Research Documents and Reports

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Open Access
Seiches and Set-up on Lake Winnipeg
(Limnology and Oceanography, 1968) Einarsson, E.; Lowe, B.
Recorder charts of water level for the ice-free season are examined for six stations on Lake Winnipeg for the years 1961-1964. Transverse and longitudinal seiches are identified for the north and south basins. An interference pattern is noted for seiches over two different fetches at Victoria Bench. Typical weather situations producing transverse and longitudinal seiches are identified. Moderate to large set-up is examined for 37 cases and geostrophic winds scaled off from weather charts covering an 18-hr period preceding the peak set-up. Using corrections for curvature, motion of the pressurc system, deviation from the main axis of the lake, and air stability, an assumned over-water component is computed for each case. The correlation between set-up and over-water wind square is found to be 0.81. Standard deviation of actual set-up from that predicted by the regression equation is 0.076 m.
Open Access
Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat in the Winnipeg Region
(Resources Planning, Manitoba Department of Mines, Resources and Environmental Management, 1974-05) Bossenmaier, E.F; Vogel, C.G
This report is meant for anyone who may have an interest in the wildlife and wildlife habitat of the Winnipeg region. This interest may spring from concern for environmental quality, from a desire to conserve, preserve or manage wildlife, or from a wish to use wildlife for hunting, viewing, trapping, educational or scientific purposes. Land developers in the Winnipeg region will learn in a broad way the potential impact of their schemes on wildlife and its habitat.
Open Access
Appendix A - Water Quality Report
(International Joint Commission, 1976) International Garrison Diversion Study Board
The purpose of this part of the report is to describe the present water quality of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg and, to predict future water quality with and without the imposition of irrigation return flows, canal system seepage, operational wastes, municipal and industrial effluent and fish and wildlife return flows related to the planned Garrison Diversion Unit in North Dakota.
Open Access
The problem of measuring the mass exchange at The Narrows, Lake Winnipeg.
(Hydraulics Research Division, 1976-03) Lau, Y.L.; Hamblin, P.F.; Dick, T.M.
Preliminary analysis of the studies proposed for Lake Winnipeg indicates that exchange of water masses between the upper and lower basins may be significant for the assessment of water quality trends. Reliable estimates are therefore required of the effective exchange flow between the various basins.
Open Access
Resolving the chronology of recent lake sediments: an example from Devils Lake, North Dakota
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989) Jacobsen, Heather A.; Engstrom, Daniel R.
Devils Lake was a closed, saline lake in North Dakota; it is typical of lake basins in the Great Plains Regions, where windy conditions and fluctuating water-levels disturb sediment and confound chronostratigraphy. Pollen analysis and 210Pb dating of two cores collected from bathymetrically contrasting embayments demonstrate (1) how certain agriculture-related pollen types differ in their value as chronostratigraphic markers, (2) how pollen and 210Pb stratigraphers can be reconciled to determine the approximate depth of sediment mixing, and (3) the importance of coring-site selection, especially in lakes and unstable sedimentary conditions.
Open Access
Shear at the surface of a lake in light winds
(American Geophysical Union, 1991-04-15) Kenney, Bernard C.
Standard computer cards released at 1-min intervals from the same point beneath a hydrometeorological tower were observed to segregate by color according to their depth of integration of the current. Green cards floated flat at the lake surface. Orange cards, on the other hand, curved downward when placed on the lake surface and averaged the currents in the top 1 cm. The separation of the cards into two distinct plumes resulted from wind-directed shear in the first centimeter below the surface that was superimposed upon a barotropic current flowing crosswind. Using time-lapse aerial photography, the magnitude and direction of the shear was quantified. The mean shear in the top cm was 3.5 s-1 and was aligned with the mean wind direction. The wind-directed shear was similar to that expected for a viscous sublayer in light winds.
Open Access
Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota
(American Water Resources Association, 1993-08) Stoner, Jeffrey D.; Lorenz, David L.; Wiche, Gregg J.; Goldstein, Robert M.
The environmental setting of the Red River of the North basin within the United States is diverse in ways that could significantly control the areal distribution and flow of water and, therefore, the distribution and concentration of constituents that affect water quality. Continental glaciers shaped a landscape of very flat lake plains near the center of the basin, and gently rolling uplands, lakes, and wetlands along the basin margins. The fertile, black, fine‐grained soils and landscape are conducive to agriculture. Productive cropland covers 66 percent of the land area. The principal crops are wheat, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, corn, and hay. Pasture, forests, open water, and wetlands comprise most of the remaining land area. About one‐third of the 1990 population (511,000) lives in the cities of Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. The climate of the Red River of the North basin is continental and ranges from dry subhumid in the western part of the basin to subhumid in the eastern part.
Open Access
Analysis of the effects of the Pine Falls pulp mill on the benthic invertebrates in the Winnipeg River, Manitoba
(Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 1996-07-01) Wong, P.L.; Armstrong, L.; Bezte, C.L.; Wilkinson, P.; Lockhart, W.L.
In Oct. 1994 a comprehensive study was initiated to assess the effects of the Pine Falls Pulp and Paper Mill on the invertebrates in the Winnipeg River. A total of 20850 invertebrate specimens was collected belonging to eight major classes.
Open Access
America's animal factories: how states fail to prevent pollution from livestock waste
(Natural Resources Defense Council, 1998) Natural Resources Defense Council and Clean Water Act
Factory farms, which mass-produce animals in assembly-line fashion, have harmed aquatic life, human health and ecosystems across the nation. As industrial-sized farms stagger under the vast burden of manure they are generating, environmental disasters are inevitable. The scale of this unprecedented outpouring of animal waste is staggering: 130 times the waste generated by humans in this country each year. This section details how animal waste is poisoning our water and air. It also explains why more disasters are likely to occur unless the nation takes serious steps not only to regulate the way animal factories currently handle their waste but also to turn towards more benign methods of raising animals and managing the wastes they generate.
Open Access
Fluxes of mercury to lake sediments in central and northern Canada inferred from dated sediment cores
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998) Lockhart, W.L.; Wilkinson, P.; Billeck, B.N; Danell, R.A.; Hunt, R.V.; Brunskill, G.J.; Delaronde, J.; St.Louis, V.
Sediment cores were collected from lakes in central and northern Canada and from Hudson Bay to compare current and historic net depositions of mercury. Cores from most locations were enriched in mercury in the upper layers deposited recently relative to deeper, historic layers. The lakes with the greatest enrichments in mercury were located in central/southern Canada. This enrichment was interpreted as being of anthropogenic origin. Mercury inputs at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario inferred from a core profile agreed well with inputs calculated independently from precipitation and runoff data. Anthropogenic inputs of mercury to northwestern Ontario were calculated to be about 9 ug m-2 y-1. Considering all the locations over the geographic range, the core profiles infer that fluxes of mercury have increased on average by about 2 fold over the past half century. This is consistent with results from other sites in North America and Europe.
Open Access
Global-scale environmental effects of hydrological alterations: Introduction
(American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2000) Rosenberg, David M.; Mccully, Patrick; Pringle, Catherine M.
Ubiquitous hydrological alterations-dam construction and associated water diversion, exploitation of groundwater aquifers, stream channelization, and intercatchment water transfer-are producing global-scale effects on the environment. The articles in this special issue of BioScience highlight the cumulative effects of hydrological alterations associated with dam and reservoir development. Such information is critical for deciding whether, when, and where the next major hydrological project will be built; it can also warn us about impending environmental impacts.
Open Access
The Hudson Bay drainage system: conflicts and cooperation in transboundary water quantity and quality
(2001) Paton, William H.N.
Canada's rivers discharge about 9 percent of the world's renewable water supply. Some 60 percent of this runoff flows into the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay. The bulk of the Hudson's Bay water arises in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and flows through Saskatchewan to Manitoba. The rest of the water comes into Manitoba at the North Dakota border as the Red River of the North. This paper will review the impact of the current agreements that influence both interprovincial and international water quantity and quality transfers. Water is a major limitation to economic development on the arid Canadian prairies. The influence of predicted climate change, increased crop irrigation and major expansion of intensive livestock production and meat processing in Manitoba will be discussed. The current limited regulatory framework for water quality in Manitoba as compared to regulations of upstream users will also be highlighted.
Open Access
Prescription and non-prescription drugs in the Canadian aquatic environment
(2002) Metcalfe, Chris; Koenig, Brenda; Miao, Xiu-Sheng; Ternes, Thomas; Struger, John
In Europe, a variety of prescription and non-prescription drugs have been identified in the effluents of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in rivers and streams near discharges from STPs. Chronic exposure of aquatic organisms to drugs in surface waters could induce biological effects that may alter their physiology, behavior or reproductive capacity. The primary objective of this project was to evaluate the occurrence and concentrations of prescription and non-prescription drugs in the Canadian aquatic environment, including the effluents from domestic sewage treatment plants (STPs) and surface waters near STP discharges.
Open Access
Habitat coupling in lake ecosystems
(OIKOS, 2002-03-12) Schindler, Daniel E.; Scheuerell, Mark D.
Lakes are complex ecosystems composed of distinct habitats coupled by biological, physical and chemical processes. While the ecological and evolutionary characteristics of aquatic organisms reflect habitat coupling in lakes, aquatic ecology has largely studied pelagic, benthic and riparian habitats in isolation from each other. Here, we summarize several ecological and evolutionary patterns that highlight the importance of habitat coupling and discuss their implications for understanding ecosystem processes in lakes. We pay special attention to fishes because they play particularly important roles as habitat couplers as a result of their high mobility and flexible foraging tactics that lead to inter-habitat omnivory. Habitat coupling has important consequences for nutrient cycling, predator-prey interactions, and food web structure and stability. For example, nutrient excretion by benthivorous consumers can account for a substantial fraction of inputs to pelagic nutrient cycles. Benthic resources also subsidize carnivore populations that have important predatory effects on plankton communities. These benthic subsidies stabilize population dynamics of pelagic carnivores and intensify the strength of their interactions with planktonic food webs. Furthermore, anthropogenic disturbances such as eutrophication, habitat modification, and exotic species introductions may severely alter habitat connections and, therefore, the fundamental flows of nutrients and energy in lake ecosystems.
Open Access
An Annotated Bibliography on Lake Manitoba and Adjoining Waters
(Delta Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba), 2003-11) Bortoluzzi, Tara
Lake Manitoba located in south-central Manitoba, is the thirteenth largest freshwater lake in North America, spanning approximately 4700 km2. The lake is an important resource for Manitoba in terms of fisheries, recreation, hydrology and wildlife. For the past few decades there has been a growing awareness, as a result of few studies on Lake Manitoba and its surrounding waterbodies that the water quality of the lake has been deteriorating for at least the past 30 years. This has increased the need for adequate information on the current and historical biological health of Lake Manitoba and adjoining water bodies, primarily to adequately assess of the impacts of a wide range of human influences and developments on the biological health of the lake and surrounding water bodies. This has resulted in a growing need for a comprehensive bibliography summarizing studies conducted on Lake Manitoba and adjoining water bodies. In this annotated bibliography the attempted has been to compile all substantive references addressing the current and historical biological health of Lake Manitoba. Selected water bodies that surround Lake Manitoba have also been included in the bibliography including Lake St. Martin, Waterhen Watershed, Pineimuta Lake and Marsh, Dauphin River, Fairford River, the Whitemud Watershed, and Delta Marsh. The lower Assiniboine River, from Brandon to the Assiniboine River Diversion (also known as the Portage Diversion) has also been included, along with the Assiniboine Diversion. In term of biological health, publication dealing with historical and current water quality conditions and water levels, and their effects in the above mentioned water bodies have been included in the bibliography. The effects of water quality and water levels include effects on the physical, chemical and biological features of the ecosystem. Publications containing information on historical regulation of Lake Manitoba and water levels in the lake have also been included. In total approximately 400 publications are included in this bibliography, spanning a period of over 125 years, with publications as early as 1876 included, continuing up until the beginning of 2002. In the bibliography the content of each publication has been concisely summarized. The summaries given for each publication, focus in material in the documents that pertains to Lake Manitoba and the other water bodies mentioned above. A summary table is also include in this report in Section two, to exemplify specific subject material that is contained in the publications such as various water quality parameters, and information on fisheries, flora, fauna, agriculture,recreational usage, soils and geology. The location and season of field studies is also given in the table. Locations where publications can be found, if known, are given to aid the reader in locating copies of the publications. A list of the various locations is given along with addresses, contact information, and hours of operation in Section three. Another section (section four) has also been included, which contains a brief list of historical photographs of Lake Manitoba, and select surrounding water bodies. From this bibliography it is apparent that there is a lack of information on the current and historical health of Lake Manitoba, and the majority of its surrounding water bodies. While the general hydrology of the Lake is relatively well documented, many aspects are inadequately understood, including the physical limnology and water chemistry of the lake. Water quality data is sporadically available on the lake as early as 1926. During the 1960s and 1970s there was a water quality monitoring program carried out at up to sixteen sites in the North and South Basins of the lake. However, the sampling program was reduced to six stations in 1973, with three in each basin, and in 1977 the program was eliminated all together. Furthermore, most of the data that were gathered from the sampling programs are unpublished. Today, only one sampling station exists in the entire lake located approximately 1 km offshore from the south end of the South Basin. The site has been monitoring since 1991. Much of the scientific data gathered on Lake Manitoba has been biological in nature, mostly concerning the lakes fishery. Relatively few published studies exist which have examined the algal or invertebrate composition of the lake. There is clearly an essential need for more scientific data to be gathered on the biological health of Lake Manitoba, as well as its surrounding water bodies. It should also be noted that due to the expansive amount of publications that have resulted from research studies that have been conducted at Delta Marsh only those that directly relate biological, chemical and influences from Lake Manitoba on the marsh and surrounding area, and influences on the lake from the surrounding watershed are included in this bibliography. The majority of studies conducted in Delta Marsh have also been previously sited in a bibliography compiled by den Haan (unpublished) that is currently in the final stages of complication and will be published later this year. Publications and theses resulting from work at the Delta Marsh can also be found in the Delta Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba) Annual Reports that can be obtained through the Delta Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba) (see locations list). It should also be noted that currently publications are still being added on a daily basis to the Manitoba Conservation and Environment Library, since the closure and the Manitoba Department of Natural Resources Library, and the transfer of its publications to the Manitoba Conservation and Environment Library. Approximately 1,000 publications are being added monthly to the library’s catalogue. As a result some publications, other than the ones included in this bibliography could exist on Lake Manitoba and the other surrounding water bodies; however they were not accessible during the compilation of this bibliography, so they may not have been included.
Open Access
Quality of streams in the Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota
(U.S. Geological Survey, 2004) Tornes, Lan H.
This report summarizes water-quality data from streams draining the Red River of the North Basin, which is a mostly agricultural region. It primarily has crops including small grains, corn, soybeans, sugar beets, sunflowers, and hay. The Red River drains large portions of western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. It flows north from the United States into Canada and empties into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The general quality of the waters in the Red River Basin is suitable for intended uses. Occasional exceedances of criteria or standards were brief, and many occurred before present-day wastewater-treatment methods were enacted. Concentrations of major ions, including sulfate and specific conductance, have approached and occasionally exceeded water-quality standards or criteria and may continue to do so. These exceedances likely are to be expected because of baseflow that is sustained from ground-water discharge from several aquifers, some of which are known to contain high concentrations of dissolved salts that contain sulfate and other ions. These data provide a good baseline of water quality conditions, but detections of many trace elements, including lead and mercury, may have been the result of contamination during collection and processing until methods were refined. The detections recorded in databases likely will cause concern although more recent reports show that concentrations of selected trace elements in the Red River Basin generally are low.
Open Access
Changes in the Emergent Plant Community of Netley-Libau Marsh Between 1979 and 2001
(Delta Marsh, University of Manitoba, 2004-11) Grosshans, Richard E.; Wrubleski, Dale A.; Goldsborough, L. Gordon
We used aerial photography combined with field observations to develop a detailed aquatic vegetation map for Netley-Libau Marsh in south-central Manitoba. This report describes the creation of a new geographically accurate map (georeferenced for use in a Geographic Information System - GIS), based on aerial photos taken in 2001, and construction of a detailed vegetation map for evaluating the changing state of Netley-Libau Marsh. This provides a basis for comparison with a 1979 vegetation map enabling a quantitative assessment of changes in the marsh over a 22-year period. Comparisons between 1979 and 2001 reveal several significant changes in Netley-Libau Marsh. Loss of emergent vegetation and the erosion of separating uplands between adjoining water bodies has been extensive, resulting in the amalgamation and expansion of many marsh bays and ponds. Currently, half of the entire marsh (13,125 ha, 51%) is open water, compared to 35% (8,884 ha) in 1979. Cattail (Typha spp.) continues to be the dominant emergent plant in the marsh, showing little change between surveys. However, hard- and soft-stem bulrush (Schoenoplectus spp.) have declined ten-fold in abundance, from 3,247 ha (13%) to 317 ha (1%). The mixed river bulrush and sedge community, along with the wet meadow communities, have also declined in abundance. Plant communities at drier sites, however, have remained relatively unchanged. Reasons for the observed changes in the marsh are not well known or understood, but change is not a recent development. Maps of the marsh from the 1920s to the present show a pattern of increasing open water area and loss of upland and island habitats. These changes are likely related to a number of factors, but the influence of Lake Winnipeg and the Red River are likely the most important. Lake Winnipeg dictates water levels within Netley-Libau Marsh. Since the droughts of the 1930s and 1940s, water levels on Lake Winnipeg and the marsh have included few intervening dry periods. Without extended dry periods, to periodically allow the germination of new emergent vegetation, there has been a slow but consistent loss of emergent vegetation in the marsh. As this vegetation is lost, the protection that it provides for the soft sediments that make up island and upland habitats is also lost, and these habitats are slowly being washed away. The current management of Lake Winnipeg for hydroelectric production works to prevent low water levels on the lake and the marsh. The Red River passes through Netley-Libau Marsh and it has likely contributed to some of the observed changes. High flow events on the river result in the erosion and collapse of weak points in the levees that border the river and other channels. Netley Cut, which was originally dredged in 1913, has been gradually eroded to a point where it now carries a substantial portion of the Red River flow into Netley Lake. The end of dredging on the Red River in 1999 has also likely contributed to the alteration of Red River flows through the marsh. High nutrient loads in the Red River, along with the arrival of common carp, may be contributing to enhanced algal growth and loss of submersed vegetation within the marsh. Loss of submersed vegetation results in the destabilization of bottom sediments and increased wind-induced wave action, which further helps erode island and upland habitats. Without an ability to manage marsh water levels independently of Lake Winnipeg, only a prolonged drought will help restore the emergent plant communities of Netley-Libau Marsh. Dry conditions experienced in 2003 helped re-establish some of the emergent plant communities of the marsh, but the recent return to wet conditions may make this reversal short-lived. We conclude that Netley-Libau Marsh resembles a shallow turbid lake more than a healthy coastal wetland. Any benefits to Lake Winnipeg which the marsh could provide as wildlife and fisheries habitat, and in removing and storing nutrients that would otherwise enrich the lake, have probably been degraded or lost.
Open Access
Survey of Specific Fish Pathogens in Free-Ranging Fish from Devils Lake, North Dakota
(US Fish & Wildlife Publications, 2005) Hudson, Crystal; Peters, Kenneth
Several biological surveys have been performed at Devils Lake, North Dakota to provide timely information to resource managers to assess the potential for biota transfer from the operation of an outlet designed to carry water to the Sheyenne River. In July, 2005 more than 300 fish were collected from Devils Lake and tested for fish pathogens and parasites using protocols and procedures of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wild Fish Health Survey. Eight fish health biologists from the Bozeman and LaCrosse Fish Health Centers worked cooperatively with the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance Office, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and the Spirit Lake Nation to collect samples from seven different species of fish. Fish were sampled with a variety of gear types from two main areas of the lake over a five day period. The catch was composed of black crappie, fathead minnow, northern pike, walleye, white bass, white sucker, and yellow perch. Testing for fish pathogens and parasites involved four main components. First, immediately upon capture, fish were examined externally and internally for gross signs of disease or other abnormalities. Next, representative samples from each species were examined for external and internal parasites. Then, specific tissues samples were collected using aseptic field techniques and were transferred to the laboratories for pathogens screening using standardized assays. Finally, tissue samples were further tested with highly specific corroborative or confirmatory assays whenever suspect pathogens were detected with screening methods. Results of the pathogen survey were completed within 30 d of sampling. No viral fish pathogens were detected in standard cell culture assays from any species of fish. Two ciliated protozoan parasites, Epistylis sp. and Trichodina sp., were observed in wet mounts of skin scrapings during parasite screening. Additionally, larval forms of the parasitic nematode Contracaecum sp. were recovered from walleye. Three parasitic cestodes were found including Bothriocephalus custpidatus in walleye, Proteocephalus pinguis in northern pike, and Ligula intestinalis in fathead minnow and yellow perch. Major microbial findings included the isolation of six species of bacteria representing both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. Motile aeromonids, such as A. hydrophila, were the most common Gram-negative bacteria and where recovered from six of the seven species of fish sampled. Other less common species included Pleisomonas shigelloides and Pseudomonas putrifaciens. Two Gram-positive bacteria were also cultured including Corynebacterium renale and Streptococcus sobrinus. In addition, antigen of Renibacterium salmoninarum was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in very low levels from all species. However, since active infection with R. salmoninarum was not confirmed in these populations by the highly specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, there was reason to believe the low ELISA optical density values represented false-positive readings. Other than R. salmoninarum, none of the other fish pathogens listed in the National Wild Fish Health Survey were detected in fish from Devils Lake. Likewise, none of the prohibitive fish pathogens found in most state or federal regulations or policies were recovered during the survey. Overall, fish appeared in good general health. Further discussions of major findings from the Devils Lake survey are presented here.
Open Access
Lower Red River and Lake Winnipeg South Basin Pathogen - Parasite Survey Report, Fall 2006
(Freshwater Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Winnipeg, MB, 2006) Souter, Brian; Dwilow, Andy; Aldous, Sandra; Allen, Jason; Rowes, Ken; Franzin, Bill; Watkinson, Doug
Summary • 10 species of fish were targeted for collection, 60 fish per species were to be collected. • 9 ofthe 10 targeted species were successfully sampled. Only 7 channel catfish were captured. Total of 547 fish were screened for bacterial and viral pathogens of concern. • 60 lake whitefish were tested for the presence of Myxobolus cerebralis (causative agent of whirling disease). • There was no clinical evidence of disease suggestive of an infection with any bacterial and viral pathogens of concern in any of the fish examined. Lymphocystis and dermal sarcoma, both neoplasias having viral etiologies were observed in a small number of walleye and sauger. • Virus was not isolated from any of the samples received, nor were any bacterial pathogens of concern (e.g. Aeromonas salmonicida, causative agent offurunculosis, and Yersinia ruckeri, causative agent of enteric redmouth disease). • Myxobolus cerebralis was not detected in the lake whitefish sample. • The Winnipeg Fish Health Laboratory used the indirect fluorescent antibody technique to stain kidney smears to screen for the prescence of Rellibacterium salmollillarum (causative agent for bacterial kidney disease). The pathogen was not detected by this method in either the samples processed in the Winnipeg Fish Health Laboratory, nor the stained slide preparations received from the Bozeman Fish Health Center. The inter-laboratory exchange of material was undertaken to compare the results obtained in the two laboratories because distinctly different methods of detection for this pathogen were used in the respective laboratories.
Open Access
2006 Yellow Perch Red River Delta Data (Appendix 12)
(2006) Department of Fisheries and Oceans