Annual Lake Michigan Bottom Survey

That's me on board the SS Grayling

I was thrilled to be invited to come aboard the vessel used for the USGS annual bottom survey of the Great Lakes!

This year, the scientists used an underwater camera

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell of the Great Lakes Science Center

The boat is outfitted with specialized machinery for the trawl

Yellow perch

USGS logo on the Grayling

Alewives

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell assesses the catch

Quagga mussel

A deep water species, the slimy scalpin

Check out the video from this day out on the lake below. This experience will be part of my newest book, 
A 1,000-MILE GREAT LAKE 
ISLAND ADVENTURE, 
which will be released in 2015.

Great Lakes Science Center

This week I traveled to Ann Arbor to visit one of the labs doing research on the Great Lakes. I met up with Dr. Madenjian first and we talked about alewives and the salmon fishery. 

Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell with some of the fish collected from Lake Michigan  

Then, Dr. Bunnell (in photo above) gave me a tour of the facility and we had a long talk about his work to understand the food web in the lakes. 

The Great Lakes Science Center has been doing an annual bottom trawl survey on Lake Michigan since 1973. They have seen tremendous change in the lake over the decades. 

The most dramatic change is the colonization of the lake by invasive mussels. While zebra mussels are known to beach walkers, the quagga mussel has taken over the deeper parts of the lake and has blanketed the floor of Lake Michigan. 

The video below is from a recent survey of 

Lake Michigan.