AWRI Summer Student Interns

One of the joys of summer at AWRI is our student intern program. This summer, we welcome 4 student interns to the Institute. These students are funded by a variety of sources and work with different principal investigators.

Emily Dusicska is being funded through the D.J. Angus-Scientech Educational Foundation; she will be working with Charlyn Partridge.

Three interns are being funded through the R.B. Annis Foundation: Matthew Allen will be working with Rick Rediske; Noah Cleghorn will be working with John Koches; and Maria Scarborough will be working with Carl Ruetz.

Two recent GVSU graduates (not pictured) also will be working at AWRI this summer, funded through various research projects: Nicole Hahn will be working with Al Steinman and Rachel Ratliff will be working with Bopi Biddanda.

A special welcome to all of these bright, young researchers for their hard work and dedication, and a heartfelt thank you to our generous funders!

Mark Luttenton was interviewed for a promotional spot related to a new project on the Muskegon River.  The project is headed by the Schrems West Michigan Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  The spot was sponsored by the Michigan Wildlife Council, was produced by WOOD TV, and was broadcast on eightWest on April 27.

Mark Luttenton was interviewed for a documentary on the Au Sable fish farm issue on May 6.

Charlyn Partridge attended the Freshwater Dunes Summit in Muskegon on May 8.

Charlyn Partridge, Rick Rediske, and Kevin Strychar all attended the Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Collaborative Meeting at NOAA-GLERL in Ann Arbor on May 15.

Rick Rediske attended the third of five Water Network Fellows meetings in Ann Arbor on May 12.

Carl Ruetz was interviewed by Jon Mills of WZZM 13 about the possible spread of Asian carp to Lake Michigan on April 27.

Al Steinman attended the annual Goodwill Achiever’s Luncheon on May 10.

Al Steinman had a radio interview with Shelley Irwin on May 12.

Al Steinman attended the Ottawa County Groundwater Taskforce meeting on May 16.

Janet Vail hosted a station at the 15^th Annual Project WET Community Water Festival in Big Rapids on May 26. 

AWRI staff are bolded, undergraduate students are denoted with a single asterisk*, graduate students are denoted with two asterisks**, and post-doc researchers are donated with three asterisks ***.

Publications

Bopi Biddanda is a co-author of an article published in Frontiers in Microbiology:
Sharrar, A.M., B. Flood, J. Bailey, D. Jones, B. Biddanda, S. Ruberg, D. Marcus, and G. Dick.  2017.  Novel large sulfur bacteria in the metagenomes of groundwater-fed chemosynthetic microbial mats in the Lake Huron basin. Frontiers in Microbiology (Extreme Microbiology Section) 8: 791. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00791 https://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00791/full

Jim McNair is a co-author of an article accepted to the Journal of Aquatic Plant Management:
Taylor (Schulte), L.L., J.N. McNair, P. Guastello, J. Pashnick, and R.A. Thum.  2017.  Heritable variation for vegetative growth rate in ten distinct genotypes of hybrid watermilfoil.  Journal of Aquatic Plant Management.

Al Steinman is a co-author of an article accepted to Limnology and Oceanography:
Sterner, R.W., P. Ostrom, N.E. Ostrom, J.V. Klump, A.D. Steinman, E.A. Dreelin, M.J. Vander Zanden, and A. Fisk. In Press. Grand challenges for research in the Laurentian Great Lakes.  Limnology and Oceanography.

Presentations

(Presenter listed first)

AWRI was represented at the 60^th annual IAGLR (International Association for Great Lakes Research) Conference held at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.  Attending were:  Nick Gezon, Nicole Hahn, Emily Kindervater, Katie Knapp, Qianqian Liu, Kim Oldenborg, Maggie Oudsema, Kevin Strychar, Xiaomei Su, Janet Vail, and Anthony Weinke.  Presentations were:
Gezon, N.R.**, Hewson, I. and Strychar, K.B.  Oral.  Exploring the viral consortium of invasive quagga mussels in the Lake Michigan benthos.
Kindervater, E.**.  Oral.  Phosphorus retention in West Michigan two-stage agricultural ditches.
Knapp, K.**, A. Weinke** and B. Biddanda.  Poster.  Carbon cycling in Muskegon Lake AOC using time series data.
Liu, Q.***, E. Anderson and B. Biddanda.  Oral.  A Physical-Biogeochemical simulation of Muskegon Lake.
Oudsema, M., M. Hassett, M. Ogdahl and A. Steinman.  Oral.  Long-term monitoring of phosphorus in a grassroots initiative to improve and restore a watershed.
Vail, J. and S. Stewart.  Oral.  Great Lakes public engagement through shipboard programs.
Weinke, A.**, K. Knapp** and B. Biddanda.  Oral.  Time-series and discrete data reveal dynamics and consequences of hypoxia in Muskegon Lake, Michigan.

Kevin Strychar was a session chair at IAGLR for “Disease and pathogens of the Great Lakes and freshwater ecosystems”.

Bopi Biddanda presented a CILER seminar at GLERL in Ann Arbor on May 11.  The title was: Finding and tracking a “Goldilocks Zone” of net productivity in a Great Lakes watershed. 

Mark Luttenton gave an invited presentation to an anglers club in Grayling on May 6.  The talk was related to the evolutionary history and management of brown trout.

Al Steinman presented to the CEO Leadership Group at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation regarding the Integrated Watershed Commissions Study on May 9.

Al Steinman presented at a NOAA Restoration Group Summit on May 9.

Al Steinman teleconferenced in to present about the Integrated Watershed Commission Study at a meeting held in Bay City on May 11.

Al Steinman gave a presentation on climate change and other emerging issues at the Explorer’s Club meeting in Grand Rapids Township on May 31.

Al Steinman received the Award of Excellence from the National Gardens Club in Richmond, VA on May 18.

Sherry Claflin, lead instructor for the R.B. Annis Educational Foundation classroom programs at AWRI, has been named the 2017 Michigan Outstanding Earth Science Teacher by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.  The annual award is given for "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences at the pre-college level," according to the association. 

The following AWRI graduate students each received a Presidential Research Grant:
Dan Myers, working with Rick Rediske, in the amount of $1,350
Katie Knapp, working with Bopi Biddanda, in the amount of $1,012
Kim Oldenborg, working with Al Steinman, in the amount of $1,335
Hailee Pavisich, working with Charlyn Partridge, in the amount of $1,342
Andrew Pyman, working with Charlyn Partridge, in the amount of $1,316
Emma Rice, working with Jim McNair, in the amount of $1,350

Al Steinman received a contract from the Spring Lake – Lake Board to Monitor External Phosphorus Loads to the Spring Lake watershed and Microcystin concentrations in Spring Lake during Summer 2017 in the amount of $33,952.

AWRI In the News

“Great Lakes scientists team up to track fish with GLATOS”
Great Lakes Echo, May 3, 2017
Carl Ruetz was interviewed about the use of the tagged fish and receivers.

“Grand Valley education assistant wins national teaching award”
GVNext, May 23, 2017
Sherry Claflin, part time classroom instructor at AWRI, was the recipient of the 2017 Michigan Outstanding Earth Science Teacher awarded by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

“Statewide award given to teacher at GVSU institute on Muskegon Lake”
MLive, May 24, 2017
Sherry Claflin, part time classroom instructor at AWRI, was the recipient of the 2017 Michigan Outstanding Earth Science Teacher awarded by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

“Project WET teaches third-graders about water”
Big Rapids PIONEER, May 25, 2017
Janet Vail participated in this water festival in Big Rapids.

LMC Events

May 1
Students from Holmes Elementary (Ottawa County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 2
Students from Dutton Elementary (Kent County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 10 & 30
Students from Shoreline Elementary (Muskegon County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities.

May 11 & 16
Students from Rockford Elementary (Kent County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 12
The GVSU Disability Support Resources Office held their staff retreat at the Lake Michigan Center.

May 15
Students from St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary (Ingham County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 17
Students from Brookwood Elementary (Kent County) took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 22-25
Students from Daisy Brook Elementary (Newago County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

May 31
Students from Alto Elementary (Kent County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.