A multi agency project funded by US EPA's STAR Program
 

Sampling Overview

The following types of data are being collected from Great Lakes coastal margins: Biotic community data on wetland and passerine birds, frogs, fish, macroinvertebrates, wetland vegetation, and diatoms; habitat data for birds, amphibians, fish, and macroinvertebrates; supportive water quality data; and data on selected contaminants (photo-activated PAHs and environmental estrogens) in sediments, water and fish.

Sampling overlap among groups is highest at coastal wetland sites because all groups can collect data in these ecosystems.

At any given wetland, avian data are collected from the shoreline and inland to 1 km from the lake; wetland vegetation and amphibian data are collected from the shore out to a wadeable depth (about 1 meter). Contaminants data are collected out to a few meters depth, fish and macroinvertebrate data are collected out to 10 m depth, and diatoms and water quality data are collected from water less than 1 meter deep out to a depth of 10 meters if this exists offshore of the wetland.

This table indicates the sampling associated with the various geomorphic unit types.

Geomorphic Type Birds Amphibians Vegetation Contaminants Fish Invertebrates Diatoms/water quality
Wetland (any type)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Embayment
X
 
 
 
X
X
X
High energy
X
 
 
 
X
X
X
Upland (< 1 km from shore)*
X
 
 
 
 
 
 

* Upland sampling can occur just inland from any of the five geomorphic types (3 wetland types, embayments, and high energy). It is listed here to be inclusive of all the sampling done by the project.

We are collecting data of many different types because this strategy provides more information on environmental condition than we could otherwise obtain. For example, water quality (WQ) samples provide relatively transient information: the data is applicable to only a few days and over only a few meters. Today the water quality may be alright, but last week it might have been poor. If water quality samples weren't taken last week, the problem could go undetected.

However, last week's poor water quality would have an effect on the site's biota. Thus, sampling the biota provides an indication of past conditions. How far into the past, and over what spatial scale, depends on the specific organisms. For example, diatom samples cover only a few meters in spatial scale at any site, but the information obtained from them can indicate site conditions back to pre-European settlement. Fish and bird communities integrate environmental condition information over larger spatial scales because of their ease of movement, and also over time scales of years because of their life span. Vegetation, invertebrates, and amphibians indicate conditions for intermediate spatial and temporal scales.

We are also sampling coastal margin biota because the Clean Water Act requires that states consider the needs of aquatic biota as they monitor and improve the quality of waters within their jurisdiction. Thus, the Great Lakes states need indicators that tell them how the coastal margin biota are doing and whether the water quality of these areas is adequate for their needs.