While researching aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Great Lakes, Grigorovich et al. (2003) discovered that hotspots for AIS involve ballast water discharge from ships at busy ports or lake corridors. Using this discovery, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conducted their 2017 AIS Early Detection and Monitoring (EDM) Program in Lake Michigan at Wisconsin (Green Bay Harbor and Milwaukee Harbor), Illinois (Chicago Harbor and Calumet Harbor), and Portage (Burns Harbor), Indiana (Hayer & Petasek 2017). This AIS EDM program used a combination of bongo nets and light traps to capture larval fish and benthic macroinvertebrates to observe if their abundance is either relatively low or abnormally spreading to new geographical ranges (Hayer et al. 2017 & Hayer 2017).
During 2017, Lake Michigan hotspots were sampled by the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program. These hotspot study sites are outlined in red. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. USFWS. 2017.
Fox River/Green Bay Harbor – Lake Michigan, WI
Light trap (yellow triangles; N=16) and Bongo nets (red triangles; N=5) sampling points. USFWS. 2017.
Milwaukee’s River & Harbor, Lake Michigan, WI
Light trap (yellow triangles; N=18) and Bongo nets (red triangles; N=6) sampling points. USFWS. 2017.
Chicago Harbor, Lake Michigan, IL
Light trap (yellow triangles; N=18) sampling points. USFWS. 2017.
Calumet Harbor, Lake Michigan, IL
Light trap (yellow triangles; N=11) sampling points. USFWS. 2017.
Light trap (yellow triangles; N=15) sampling points. USFWS. 2017.
*Invasive Species Collected*