Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Integrated Measures of Anthropogenic Stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Integrated, quantitative expressions of anthropogenic stress over large geographic regions can be valuable tools in environmental research and management. Despite the fundamental appeal of a regional approach, development of regional stress measures remains one of the most important current challenges in environmental science. Using publicly available, pre-existing spatial datasets, we developed a geographic information system database of 86 variables related to five classes of anthropogenic stress in the U.S. Great Lakes basin: agriculture, atmospheric deposition, human population, land cover, and point source pollution. The original variables were quantified by a variety of data types over a broad range of spatial and classification resolutions. We summarized the original data for 762 watershed-based units that comprise the U.S. portion of the basin and then used principal components analysis to develop overall stress measures within each stress category. We developed a cumulative stress index by combining the first principal component from each of the five stress categories. Maps of the stress measures illustrate strong spatial patterns across the basin, with the greatest amount of stress occurring on the western shore of Lake Michigan, southwest Lake Erie, and southeastern Lake Ontario. We found strong relationships between the stress measures and characteristics of bird communities, fish communities, and water chemistry measurements from the coastal region. The stress measures are taken to represent the major threats to coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Great Lakes. Such regional-scale efforts are critical for understanding relationships between human disturbance and ecosystem response, and can be used to guide environmental decision-making at both regional and local scales.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.

References

  • Albert D. A., L. D. Minc. 2004. Plants as regional indicators of Great Lakes coastal wetland health. Aquatic Ecosyst Health Manage 7:233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ameel J., E. Ruzycki, C. J. Owen, R. Axler. 1998. (revised 2003) Analytical chemistry and quality assurance procedures for natural water, wastewater, and sediment samples. Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth Technical Report NRRI/TR-98/28. Duluth, Minnesota 55811

  • Arbia G. 1989. Statistical effect of data transformations: a proposed general framework. In M. Goodchild, S. Gopal (eds), The accuracy of spatial data bases. Taylor and Francis, London Pages 249–259

    Google Scholar 

  • Axler R. P., C. J. Owen. 1994. Fluorometric measurement of chlorophyll and phaeophytin: Whom should you believe? Lake Reservoir Manage 8:143–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey R.G. 1989. Explanatory supplement to the ecoregions map of the continents. Envir Conserv 15:307–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beanlands G. E., W. J. Erckmann, G. H. Orians, J. O’Riordan, D. Policansky, M. S. Sada, B. Sadler (eds), 1986. Cumulative environmental effects: a binational perspective. Canadian Environmental Assessment Research Council/U.S. National Research Council, Ottawa and Washington, DC

  • Becker G. V. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhagat Y. 2005. Fish indicators of anthropogenic stress at Great Lakes coastal margins: multimetric and multivariate approaches. MS Thesis, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 119 pp

  • Borcard D., P. Legendre, P. Drapeau. 1992. Partialling out the spatial component of ecological variation. Ecology 73:1045–1055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boughton D. A., E. R. Smith, R. V. O’Neill. 1999. Regional vulnerability: a conceptual framework. Ecosystem Health 5:312–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brazner J. C. 1997. Regional, habitat, and human development influences on coastal wetland and beach fish assemblages in Green Bay, Lake Michigan. J Great Lakes Res 23:36–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Brazner J.C., D. K. Tanner, D. A. Jensen, A. Lemke. 1998. Relative abundance and distribution of ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) in a Lake Superior coastal wetland fish assemblage. J Great Lakes Res 24:293–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Brazner J. C., D. A. Jensen. 1999. Zebra mussel [Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas)] colonization of rusty crayfish [Orconectes rusticus (Girard)] in Green Bay, Lake Michigan. Am Midland Naturalist 143:250–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryce S. A., D. P. Larsen, R. M. Hughes, P. Kaufmann. 1999. Assessing relative risks to aquatic ecosystems: a mid-Appalachian case study. J Am Water Resources Assoc 35:23–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosbie B., P. Chow-Fraser. 1999. Percentage land use in the watershed determines the water and sediment quality of 22 marshes in the Great Lakes basin. Can J Fisheries Aquatic Sci 56:1781–1791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danz N. P., R. R. Regal, G. J. Niemi, V. Brady, T. Hollenhorst, L. B. Johnson, G. E. Host, J. M. Hanowski, C. A. Johnston, T. Brown, J. Kingston, J. R. Kelly. 2005. Environmentally stratified sampling design for the development of Great Lakes environmental indicators. Envir Monitoring Assessment 102:41–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Detenbeck N. E., S. M. Galatowitsch, J. Atkinson, H. Ball. 1999. Evaluating perturbations and developing restoration strategies for inland wetlands in the Great Lakes Basin. Wetlands 19:789–820

    Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2003. State of the Great Lakes 2003. EPA 905-R-03-004, Governments of Canada and the U.S.

  • Fore L. 2003. Developing biological indicators: Lessons learned from Mid-Atlantic streams. EPA 903/R-003/003. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information and Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment Program, Region 3, Ft. Meade, Maryland

  • Goodchild M. F., N. S-N. Lam. 1980. Areal interpolation: a variant of the traditional spatial problem. Geo-Processing 1:297–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotway C. A., L. J. Young. 2002. Combining incompatible spatial data. J the American Statistical Association 97:632–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Canada and U.S. Environmental Protection Association. 1995. The Great Lakes: An environmental atlas and resource book. 3rd ed. EPA 905-B-95-001, Chicago, Illinois

  • Grabas G., S. Pemanen, A. Dove, M. Galloway, K. Holmes. 2004. Durham Region Coastal Wetland Monitoring Project: Year 2 Technical Report. Environment Canada and Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, Downsview, Ontario

  • Hanowski J., N. Danz, J. Lind, G. Niemi, J. Sales. 2003. Birds of western Great Lakes forests. http://www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds/

  • Hartmann H. C. 1990. Climate change impacts on Laurentian Great Lakes levels. Climate Change 17:49–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hocutt C. H., E. O. Wiley. 1986. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Holeck K. T., E. L. Mills, H. J. MacIsaac, M. R. Dochoda, R. I. Colautti, A. Ricciardi. 2004. Bridging troubled waters: biological invasions, transoceanic shipping, and the Laurentian Great Lakes. BioScience 54:919–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Host G. E., J. Schuldt, J. J. Ciborowski, L. B. Johnson, T. Hollenhorst, C. Richards. 2005. Use of GIS and remotely sensed data for a priori identification of reference areas for Great Lakes coastal ecosystems. Int J Remote Sensing 26(23):5325–5341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howe R. W., G. J. Niemi, S. J. Lewis, D. A. Welsh. 1998. A standard method for monitoring songbird populations in the Great Lakes region. Loon 70:188–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes R. M., P. R. Kaufman, A. T. Herlihy, T. M. Kincaid, L. Reynolds, D. P. Larsen. 1998. A process for developing and evaluating indices of fish assemblage integrity. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:1618–1631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunsaker C. T., R. L. Graham, G. W. Suter II, R. V. O’Neill, L. W. Barnthouse, R. H. Gardner. 1990. Assessing ecological risk on a regional scale. Envir Manage 14:325–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Joint Commission. 2003. Status of restoration activities in Great Lakes Areas of Concern: a special report. http://www.ijc.org/php/publications/html/aoc_rep/english/report/index.html

  • James F. C., C. E. McCulloch. 1990. Multivariate analysis in ecology and systematics: panacea or Pandora’s box? Annu Rev Ecol System 21:129–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr J. R. 1995. Using biological criteria to protect ecological health. in D. J. Rapport, C. Gaudet, P. Calow (eds), Evaluating and monitoring the health of large scale ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, New York pp 137–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr J. R., E. W. Chu. 1999. Restoring life in running waters: better biological monitoring. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerans B. L., J. R. Karr. 1994. A benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for rivers of the Tennessee Valley. Ecol Applic 4:768–785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kling G. W., K. Hayhoe, L. B. Johnson, J. J. Magnuson, S. Polasky, S. K. Robinson, B. J. Shuter, M. M. Wander, D. J. Wuebbles, D. R. Zak, R. L. Lindroth, S. C. Moser, M. L. Wilson. 2003. Confronting climate change in the Great Lakes region: impacts on our communities and ecosystems. Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC

  • Kunkel K., S. A. Changon, T. E. Croley II, F. H. Quinn. 1998. Transposed climates for study of water supply variability on the Laurentian Great Lakes. Climate Change 38:387–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locantore N. W., L. T. Tran, R. V. O’Neill, P. W. McKinnis, E. R. Smith, M. O’Connell. 2004. An overview of data integration methods for regional assessment. Envir Monit Assess 94:249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lougheed V. L., B. Crosbie, P. Chow-Fraser. 2001. Primary determinants of macrophyte community structure in 62 marshes across the Great Lakes basin: latitude, land use, and water quality effects. Can J Fish Aquatic Sci 58:1603–1612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnuson J. J., K. E. Webster, R. A. Assel, C. J. Bowser, P. J. Dillon, J. G. Eaton, H. E. Evans, R. J. Fee, R. I. Hall, L. R. Mortsch, D. W. Schindler, F. W. Quinn. 1997. Potential effects of climate changes on aquatic systems: Laurentian Great Lakes and Precambrian shield region. Hydrol Processes 11:825–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markhoff J., G. Shapiro. 1973. The linkage of data describing overlapping geographical units. Historical Methods Newslett 7:34–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller C. M. 2003. Effects of anthropogenic development on breeding bird abundance and communities. MS Thesis, University of Minnesota Duluth, 67 pp

  • Mortsch L. D. 1998. Assessing the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes shoreline wetlands. Climate Change 40:391–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortsch L. D., F. H. Quinn. 1996. Climate change scenarios for Great Lakes Basin ecosystem studies. Limnol Oceanography 41:903–416

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols J., S. Bradbury, J. Swartout. 1999. Derivation of wildlife values for mercury. J Toxicol Envir Health Part B 2:325–355

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Niemi G. J., M. E. McDonald. 2004. Application of ecological indicators. Annu Rev Ecol Evolution Systematics 35:89–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niemi G. J., D. Wardrop, R. Brooks, S. Anderson, V. Brady, H. Paerl, C. Rakocinski, M. Brouwer, B. Levinson, M. McDonald. 2004. Rationale for a new generation of indicator for coastal waters. Envir Health Perspect 112:979–986

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell T. J., L. E. Jackson, R. P. Brooks. 1998. Bird guilds as indicators of ecological condition in the central Appalachians. Ecol Applic 10:1706–1721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill R. V., C. T. Hunsaker, K. B. Jones, K. H. Riiters, J. D. Wickham, P. Schwarz, I. A. Goodman, B. Jackson, W. S. Baillargeon. 1997. Monitoring environmental quality at the landscape scale. BioScience 47:513–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reavie E. D., R. P. Axler, G. V. Sgro, J. C. Kingston, A. R. Kireta, T. N. Brown, N. P. Danz, and T. P. Hollenhorst. 2006. Diatom-based weighted-averaging models for Great Lakes coastal water quality: relationships to watershed characteristics. Journal of Great Lakes Research 32:321–347

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rencher A. C. 1995. Methods of multivariate analysis. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricciardi A. 2001. Facilitative interactions among aquatic invaders: is an ‘invasional meltdown’ occurring in the Great Lakes? Can J Fisheries Aquat Sci 58:2513–2525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards C., L. B. Johnson, G. E. Host. 1996. Landscape-scale influences on stream habitats and biota. Can J Fisheries Aquat Sci 53:295–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker D. J. 1994. Cumulative environmental assessment. Department of Geography Publication Series, Number 42, University of Waterloo, Ontario

  • Smith E. R., R. V. O’Neill, J. D. Wickham, K. B. Jones, L. Jackson, J. V. Kilaru, R. Reuter. 2000. The U.S. EPA’s Regional Vulnerability Assessment Program: a research strategy for 2001–2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

  • Stehman S. V., J. D. Wickham, J. H. Smith, L. Yang. 2003. Thematic accuracy of the 1992 National Land-Cover Data (NLCD) for the eastern United States: statistical methodology and regional results. Remote Sensing Envir 86:500–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strayer D. L., R. E. Beighly, L. C. Thompson, S. Brooks, C. Nilsson, G. Pinay, R. J. Naiman. 2003. Effects of land cover on stream ecosystems: roles of empirical models and scaling issues. Ecosystems 6:407–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Nature Conservancy. 1994. The conservation of biological diversity in the Great Lakes ecosystem: Issues and opportunities. The Nature Conservancy Great Lakes Program, Chicago, Illinois

  • ter Braak C. J. F., P. Šmilauer. 1998. CANOCO reference manual and user’s guide to Canoco for Windows: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (version 4). Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, New York

  • Timmermans S. T. A., G. E. Craigie. 2003. The Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium Year-One Pilot Project research indicator activities: A technical report by Bird Studies Canada. Marsh Monitoring Program, Bird Studies Canada

  • Tran L. T., C. G. Knight, R. V. O’Neill, E. R. Smith, M. O’Connell. 2003. Self-organizing maps for integrated environmental assessment of the mid-Atlantic region. Envir Manage 31:822–825

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran L. T., C. G. Knight, R. V. O’Neill, E. R. Smith. 2004. Integrated environmental assessment of the mid-Atlantic region with analytical network process. Envir Monit Assess 94:263–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trebitz A. S., J. C. Brazner, V. J. Brady, R. Axler, D. K. Tanner. Turbidity tolerances of Great Lakes coastal wetlands fishes. (In review)

  • United States and Canada. 1978. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. International Joint Commission, Windsor, Ontario

  • Uzarski D. G., T. M. Burton, J. A. Genet. 2004. Validation and performance of an invertebrate index of biotic integrity for Lakes Huron and Michigan fringing wetlands during a period of lake level decline. Aquatic Ecosyst Health Manage 7:269–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzarski D. G., T. M. Burton, M. J. Cooper, J. W. Ingram, S. Timmermans. 2005. Fish habitat use within and across wetland classes in coastal wetlands of the five Great Lakes: development of a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity. J Great Lakes Res 31:171–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P. M., J. Aber, R. W. Howarth, G. E. Likens, P. A. Matson, D. W. Schindler, W. H. Schlesinger, G. D. Tilman. 1997. Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: causes and consequences. Issues in ecology 1. Special publication, Ecological Society of America, 15 pp

  • Vogelmann J. E., S. M. Howard, L. Yang, C. R. Larson, B. K. Wylie, N. Van Driel. 2001. Completion of the 1990s National Land Cover Data Set for the Conterminous United States from Landsat thematic mapper data and ancillary data sources. Photogram Eng Remote Sensing 67:650–652

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickham J. D., K. B. Jones, K. H. Riitters, R. V. O’Neill, R. D. Tankersly, E. R. Smith (1999) An integrated environmental assessment of the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Envir Manage 24:553–560

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Connie Host, Paul Meysembourg, Jim Sales, and Gerry Sjerven for assistance compiling GIS data. Dennis Albert, Jim Lind, Elizabeth R. Smith, and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on earlier drafts. This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Estuarine and Great Lakes (EaGLe) program through funding to the Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) project, U.S. EPA Agreement EPA/R-8286750. This document has not been subjected to the Agency’s required peer and policy review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. This is contribution number 392 of the Center for Water and the Environment, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Water and the Environment, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, Minnesota, 55811, USA

    Nicholas P. Danz, Gerald J. Niemi, Tom Hollenhorst, Lucinda B. Johnson, JoAnn M. Hanowski, Richard P. Axler, Valerie J. Brady & George E. Host

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 10 University Drive, Duluth, Minnesota, 55811, USA

    Ronald R. Regal

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada

    Jan J. H. Ciborowski

  4. Department of Biology, University of Minnesota Duluth, 10 University Drive, Duluth, Minnesota, 55811, USA

    Thomas Hrabik

  5. Mid-Continent Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, Minnesota, 55804, USA

    John R. Kelly & John A. Morrice

  6. Inland Waters Ecoservices, 29 Powers Dr., Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, B3V 1G6, Canada

    John C. Brazner

  7. Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, Wisconsin, 54311, USA

    Robert W. Howe

  8. Center for Biocomplexity Studies, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota, USA

    Carol A. Johnston

Authors
  1. Nicholas P. Danz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gerald J. Niemi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ronald R. Regal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tom Hollenhorst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lucinda B. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. JoAnn M. Hanowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Richard P. Axler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jan J. H. Ciborowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Thomas Hrabik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Valerie J. Brady
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. John R. Kelly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. John A. Morrice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. John C. Brazner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Robert W. Howe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Carol A. Johnston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. George E. Host
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicholas P. Danz.

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix I Variables used to summarize anthropogenic stresses
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Danz, N.P., Niemi, G.J., Regal, R.R. et al. Integrated Measures of Anthropogenic Stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin. Environmental Management 39, 631–647 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0293-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0293-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation