resources
Director for the Red Cliff Tribe. In 2002, I was approached by the University of Wisconsin System to
manage their new Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. This facility is “state-of-the-art”
and includes several innovative ideas for a hatchery/
research facility. We work with private, state, tribal,
federal, and university partners (including the ARL)
to conduct cooperative research and demonstration
projects related to fisheries and aquaculture.
Now, more than 20 years after leaving LSSU, I am
“living the dream” in Northern Wisconsin. This opportunity has much to do with the quality education
and hands-on opportunities provided by the ARL, its
staff and the faculty at LSSU. Thank you very much
for providing a great education and a lifelong learning experience that changed my life.
Greg Fischer (‘92) - Operations manager, Northern
Aquaculture Demonstration Facility.
Shhh! Camden Frontier School Students Have a Secret
by Dave Follis, 4th Grade Teacher
S
tudents at Camden Frontier School, in southern
Michigan, have traditionally taken a 3-day, 2
night field trip to northern Michigan to get a
hands-on look at our rich and historic state.
A little bird told us about a research lab in the area of
Sault Ste. Marie, and the contact was made to come
visit the lab. For at least 10 years, we have made it
a point to see Roger Greil and his students at the
Aquatic Research Lab. We have always done a unit
on the economy of Michigan, and fishing is one of
the big draws for tourists! Roger and his team take
time out of their day to educate the students on
the life cycle of the Atlantic salmon, along with the
process of stocking the fish in the Great Lakes, while
showing them the positive effects it has on our Great
Lake’s Region. It is a very valuable stop on our trip,
and the kids really love learning how the lab works,
seeing the actual fish that they have watched on the
awesome “FISH CAM,” and getting their questions
answered. It’s the best kept secret around!
Fourth grade students from Camden Frontier
School learning about raising salmon for stocking
in the Great Lakes.
Actually, the secret is out, as each year over 20
school groups of all ages travel to Sault Ste. Marie to
tour the ARL. - editor
Recent Publications:
Chen, L., C. Wang, L. Sun and J. Li. 2013. Survival of Edwarsiella tarda in fish serum relates to bacteria
surface LPS. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 34:1646.
Janetski, D., D. Chaloner, A. Moerke, R. Rediske, J. O’Keefe, and G. Lamberti. 2012. Resident fishes display
elevated organic pollutants in salmon spawning streams of the Great Lakes. Environmental Science &
Technology 46(15):8035-43.
Lauer, T.E. and A.H. Moerke. 2012. Converting your dissertation to a journal manuscript: Guidance to
students and mentors for removing impediments and promoting success. Pages 111-119 in C.A. Jennings,
T.E. Lauer, and B. Vondracek, editors. Scientific Communication for Natural Resource Professionals.
American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
Li, M., C. Chen, J. Li, and L. Sun. 2013. The C-reactive protein of tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis is
an acute phase protein that interacts with bacterial pathogens and stimulates the antibacterial activity of
peripheral blood leukocytes. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 34:623-631.
Parra, D., A. Rieger, J. Li, Y.A. Zhang, L. Randall, C. Hunter, D. Barreda, and J.O. Sunyer. 2012. Peritoneal
cavity B-1 B cells have phagocytic and microbicidal capacities, and present phagocytosed antigen to CD4+ T
cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 91(4):525-536.
Qiu, R., B. Sun, J. Li, X. Liu, and L. Sun. 2013. Identification and characterization of a cell surface scavenger
receptor cysteine-rich protein of Sciaenops ocellatus: bacterial interaction and its dependence on the
conserved structural features of the SRCR domain. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 34:810-818.
Page 7
Aquatic Research Laboratory
650 W. Easterday Ave.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 USA
LSSU’s Aquatic Research Laboratory
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Aquatic Research Laboratory - Lake Superior State University

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