Aquatic insects as Bioindicators of land Use Change in the Grand Traverse Bay Area of Michigan

Abstract

In 1996, the US-Canadian International Joint Commission identified five key stresses impacting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem: nutrient inputs (e.g., phosphorous and nitrogen), persistent toxic substances, physical alterations (e.g., sedimentation, infiltration, runoff, water levels), human activities and values (as manifested in land-use change, populations growth, urbanization, etc.), and exotic species. Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay Watershed (GTBW) is currently undergoing all of these problems as a result of rapid population growth and regional land-use change. In 1992, a Relative Risk Analysis Project identified the absence of land-use planning as Michigan's most urgent environmental priority. This project report stated that land-use planning was seldom carried out due to the lack of adequate water quality indicators of land use practices.

Citation

Haack, Robert A.; Petrice, Toby R.; Haack, Sheridan K.; Hyndman, David; Long, David; Pijanowski, Bryan. 2000. Aquatic insects as Bioindicators of land Use Change in the Grand Traverse Bay Area of Michigan. Newsletter of the Michigan Entomological Society. Vol. 45 no. 2.:p. 13-14. (2000)