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Home | Data and Monitoring | Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium 
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Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium
Coastal Wetlands Investigations Investigations were undertaken in the following five areas:
Six pilot studies were undertaken that provided broad investigation into techniques that can be developed into a Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring strategy. The purpose of this work was to test the usefulness and applicability of various methods and metrics across the basin in a collaborative fashion. Project field work took place in over 30 wetland sites distributed across the Great Lakes basin. Information was collected and analyzed on the Consortium's indicators which include biological, physical, chemical, and landscape measures. The data were be centrally compiled at the end of project work so that cross-site comparisons could be done. A summary document, Assessment of 2002 Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Indicator Data, compiles the results of the six teams of investigators and evaluates the degree to which each of the indicators can be used to diagnose wetlands status across the basin. Each indicator was evaluated in terms of: cost, measurability, basin-wide applicability of sampling by wetland type, availability of complementary existing research or data, indicator sensitivity to wetland condition changes, and ability to set endpoint or attainment levels. Three combinations of indicators were recommended based on cost, time, and sensitivity optimization. The brief descriptions below
provide the scope of each of the six funded projects.
Study Indicators and Metrics (PDF) provides detailed information on the Consortium's pre-selected set of indicators that are being validated for implementation within a long-term Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring strategy. IBI DevelopmentFollowing the field investigations in the first year of the Consortium, the PMT determined that additional analysis to develop IBIs for different taxa was warranted. Three teams compiled data from all six pilot studies, supplemented this with additional data from their own previous work and conducted various analyses to determine which metrics could be combined into an effective IBI. The IBIs were then assessed for overall effectiveness in aligning with disturbance gradients based on land use and physical measures.
A number of the indicators the Consortium is investigating require the regular collection of remote imagery and interpretation to delineate change in wetland area and vegetation along with changes in surrounding land use and habitat. Two separate investigations were sponsored by the Consortium to determine the viability of satellite and radar approaches.
Due to cost and extrapolation issues associated with direct monitoring of toxic contaminants in wetlands, the Consortium looked to methods that would better track bioaccumulation of contaminants in individual wetland sites. The most promising method -- tracking contaminant levels in snapping turtle eggs -- was investigated for its possible use in a coastal wetlands monitoring program as a surrogate for relative contaminant levels in individual wetlands. The report below documents the scientific validation of the method, assesses it across the six Consortium criteria and presents a plan for incorporating the method in a monitoring program.
Principle Investigator: Kim Fernie, Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service View project report |
The Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium has administered a number
of investigations that seek to add knowledge and further the understanding
of coastal wetlands dynamics. All projects were designed to address
specific elements of a monitoring program design. All projects were
competitively bid and peer-reviewed to assure a high level of quality
and alignment with Consortium goals.
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