Aquatic Research Laboratory - Lake Superior State University

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Aquatic Research Laboratory
“Creating Partnerships in Water Resources”
650 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 | 906-645-1949 | www.lssu.edu/arl
Mission Statement: “The LSSU Aquatic Research Laboratory
will combine education and research on aquatic biota and their
associated habitats within the Great Lake Basin to serve the
academic, scientific, and public communities.”
LSSU Alums – Sturgeon Allies
by Stefan Tucker ‘12
J
ohn Bauman (‘05), Jason Lorenz (‘08), and Stefan
Tucker (‘12) began their fisheries careers while
attending LSSU and each graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management.
At LSSU they had the opportunity to work with and
research a small, remnant population of Lake Sturgeon in the upper St. Marys River. Currently these
three LSSU alumni find themselves working collaboratively, representing three different agencies,
to restore a struggling
population of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
on the Kalamazoo River
in southwest Michigan.
ARL Staff:
Ashley Moerke, Ph.D.: Co-Director
Kevin Kapuscinski, Ph.D.: Co-Director
John Roese, Ph.D.: Interim Co-Director
Jun Li, Ph.D.: Fish Disease Lab Manager
Roger Greil: Manager
...and many LSSU students
to attempt to spawn below these structures, in areas
with poor quality habitat. The current Lake Sturgeon population is said to be at < 1% of its historical
abundance due to extreme overharvest and habitat
fragmentation and degradation.
These prehistoric giants of the Great Lakes can easily
exceed 6 feet long and weigh over 100 pounds. Many
aspects of the Lake
Sturgeon’s life cycle
are remarkable and
a true testament
to their struggle to
persist. Lake SturFew other species in the
geon possess traits
Great Lakes has received
that were beneficial
as much attention for
in historical times
rehabilitation as the Lake
and buffered the
Sturgeon. Historically,
extremes of the enLake Sturgeon were one
vironment, but now
of the most abundant fish
these same traits
in the Great Lakes but
compromise their
were seen as a useless nuisurvival. The life
sance. At the turn of the
From left to right: LSSU alumni Jason Lorenz, John
expectancy of a Lake
Bauman, and Stefan Tucker work collaboratively for
20th century these same
Sturgeon can exceed
3 different agencies to rehabilitate Lake Sturgeon in
fish became a prized,
80 years; however it
targeted species with high Michigan.
is a daunting task to
economic value and were
get there. Lake Sturnearly fished to extinction. The creation of hydroelecgeon take 15-20 years to become sexually mature and
tric dams halted population growth by blocking fish
do not always spawn on an annual basis. Therefore,
migration to spawning grounds. These dams conContinued on page 4
tinue to restrict struggling populations and force fish
Aquatic Research Laboratory | Volume 7 Issue 2
Page 1
ARL Highlights - For more information visit: www.lssu.edu/arl
ARL Atlantic Salmon Migrate – to California
By John Buchanan – Center for Aquaculture Technology
T
he Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT) is a research and development and contract service organization focused on the application of biotechnologies to improve productivity, efficiency and sustainability in aquaculture and related industries.
CAT recently initiated a research project aimed at improving manipulation of Atlantic Salmon cells for improving cell culture methods and conditions. Cell culture and in vitro methods for salmon cells will provide
important research tools with wide ranging applications in aquatic animal health and immunology, physiology, developmental biology, endocrinology, cell biology, and aquatic toxicology. One area of research is in
the development of germ cell manipulation and transplantation, given their strong potential for uses in basic
research, conservation and biotechnology applications. The focus at CAT has been on working out techniques
for isolation of cells and evaluation of cell quality by testing cell potency.
In late 2013, in a collaboration between CAT, Lake
Superior State University’s ARL, and the Michigan
DNR Fisheries Division, approximately 300 juvenile
Atlantic Salmon were transported 2,500 miles to
CAT’s research facility in San Diego, California, for
tissue isolations and cell culture work. Shipments of
LSSUs juvenile salmon to San Diego (via insulated
air-shipped boxes) went very well, with > 99% survival following the transfer.
Sex determination
of LSSU Atlantic
Salmon using a realtime PCR assay
CTA’s Aquatic Research
Facility (San Diego)
After arrival in San Diego, the groups of salmon were
fin-clipped, and DNA was isolated and screened by
real-time PCR assay using a gender-specific marker
to allow for sex determination and sorting of males
and females into separate systems.
Over the course of several months, male and female
gonadal tissues were isolated, and methods for evaluating the cells were developed. The major focus has
been development of micro-manipulation techniques
for transfer of isolated germ cells into functional
gonads as an indicator that the isolated cell retains
potency and the ability to differentiate. Results to
date, thanks to the efforts and assistance of the team
at LSSU, are encouraging and indicate that significant
progress has been made toward establishing germ
cell culture methods in Atlantic Salmon.
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Tissue isolations of LSSU Atlantic Salmon, and
fluorescent microscope evaluation of isolated cells
To view the ARL FishCam visit: www.lssu.edu/arl/fishcam.php
Hello! Dr. Kapuscinski
by Staff
K
evin Kapuscinski began working for LSSU
in July as Co-director of the ARL, and as an
Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences in August. where he will be teaching
Ichthyology, Fisheries Management, Freshwater Fish
Culture, and Fish Ecology at LSSU. In addition to his
teaching and research interests, Dr. Kapuscinski is
an associate editor of the North American Journal of
Fisheries Management.
Prior to coming to LSSU, Dr. Kapuscinski earned B.S.
degrees in Biology and Water Resources (Fisheries)
from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point,
and then worked as a fisheries biologist for the states
of Montana and Wisconsin. While in Montana, he
worked to recover populations of Pallid Sturgeon, a
federally endangered species. In Wisconsin, he had
various job responsibilities but was especially active
in efforts to reintroduce Muskellunge to Green Bay,
Lake Michigan.
In 2006, Dr. Kapuscinski left Wisconsin to pursue his
Ph.D. in ecology at the State University of New York
at Syracuse, and then worked as an Adjunct Professor conducting research on the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers. Although some of Dr. Kapuscinski’s
research in New York is still ongoing, he is getting
involved in the ARL’s research on understanding the
influence of tributaries to Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, and is looking forward to developing additional
projects in the region.
Dr. Kevin Kapuscinski joins the faculty at LSSU
as an Assistant Professor and Co-director of the
Aquatic Research Lab.
ogy and management of Lake Trout, Muskellunge,
Walleye, and Rudd. He conducts research that helps
guide the management, conservation, and restoration of native fishes and their habitat. To support his
work, he has acquired over $2.5 million in grants, and
looks forward to contributing to the fundraising efforts associated with renovating the ARL.
Congratulations!
• Coleson Wrege - Gilbert Gleason Memorial
Scholarship
Dr. Kapuscinski’s research generally focuses on understanding the population characteristics and ecology of fishes inhabiting nearshore areas of the Great
Lakes and their connecting waters. He is particularly interested in (1) the ecology and management
of Muskellunge, (2) understanding which habitat
factors influence fish assemblage structure, (3) determining which environmental factors influence
aquatic vegetation assemblages, and (4) understanding how non-native species, especially the omnivorous Rudd, affect ecosystem structure and function.
• Samantha Griffin - Headwaters Chapter of
Trout Unlimited Fisheries Scholarship
To date, Dr. Kapuscinski has published more than
10 technical reports and 14 articles in peer-reviewed,
scientific journals, which have focused on the ecol-
If you or your organization are interested in establishing
a scholarship at LSSU please contact our Foundation
Office (foundation@lssu.edu).
• Jayne Meinhard - Hiawatha Sportsmen Club
Fisheries & Wildlife Scholarship
• Jayne Meinhard - Wendy Sak Memorial
Scholarship
• Nathan Sleight - Anglers of the AuSable
Fisheries Scholarship
• Abby Schoonyan - Isaak Walton League of
America Lock City Chapter Scholarship
Page 3
News and Notes:
• Drs. Kevin Kapuscinski and Derek Crane were
awarded $190,112 by the Niagara River Greenway
Ecological Fund to quantify relationships
between fish assemblages and nearshore habitat
characteristics of the Niagara River.
• Drs. Ashley Moerke, Gregory Zimmerman,
and Kevin Kapuscinski in collaboration with
MDEQ were awarded $150,000 to evaluate the
effectiveness of a biocontrol agent on a nuisance
aquatic plant, Eurasion watermilfoil.
• Dr. Megan Kelly is collaborating with researchers
across the country as part of the RiverPACE
program, a project involving undergraduate
students in the analysis of emerging contaminants
in local waters.
• Dr. Jun Li and Dr. Mohamed Faisal of MSU were
awarded $446,492 from the Great Lakes Fisheries
Trust to examine the effects of epitheliotropic
disease and to develop diagnostic and control
measures.
• Tyler Jackson (’14) was awarded grants from
The Great Lakes Council of the Federation of
Fly Fishers ($400) and the LSSU Undergraduate
Student Research Committee ($500) to support his
senior thesis research examining changes in gene
expression during parr-smolt transformation in
Great Lakes salmonids.
• Dr. Gregory Zimmerman, in collaboration
with researchers from dePaul University, the
University of Loyola-Chicago and the University
of Michigan, was awarded $499,000 from the
GLRI to explore the feasability of restoring
wetlands by harvesting invasive species for use as
pelleted biofuel.
Sturgeon - continued from page 1
natural reproduction is limited with extreme annual
variability. The large size of a female sturgeon allows
her to produce hundreds of thousands of eggs, yet
less than 1% of these eggs will survive due to a poor
fertilization rate, poor spawning habitat, and egg
predation. Existing Lake Sturgeon populations have
stood the test of time and endured the negative impacts of humans and now require our help to survive.
Currently, Lake Sturgeon are listed as a threatened
species in Michigan, but with the dedicated efforts of
biologists, researchers, and conservation enthusiasts
these fish have the opportunity to make a comeback
in the Great Lakes.
Historically 36 Lake Sturgeon populations existed
across Michigan waters. Currently 24 populations
remain, only 5 of which (including the Kalamazoo
River population) are thought to be breeding. Together, Tucker (Michigan Department of Natural Resources), Bauman (US Fish & Wildlife Service), and Lorenz
(Gun Lake Tribe) are assisting the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to monitor the population
in the Kalamazoo River by tagging and collecting
biological information (age, size, and sex) of adults as
they migrate upriver to spawn. Naturally produced
Lake Sturgeon eggs and larvae are being collected
and raised in a unique streamside rearing facility to
protect them and ensure a stable environment during their most vital and vulnerable life stages. The
young-of-year will be raised and studied throughout
the summer of 2014 and grown to 6” before being
tagged and released back into the Kalamazoo River
in the fall to continue their journey and complete one
step along the way of Lake Sturgeon rehabilitation.
Thank You!
Thank you to all individual donors and organizations
for their on-going generosity in support of our work
at the ARL. Please consider supporting the work of the
Lake Superior State University Aquatic Research Laboratory. You can visit our online giving site: lssu.edu/
arl or send a check made payable to LSSU Foundation,
650 W. Easterday Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.
Page 4
With growth rates of 1” per week, 35 juvenile Lake
Sturgeon were released into the Kalamazoo River
on September 6, 2014 .
Alumni Profile
By Scott Koproski ‘97
H
ello Fellow Lakers: Since I entered the fisheries profession, I have been amazed by the
number of LSSU graduates that I have run
into. LSSU alumni are scattered everywhere; state
and federal agencies, tribal and non-profit organizations, to name a few. What is even more amazing is
how well represented LSSU is with so few alumni
compared to larger universities. It really brings to
light the unique learning environment that LSSU offers and highlights the quality education one receives
if he/she decides to attend this “small” college.
Since graduating in 1997 I have been fortunate to stay
in Michigan. Soon after graduation, I received a 180day temporary position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alpena, MI, and I loved the work. Who
can complain when your job requires you to launch a
boat 80% of the time and catch fish.
After I reached the 180 day limit of that position,
I competed for, and obtained, a 4-year term position with the F&W Service. This position was again
located in Alpena. During this appointment I added
several technical skills to my resume. It was still a
field based position and I spent a great deal of time
on a boat, but I also gained a lot of knowledge and
experience on the “management” side of the fishery.
As I was entering year 3 of a 4-year appointment, I
began looking for my next opportunity. The Bay
Mills Indian Community was seeking to fill a vacancy
in their Biological Services Program. I decided to
throw my name in the hat. After a phone interview
and a second in-person interview, the position was
offered to me; I finally had full time employment
without any term limits! My time at Bay Mills was
great. I learned about Tribal natural resources and
how important land and water resources are to their
community both culturally and spiritually.
After three years working for Bay Mills, another opportunity presented itself with the F&W Service in
Alpena. This was a permanent full time fishery biologist position. Once again, I was fortunate to compete
for and be offered the job. I had finally reached my
goal - full time federal employment.
Scott Koproski has enjoyed a 17 year (and
counting) career as a fisheries biologist in Michigan.
It has been a great journey for me! I recognize the
value of each position I have held over the last 17
years. However, without the education that I received
from LSSU, I doubt I would have ended up where I
am at today! I will be eternally indebted to the faculty and staff at LSSU; long live the Laker legacy!
LSSU Students Continue to
GRO
by Trevor Dunn ‘15
E
ach year, hundreds of applicants from across
the nation submit proposals to EPA’s prestigious Growing Research Opportunities (GRO)
Fellowship. Recipients of the fellowship receive
$50,000 to assist with tuition, a paid internship, travel
to professional conferences, and funding to conduct
a research project. Each year, fewer than 40 of these
fellowships are awarded nationwide. In 2014, Trevor
Dunn, a Fisheries & Wildlife major continues what is
now an LSSU tradition. Our students have successfully competed for these fellowships each of the last
3 years (John Griffioen 2012; Addie Dutton 2013; and
Garret Price 2013).
Dunn, a junior from Alpena, MI will investigate the
impact of road crossings on the ecology of streams.
Inputs of sediments and the potential reduction of
flow can have a significant influence on many ecological factors. He plans to relate the classification of
stream-road crossing condition to sediment input as
well as fish diversity and size.
Page 5
Recent Publications:
Janetski, D., D. Chaloner, A. Moerke, P. Levi, and G. Lamberti. 2014. Novel environmental conditions alter
subsidy and engineering effects by introduced Pacific salmon. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
Sciences 71(4):502-513
Kapuscinski, K.L., J.M. Farrell, S.V. Stehman, G.L. Boyer, D.D. Fernando, M.A. Teece, and T.J. Tschaplinski.
2014. Selective herbivory by an invasive cyprinid, the rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus. Freshwater
Biology 59:2315-2327. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12433.
Kapuscinski, K.L., Farrell, J.M.,Wilkinson, M.A., Skinner, L.C., and A.J. Gudlewski. 2014. Low
concentrations of contaminants in an invasive, omnivorous cyprinid, the rudd (Scardinius
erythrophthalmus), in a Great Lakes Area of Concern. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination &
Toxicology 93(5):567-573. DOI: 10.1007/s00128-014-1325-3.
Kelly, M.M., N.T. Fleishhacker, D. Rearick, W.A. Arnold, H.L. Schoenfuss, and P.J. Novak. 2014.
Phytoestrogens in the Environment, II: microbiological degradation of phytoestrogens and the response of
fathead minnows to degradate exposure. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33(3):560-566.
Rearick, D., N.T. Fleishhacker, M.M. Kelly, W.A. Arnold, P.J. Novak, and H.L. Schoenfuss. 2014.
Phytoestrogens in the environment, I: Occurrence and exposure effects on fathead minnows.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33(3): 553-559.
Wang, C., Y. Hu, B. Sun, H. Chi, J. Li, and L. Sun. 2013. Environmental isolates P1SW and V3SW as a
bivalent vaccine induce effective cross-protection against Edwardsiella tarda and Vibrio anguillarum.
Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 103:45-53.
Wang, C., Y. Hu, B. Sun, J. Li, and L. Sun. 2013. Edwardsiella tarda Ivy: a lysozyme inhibitor that blocks the
lytic effect of lysozyme and facilitates host infection in a manner that depends on the conserved cysteine
residue. Infection & Immunity 81:3527-3533.
Wu, N., S.C. LaPatra, J, Li, J.O. Sunyer, and Y.A. Zhang. 2014. Complement C5a acts as molecular adjuvant
in fish by enhancing antibody response to soluble antigen. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 40(2):616-623.
Yu, L., B. Sun, J. Li, and L. Sun. 2013. Characterization of a c-type lysozyme of Scophthalmus maximus:
expression, activity, and antibacterial effect. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 34:46-54.
Frog-bit Invasion in the St. Marys River
by Alexis Schefka (’15) and Devin Daly (’16)
I
t was a routine sampling day for LSSU’s Great
Lakes coastal wetland monitoring crew in July
2014. While setting up a fyke net to sample wetland fishes in a patch of common reeds in Raber Bay,
and close to Raber Bay Resort’s boat launch, the crew
noticed extremely high densities of what looked like
quarter-sized lily pads. The crew quickly recognized
that this was a new type of vegetation, and confirmed
that it was an invasive species called European Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae).
Frog-bit is an aquatic invasive plant that looks similar
to a small water lily, but its lily pad is leathery and
has a distinct heart-shaped pattern. It also produces
a single small white flower during the summer. As
observed in Raber Bay, frog-bit grows at densities
Page 6
European frog-bit is an invasive aquatic plant
capable of altering coastal wetland ecosystems.
Continued on page 7
Little Rapids – Big Impact
by Nate Sleight
H
istorically, the Little Rapids was an area possessing high flow and supporting diverse
fish and macroinvertebrates, similar to the
main rapids in the St. Marys River. Over a half century ago, a causeway was built to connect Island No.
1 to Sugar Island, which destroyed the Little Rapids
by impounding flow upstream and restricting flow
connection to two submerged 6’ culverts.
As a result of the lost rapids habitat, the Little Rapids
area was identified by the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality as a target for habitat restoration. With the assistance of many local, state, and federal agencies and organizations, the project received
federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2014 and construction
will begin in 2015. Flow restoration will be achieved
by replacing the two small culverts with larger box
culverts spanning 600’. The restoration goal is to improve flow through the causeway and restore habitat
for fish, bottom organisms, and wildlife.
LSSU’s ARL is leading a baseline assessment of biological organisms inhabiting the Little Rapids area to
evaluate the change in composition and abundance
of organisms after restoration. The pre-restoration
monitoring objectives are to: 1) quantify successful
fish reproduction by evaluating larval fish densities
and fish community composition, and 2) quantify
macroinvertebrate community diversity and abundance prior to the restoration of flow.
After two summers of sampling in the Little Rapids,
ARL staff and students found that the Little Rapids
area currently is dominated by a warmwater fish
community typical of a lake system. Natural reproduction of salmonids was observed in the Little
Rapids area, but in low numbers. Additionally, few
aquatic insects were collected, suggesting poor habitat and water quality. After flow restoration, aquatic
insect and coolwater fish diversity and abundance
are expected to increase. Post-restoration monitoring
will be conducted in 2015 and 2016 to evaluate the
project’s success.
The Little Rapids restoration has been a valuable
learning opportunity for LSSU students, including
two senior thesis students (Zach Berry and Nate
Sleight). They have received real-world experiences
and an opportunity to contribute to a data set that
will help inform restoration projects elsewhere.
Nate Sleight (‘15)
collects samples
to assess the
status of the Little
Rapids area of the
St. Marys River.
The work is being
conducted to
prepare for habitat
restoration efforts.
Frog-bit - continued from page 6
so thick that it blocks out sunlight for plants below,
limits fish movement, and restricts boat traffic. The
introduction of frogbit can result in changing ecosystems drastically by reducing plant, invertebrate, and
fish diversity in coastal wetlands.
Historically, frog-bit was introduced to the lower
Great Lakes region from Asia and Europe through
the ornamental plant industry. The plant was suspected to have escaped from commercial growers
and since spread to a handful of locations in Lake
Huron. Unfortunately, the Raber Bay invasion isn’t
the first in the St. Marys River; frog-bit was discovered in Munuscong Bay in 2013. It is suspected that
frog-bit was introduced to these areas and further
spread accidentally by recreational boaters. Frog-bit
gets caught on motors and trailers, and if it is not
cleaned off then it is transferred to new waters easily.
Luckily, European frog-bit was detected early and
with the help of LSSU students and the local conservation district, efforts have been made to remove
frog-bit near boat launches in Raber Bay. Over 600lbs of frog-bit has been removed since its discovery.
This effort, along with outreach to boaters, will help
minimize the spread to other critical habitats in the
St. Marys River and Great Lakes.
Page 7
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Aquatic Research Laboratory - Lake Superior State University

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