Great Lakes Health

Sierra Club Nepessing presents:    GREAT LAKES HEALTH – Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing worldwide, and this increase is expected to continue, highlighting the need for a predictive understanding of the controls on bloom formation, extent, and duration. In the North American Great Lakes region, increases in HABs, frequently dominated by the toxin producing genus Microcystis, have been linked to warming climates, changing mixing and precipitation patterns, anthropogenic nutrient inputs, and ecosystem engineering by invasive species. I will present an overview of Great Lakes HAB conditions as well as examples from my research exploring controls of bloom formation by sampling water chemistry, phytoplankton, and net plankton at 6 stations in western Lake Erie over two years of Microcystis bloom initiation events.  Linking results from this study with others in the Great Lakes demonstrates implications for nutrient and invasive species management, recreational water quality, and human health.

Mary Anne Evans is a scientist at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center where she contributes to the coastal ecology program. Her current research focuses on river influences in western Lake Erie, associated harmful algal blooms (HABs), nutrient and algal dynamics in other river influenced near shore areas of the Great Lakes, and mathematical modeling of coastal eutrophication and hypoxia. Prior to joining the USGS, she studied hypoxic “dead zones” in Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico as a post-doctoral scientist at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, and recreational lakes in Michigan as a post-doctoral scientist at Michigan State University. She received her Ph.D. in biology from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in biology from Louisville University.
Wednesday, 9/9 at 7:30pm  – Program follows business meeting at 6pm at Mott Community College; East Court Street; Prahl Center, Genesee Room.  Both events are open to the public and free.  Light refreshments served