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Lake Superior (lake + superior)
Selected AbstractsUse of paired fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) reproductive test.ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2006Part 1: Assessing biological effects of final bleached kraft pulp mill effluent using a mobile bioassay trailer system Abstract Reproductive effects have been recorded in wild fish in waters receiving pulp mill effluent (PME) since the mid to late 1980s. Laboratory assays with fathead minnow (FHM; Pimephales promelas) have been developed to better understand fish responses to PME. However, observations from laboratory studies have been variable, making it difficult to establish cause/effect relationships. A lack of environmental relevance in these laboratory studies may have contributed to the variability observed. The objectives of the present study were, first, to determine the effects of bleached kraft PME (BKME) on FHM under environmentally realistic conditions (i.e., ambient water and effluent quality) and, second, to determine the suitability of pair-breeding FHM to better link BKME-induced changes in indicators at the biochemical, individual, and population levels. A mobile bioassay trailer was situated on-site at a bleached kraft mill for 60 d, allowing supply of both ambient water (Lake Superior, Canada) and final BKME. The reproductive output of FHM was initially assessed for 21 d to obtain baseline data pre-exposure. At the end of the pre-exposure period, selected breeding pairs were exposed to final BKME (100% v/v and 1% v/v) for 21 d. Results demonstrated a stimulatory response pattern at 1% BKME (e.g., increased egg production) compared to control. In the 100% treatment, spawning events were reduced and fewer eggs were produced during the first two weeks of exposure. Exposure to 100% (v/v) BKME also resulted in ovipositor development in males and development of male secondary sex characteristics in females. Obtaining pre-exposure data and use of pair-breeding FHM in this assay gave a sensitive indication of effluent effects and allowed accurate comparisons of endpoints to be made. [source] Spatial distribution of polychlorinated naphthalenes in air over the Great Lakes and air-water gas exchange in Lake OntarioENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2003Paul A. Helm Abstract High-volume air sample were collected during research cruises of Lake Superior in August 1996 and May 1977 and of Lake Ontario (North America) in July and September 1998 and June 2000 and analyzed for polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs). Levels of tetra- to octachloronaphthalene (,PCN) varied spatially, with mean values (±SD) of 1.78 ± 0.74 and 1.46 ± 1.07 pg m,3 for Lake Superior in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and of 5.53 ± 2.19 and 5.60 ± 2.24 pg m,3 for Lake Ontario in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Evaporative sources were predominant, although combustion marker congeners such as tetrachloronaphthalenes 44 and 29 and pentachloronaphthalene 54 were present in most samples and were enhanced relative to technical PCN mixtures. The ,PCN concentrations were higher in Lake Ontario samples collected in the western half of the lake and when winds were from the west. Greater proportions of the population and industrial areas are located around the western part of Lake Ontario. Water-air fugacity ratios, calculated from air and water samples collected in June 2000, indicate that the trichloronaphthalenes are volatilizing from Lake Ontario, whereas the tetrachloronaphthalenes are close to equilibrium and the net deposition of tetrachloronaphthalenes can occur when the urban air plume influences levels over the lake. [source] Geoarchaeology and late glacial landscapes in the western lake superior region, Central North AmericaGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007Christopher L. Hill The transition from full glacial to interglacial conditions along the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet resulted in dramatic changes in landscapes and biotic habitats. Strata and landforms resulting from the Wisconsin Episode of glaciation in the area directly west of Lake Superior indicate a context for late Pleistocene biota (including human populations) connected to ice margins, proglacial lakes, and postglacial drainage systems. Late Glacial landscape features that have the potential for revealing the presence of Paleoindian artifacts include abandoned shorelines of proglacial lakes in the Superior and Agassiz basins and interior drainages on deglaciated terrains. The linkage between Late Pleistocene human populations and Rancholabrean fauna has yet to be demonstrated in the western Lake Superior region, although isolated remains of mammoth ( Mammuthus) have been documented, as well as fluted points assigned to Clovis, Folsom, and Holcombe-like artifact forms. Agate Basin and Hell Gap (Plano-type) artifacts also imply the presence of human groups in Late Glacial landscapes associated with the Agassiz and Superior basins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Late-glacial and Holocene palaeovegetation zonal reconstruction for central and north-central North AmericaJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2005W. L Strong Abstract Aim, The purpose of this study is to develop palaeovegetation zonation models for central and north-central North America, based on late-Quaternary and Holocene pollen stratigraphic data (n = 246 sites). A secondary purpose was to evaluate an hypothesis (Strong & Hills, 2003) to explain the disjunct distribution of species in western Alberta. Location, Hudson Bay-Lake Michigan to the Rocky Mountains region, north of 36° N to the Arctic Ocean (c. 70° N). Methods, Pollen profiles spanning 40 years of palaeoecological research in North America were extracted from published and unpublished archival sources. Individual profiles were subdivided into 1000-year increments based on the assumption of a constant sedimentation rate between stratigraphic dates (e.g. surface sediments, radiocarbon 14C dates, tephra layers). The pollen composition among profiles was standardized to 54 commonly recognized taxa, with percentage composition within each stratigraphic sample prorated to 100% prior to analysis. Near-surface sediments from these profiles were included as analogues of modern vegetation. Cluster analysis was used as a guide to the classification of 2356 temporal stratigraphic samples, which resulted in the recognition of 16 pollen groups. These groups were summarized in terms of their pollen composition, mapped, and used in combination with terrain information and an ecological knowledge of the study area to construct six physiognomically-based palaeovegetation zonation models at 2000-year intervals from 14,000 to 4000 yr bp (radiocarbon years before present). Results, The 14,000 yr bp model placed Boreal and Cordilleran Forests proximal to the southern glacial front, whereas Arctic tundra dominated the Yukon Territory,Alaska ice-free zone. Pollen and macrofossil evidence suggests that this Boreal Forest zone contained a mixture of coniferous and deciduous tree species. Grassland was postulated immediately south of the forest zone, with its northern extreme near 49° N latitude in the Alberta,Montana border area. Separation of the Laurentide and Cordilleran glacial fronts about 12,000 yr bp initiated the northward advance of Boreal Forests into western Canada. By the end of the Hypsithermal at about 6000 yr bp, Boreal Forests occurred near the Arctic Ocean, and Grassland and Aspen Parkland zones may have extended to 54° N and 59° N latitude in Alberta, respectively. Between 6000 and 4000 yr bp, a 5° and 1° latitudinal southward shift of the northern Boreal Forest and Grassland/Aspen Parkland boundaries occurred, respectively, near their contemporary positions with corresponding expansions of the Subarctic and Arctic zones. Modern Canadian Cordilleran Forests along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains were interpreted as originating from the north-central Montana,south-western Alberta area. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), a common Boreal Forest species, appears to have entered central Canada via the north side of Lake Superior after 11,000 yr bp. Main conclusions, Modern vegetation in central Canada evolved from biomes located in the northern USA during the late-Quaternary. The Boreal Forest biome contained the same arboreal taxa as the modern vegetation, except it lacked jack pine. The proposed regional palaeovegetation models support the hypothesis of Strong & Hills (2003), but new independent palaeoecological data will be needed for a proper evaluation. [source] Lower fitness of hatchery and hybrid rainbow trout compared to naturalized populations in Lake Superior tributariesMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 11 2004L. M. MILLER Abstract We have documented an early life survival advantage by naturalized populations of anadromous rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss over a more recently introduced hatchery population and outbreeding depression resulting from interbreeding between the two strains. We tested the hypothesis that offspring of naturalized and hatchery trout, and reciprocal hybrid crosses, survive equally from fry to age 1+ in isolated reaches of Lake Superior tributary streams in Minnesota. Over the first summer, offspring of naturalized females had significantly greater survival than offspring of hatchery females in three of four comparisons (two streams and 2 years of stocking). Having an entire naturalized genome, not just a naturalized mother, was important for survival over the first winter. Naturalized offspring outperformed all others in survival to age 1+ and hybrids had reduced, but intermediate, survival relative to the two pure crosses. Averaging over years and streams, survival relative to naturalized offspring was 0.59 for hybrids with naturalized females, 0.37 for the reciprocal hybrids, and 0.21 for hatchery offspring. Our results indicate that naturalized rainbow trout are better adapted to the conditions of Minnesota's tributaries to Lake Superior so that they outperform the hatchery-propagated strain in the same manner that many native populations of salmonids outperform hatchery or transplanted fish. Continued stocking of the hatchery fish may conflict with a management goal of sustaining the naturalized populations. [source] The Future City on the Inland Sea: A History of Imaginative Geographies of Lake Superior by Eric D. OlmansonTHE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE, Issue 4 2007Ray B. Browne No abstract is available for this article. [source] ROCK SURFACE HARDNESS AS AN INDICATION OF EXPOSURE AGE: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATION OF THE SCHMIDT HAMMER,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2000M. W. BETTS A Schmidt Hammer was employed in evaluating the surface hardness of rocks which line ancient anthropogenic pit features, known as Pukaskwa pits, on the north shore of Lake Superior, Canada. This technique offers a possible new method of producing relative ana absolute dates for such exposed stone features Analysis of the data has provided a relative chronology for the pit features, representing two distinct construction phases. The range of absolute dates generated from the data indicates that the pits were likely constructed by Blackduck peoples c. 900 to 400 years BP. [source] | |||||||||||||