Ecological monitoring for assessing the state of the nearshore and open waters of the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement stipulates that the Governments of Canada and the United States are responsible for restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. Due to varying mandates and areas of expertise, monitoring to assess progress towards this objective is conducted by a multitude of Canadian and U.S. federal and provincial/state agencies, in cooperation with academia and regional authorities. This paper highlights selected long-term monitoring programs and discusses a number of documented ecological changes that indicate the present state of the open and nearshore waters of the Great Lakes.
Environment Canada, Environmental Conservation Branch-Ontario Region, Burlington, ON, Canada. Melanie.Neilson@ec.gc.ca
Melanie A
MA
Neilson
D Scott
DS
Painter
Glenn
G
Warren
Ronald A
RA
Hites
Ilora
I
Basu
D V Chip
DV
Weseloh
D Michael
DM
Whittle
Gavin
G
Christie
Richard
R
Barbiero
Marc
M
Tuchman
Ora E
OE
Johannsson
Thomas F
TF
Nalepa
Thomas A
TA
Edsall
Guy
G
Fleischer
Charles
C
Bronte
Stephen B
SB
Smith
Paul C
PC
Baumann
D002170:Canada; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006114:Great Lakes Region; D007391:International Cooperation; D014481:United States; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning
D014873:Water Pollutants