Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary
The St. Louis River Estuary’s shallow wetlands are home to northern wild rice (manoomin), an ecologically, economically, and culturally important keystone species. Wild rice abundance in the Estuary was negatively impacted by pollution and other human activities following the arrival of European set...
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ftunivwiscon:oai:minds.wisconsin.edu:1793/84452 2023-08-20T04:05:44+02:00 Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary Burgstaler, Hannah Ramage, Hannah 2023-07-20T21:02:46Z application/pdf http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/84452 en_US eng http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/84452 Wild Rice St. Louis River Superior Estuary Waterfowl Manoomin Technical Report 2023 ftunivwiscon 2023-07-27T18:03:59Z The St. Louis River Estuary’s shallow wetlands are home to northern wild rice (manoomin), an ecologically, economically, and culturally important keystone species. Wild rice abundance in the Estuary was negatively impacted by pollution and other human activities following the arrival of European settlers. Unfortunately, despite water quality improvements, habitat restoration, and seeding efforts, wild rice beds have not fully recovered to their previous distribution and density. This is likely due to several factors, including fluctuating water depth and herbivory by waterfowl. We documented water depth fluctuations and waterfowl occurrence in four sheltered bays during the 2020 growing season to help support future restoration decisions in the Estuary. Our observations show that estuary wild rice beds experienced 24-hour water depth fluctuations between 0.64 and 0.95 ft on average. Allouez Bay experienced the most extreme water depth fluctuations with a maximum of 2.1 ft in a 24-hour period. We documented much higher waterfowl occurrence, especially Canada goose presence, in Duck Hunter Bay South. Abundances were highest in mid-September indicating high levels of herbivory on maturing rice. We show some distinct differences in water depth fluctuations and waterfowl occurrences among sites and therefore preliminarily suggest differentially targeting seeding and goose management practices among wild rice beds as an initial management strategy. Report Canada Goose University of Wisconsin: Digital Collections Canada St. Louis ENVELOPE(-67.496,-67.496,-67.132,-67.132) |
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Open Polar |
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University of Wisconsin: Digital Collections |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwiscon |
language |
English |
topic |
Wild Rice St. Louis River Superior Estuary Waterfowl Manoomin |
spellingShingle |
Wild Rice St. Louis River Superior Estuary Waterfowl Manoomin Burgstaler, Hannah Ramage, Hannah Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
topic_facet |
Wild Rice St. Louis River Superior Estuary Waterfowl Manoomin |
description |
The St. Louis River Estuary’s shallow wetlands are home to northern wild rice (manoomin), an ecologically, economically, and culturally important keystone species. Wild rice abundance in the Estuary was negatively impacted by pollution and other human activities following the arrival of European settlers. Unfortunately, despite water quality improvements, habitat restoration, and seeding efforts, wild rice beds have not fully recovered to their previous distribution and density. This is likely due to several factors, including fluctuating water depth and herbivory by waterfowl. We documented water depth fluctuations and waterfowl occurrence in four sheltered bays during the 2020 growing season to help support future restoration decisions in the Estuary. Our observations show that estuary wild rice beds experienced 24-hour water depth fluctuations between 0.64 and 0.95 ft on average. Allouez Bay experienced the most extreme water depth fluctuations with a maximum of 2.1 ft in a 24-hour period. We documented much higher waterfowl occurrence, especially Canada goose presence, in Duck Hunter Bay South. Abundances were highest in mid-September indicating high levels of herbivory on maturing rice. We show some distinct differences in water depth fluctuations and waterfowl occurrences among sites and therefore preliminarily suggest differentially targeting seeding and goose management practices among wild rice beds as an initial management strategy. |
format |
Report |
author |
Burgstaler, Hannah Ramage, Hannah |
author_facet |
Burgstaler, Hannah Ramage, Hannah |
author_sort |
Burgstaler, Hannah |
title |
Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
title_short |
Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
title_full |
Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
title_fullStr |
Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
title_full_unstemmed |
Documenting Water Depth Fluctuation and Waterfowl Occurrence within Wild Rice Beds in the St. Louis River Estuary |
title_sort |
documenting water depth fluctuation and waterfowl occurrence within wild rice beds in the st. louis river estuary |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/84452 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.496,-67.496,-67.132,-67.132) |
geographic |
Canada St. Louis |
geographic_facet |
Canada St. Louis |
genre |
Canada Goose |
genre_facet |
Canada Goose |
op_relation |
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/84452 |
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1774716444014018560 |