ANN ARBOR—The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission recently joined forces to measure the impact of aquatic nuisance species on the Great Lakes food web and on sport and commercial fisheries.

Michigan Sea Grant, a collaborative program with Michigan State University with headquarters at the University of Michigan, is part of the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network.

The partnership will enable the groups to prioritize funding and coordinate research. The coordinated approach will enhance the effectiveness of individual research projects, such as how food web structure in one lake can be used to predict future impacts in the other lakes. The partners also anticipate that this approach will increase research opportunities.

“This partnership is a critical step in our efforts to understand how non-native species are currently disrupting food webs and what these food webs are likely to look like in the future,” according to Bernie Hansen, chair of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

The partnership will focus on the effects of four non-native invertebrates: zebra mussels, quagga mussels, spiny water flea, and the fishhook water flea. Over the past 15 years, these four species have invaded the Great Lakes and, each year, have an increasingly severe impact on the lake ecosystem.

The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network is comprised of university-based programs in Michigan, Illinois-Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Great Lakes Sea Grant Network programs conduct Great Lakes research, education and outreach and are funded by the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Great Lakes Fishery Trust was created to compensate the citizens of the state of Michigan for the lost use and enjoyment of Lake Michigan fisheries resources resulting from the operation of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant. Great Lakes Fishery Trustees represent the State of Michigan, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, National Wildlife Federation, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, created under the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries of 1955, was formed by the governments of Canada and the United States with its goal being to control the sea lamprey, coordinate fishery management and conduct research.

Great Lakes Sea Grant NetworkMichigan Sea GrantNational Sea Grant College ProgramLudington Pumped Storage Plant