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“SPI-ing” on benthic conditions in Lakes Erie and Ontario using Sediment Profile Imagery
Citation:
Pawlowski, M., J. Nestlerode, G. Cicchetti, E. Hinchey, B. Lyuba, AND K. Richard. “SPI-ing” on benthic conditions in Lakes Erie and Ontario using Sediment Profile Imagery. 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM), Grand Rapids, MI, May 14 - 20, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation will be given by Matt Pawlowski (EPA-GLNPO) to the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR 2022) Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) under the theme "Rapid Changes and Collaborative Solutions" . This presentation describes the application of Sediment profile imaging (SPI) in Lakes Ontario and Erie. Despite widespread use in marine environments, SPI work in freshwater systems has been limited. The goal of this research is to evaluate the use of SPI in the Great Lakes by comparing habitat characterizations in Lakes Erie and Ontario. This presentaton is an example of collaborative research and addresses common aquatic environmental concerns, which is the theme that is being highlighted through this conference to support science-based solutions. The audience expected to be interested in this presentation will include conference attendees (scientists and managers) from across the spectrum of the Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS), which includes nine international society members. The conference content will be made available both in-person and on-demand (virtually) to registered conference attendees. https://jasm2022.aquaticsocieties.org/call-for-abstracts/
Description:
Sediment profile imaging (SPI) was performed in Lakes Ontario and Erie as part of the 2018 and 2019 CSMI lakewide benthic assessments. SPI is an efficient and cost-effective remote sensing approach for benthic assessments and has been used extensively in marine systems since the 1970s. Common SPI-based metrics include the apparent redox potential discontinuity (aRPD), which measures the depth of oxidized sediment, and the Benthic Habitat Quality (BHQ) Index, which estimates benthic successional stage based on aRPD depth and the types of organisms and bioturbation in the images. Despite widespread use in marine environments, SPI work in freshwater systems has been limited. The goal of this research is to evaluate the use of SPI in the Great Lakes by comparing habitat characterizations in Lakes Erie and Ontario. We hypothesized that aRPD and BHQ values would be more variable in Lake Erie due to the regular occurrence of hypoxia in some parts of Lake Erie. Preliminary results for Lake Ontario show that average aRPD depths and BHQ scores are 3.13 cm (SD = 0.53) and 3.95 (SD = 0.51), respectively. Based on standards used in marine systems, this suggests that Lake Ontario benthic habitats have moderately oxidized sediment and are in a relatively early stage of benthic succession consistent with low organic enrichment. Comparing these results to Lake Erie and to other available datasets (e.g., species counts from PONAR, dissolved oxygen) will clarify the utility of SPI for Great Lakes benthic assessments and its supplemental value to traditional benthic assessments.
