Purpose
Benthos (benthic invertebrate) and plankton (phytoplankton/zooplankton) communities in Wisconsin’s four Lake Michigan Areas of Concern (AOCs; Menominee River, Lower Green Bay and Fox River, Sheboygan River, and Milwaukee Estuary) and six non-AOCs will be quantified. The inclusion of non-AOC sites will allow comparison of AOC sites to relatively unimpacted or less-impacted control sites with natural physical and chemical characteristics that are as close as possible to that of the AOCs. Comparison to less-impacted control sites as site pairs and as a group is consistent with the approaches used by other Great Lakes states, such as Michigan and Ohio (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 2008; Ohio EPA, 2008). The community data within and between the AOCs and non-AOCs will be analyzed and the differences and similarities will assist in determining the status of the communities and, when appropriate, support delisting of the
“Degraded Benthos” and “Degradation of phytoplankton / zooplankton populations” beneficial use impairments in each AOC. This project is a cooperative agreement between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the US Geological Survey (USGS).Related Reports
Run Project Summary ReportView Umbrella-ProjectsView Related-ProjectsGreat Lakes Restoration Initiative
Toxics and Areas of Concern
GLRI-9KM60
2011
Complete
Project Overview
Quarterly Report
Quarterly Report
PDF with EPA signatures
SWIMS project summary for GLRI-9KM60 Benthos & Plankton in WI Lake Michigan AOCs (Q1-2 report).
Grant Awarded
Benthos (benthic invertebrate) and plankton (phytoplankton/zooplankton) communities in Wisconsin’s four Lake Michigan Areas of Concern (AOCs; Menominee River, Lower Green Bay and Fox River, Sheboygan River, and Milwaukee Estuary) and six non-AOCs will be quantified.