Geology topics

Research about St. Clair River

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including St. Clair River.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2019

Assessment of larval fish assemblages and nursery habitat in the St. Clair River delta

The St. Clair River delta, part of the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS), is the most fished coastal wetland area in the Laurentian Great Lakes and provides nursery habitat for a variety of fish species; however, few large-scale surveys of larval fish have been performed within the delta since the 1980s. Larval fish, zooplankton, and aquatic plants were sampled at 20 sites from May through July in 2010 and 2011 to characterize shallow channel and backwater delta habitats used by fish. The larval fish assemblage was sampled using active and passive gears (conical nets and light traps) and was dominated by Cyprinidae, Catostomidae, and Gobiidae. The microzooplankton assemblage was composed of rotifers, copepod nauplii, and Dreissena spp. veligers, while the macrozooplankton assemblage was composed of mostly cyclopoids and harpacticoids in May and cladocerans later in the season. Scirpus spp. dominated the plant assemblage in June and was replaced by Chara spp. in July. Seasonal compositional shifts were evident for larval fish, zooplankton, and plant assemblages, and greater densities of microzooplankton and cladocerans were typically found in backwater areas. Assemblage compositions were comparable to those in historical surveys but invasive Gobiidae and Dreissena spp. veligers now represent substantial proportions of the larval fish and zooplankton assemblages, respectively. Due to the high connectivity and advective nature of the SCDRS, understanding the larval fish assemblage dynamics of the delta can help inform estimates of system productivity.

Michigan↗

USGS2018

Variation in DNA methylation is associated with migratory phenotypes of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the St. Clair River

Lake sturgeon populations show a variety of movement patterns, but this variation is poorly understood. To compare two migratory phenotypes of lake sturgeon in the St. Clair River, multiple data types were analyzed. Individual fish were classified into migratory phenotypes based on acoustic telemetry data from 2012-2015. Lake sturgeon consistently showed movement from the St. Clair River upriver into Lake Huron or downriver into Lake St. Clair. The two migratory phenotypes were then compared for differences in morphometrics, genetics, and epigenetics. Morphological differences based on linear measurements were not detected between phenotypes. Microsatellite data from 11 loci suggested one population with no genetic differentiation between migratory phenotypes. Our epigenetic results indicated that the migratory phenotypes are differentially methylated (P=0.036), thus epigenetics may be associated with migratory differences in lake sturgeon. Only one restriction site was identified to be driving the differential methylation (P=0.012). While little evidence at neutral loci occurred for genetic differentiation of lake sturgeon, DNA methylation may play a role in the observed movement pattern variation. When combined with microsatellite and morphometric analyses, our results suggested that different migratory patterns may reflect phenotypic plasticity, allowing lake sturgeon to acclimate to short-term environmental variability. Without an integrated approach, the role of epigenetics in the migratory phenotype of lake sturgeon may have been overlooked. Further characterization of migratory phenotypes could be important for management to conserve behavioral variation across the distribution of lake sturgeon and for design of stocking guidelines.

Michigan↗

USGS2014

Habitat used by juvenile lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) in the North Channel of the St. Clair River (Michigan, USA)

Lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) occupy the St. Clair River, part of a channel connecting lakes Huron and Erie in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the North Channel of the St. Clair River, juvenile lake sturgeon (3–7 years old and 582–793 mm in length) were studied to determine movement patterns and habitat usage. Fourteen juveniles were implanted with ultrasonic transmitters and tracked June–August of 2004, 2005 and 2006. Telemetry data, Geographic Information System software, side-scan sonar, video images of the river bottom, scuba diving, and benthic substrate samples were used to determine the extent and composition of habitats they occupied. Juvenile lake sturgeon habitat selection was strongly related to water depth. No fish were found in <6 m of water and over 97% of the relocations were found at depths greater than 9 m. Available water depths exceeding 18 m only represented 3.5% of the available habitat, however 34.9% of the relocations were found at depths exceeding 18 m. Juvenile lake sturgeon did not use most areas in proportion to their availability. Sturgeon avoided clay ledges and shallow areas with silt or soft clay, which comprised approximately 39% of the benthic habitat in the North Channel. A total of 300 out of 351 documented locations were on sand and gravel habitat types mixed with clay. Lake sturgeon > 700 mm in length selected sand and gravel areas mixed with zebra mussels and areas dominated by zebra mussels, while fish < 700 mm used these habitat types in proportion to their availability.

Michigan↗

USGS2012

Sediment mobility and bed armoring in the St Clair River: insights from hydrodynamic modeling

The lake levels in Lake Michigan-Huron have recently fallen to near historical lows, as has the elevation difference between Lake Michigan-Huron compared to Lake Erie. This decline in lake levels has the potential to cause detrimental impacts on the lake ecosystems, together with social and economic impacts on communities in the entire Great Lakes region. Results from past work suggest that morphological changes in the St Clair River, which is the only natural outlet for Lake Michigan-Huron, could be an appreciable factor in the recent trends of lake level decline. A key research question is whether bed erosion within the river has caused an increase in water conveyance, therefore, contributed to the falling lake level. In this paper, a numerical modeling approach with field data is used to investigate the possibility of sediment movement in the St Clair River and assess the likelihood of morphological change under the current flow regime. A two-dimensional numerical model was used to study flow structure, bed shear stress, and sediment mobility/armoring over a range of flow discharges. Boundary conditions for the numerical model were provided by detailed field measurements that included high-resolution bathymetry and three-dimensional flow velocities. The results indicate that, without considering other effects, under the current range of flow conditions, the shear stresses produced by the river flow are too low to transport most of the coarse bed sediment within the reach and are too low to cause substantial bed erosion or bed scour. However, the detailed maps of the bed show mobile bedforms in the upper St Clair River that are indicative of sediment transport. Relatively high shear stresses near a constriction at the upstream end of the river and at channel bends could cause local scour and deposition. Ship-induced propeller wake erosion also is a likely cause of sediment movement in the entire reach. Other factors that may promote sediment movement, such as ice cover and dredging in the lower river, require further investigation.

St. Clair River↗

USGS2011

Bed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet of Lake Huron and in the upper St. Clair River

An integrated multibeam echo sounder and acoustic Doppler current profiler field survey was conducted in July 2008 to investigate the morphodynamics of the St. Clair River at the outlet of Lake Huron. The principal morphological features of the upper St. Clair River included flow-transverse bedforms that appear weakly mobile, erosive bedforms in cohesive muds, thin non-cohesive veneers of weakly mobile sediment that cover an underlying cohesive (till or glacio-lacustrine) surface, and vegetation that covers the bed. The flow was characterized by acceleration as the banks constrict from Lake Huron into the St. Clair River, an approximately 1500-m long region of flow separation downstream from the Blue Water Bridge, and secondary flow connected to: i) channel curvature; ii) forcing of the flow by local bed topography, and iii) flow wakes in the lee side of ship wrecks. Nearshore, sand-sized, sediment from Lake Huron was capable of being transported into, and principally along, the banks of the upper St. Clair River by the measured flow. A comparison of bathymetric surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 identifies that the gravel bed does undergo slow downstream movement, but that this movement does not appear to be generated by the mean flow, and could possibly be caused by ship-propeller-induced turbulence. The study results suggest that the measured mean flow and dredging within the channel have not produced major scour of the upper St. Clair River and that the recent fall in the level of Lake Huron is unlikely to have been caused by these mechanisms.

Michigan↗

USGS2009

Statistical and Spatial Analysis of Bathymetric Data for the St. Clair River, 1971-2007

To address questions concerning ongoing geomorphic processes in the St. Clair River, selected bathymetric datasets spanning 36 years were analyzed. Comparisons of recent high-resolution datasets covering the upper river indicate a highly variable, active environment. Although statistical and spatial comparisons of the datasets show that some changes to the channel size and shape have taken place during the study period, uncertainty associated with various survey methods and interpolation processes limit the statistically certain results. The methods used to spatially compare the datasets are sensitive to small variations in position and depth that are within the range of uncertainty associated with the datasets. Characteristics of the data, such as the density of measured points and the range of values surveyed, can also influence the results of spatial comparison. With due consideration of these limitations, apparently active and ongoing areas of elevation change in the river are mapped and discussed.

Michigan;Ontario↗

USGS2009

Detection of conveyance changes in St. Clair River using historical water-level and flow data with inverse one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling

St. Clair River is a connecting channel that transports water from Lake Huron to the St. Clair River Delta and Lake St. Clair. A negative trend has been detected in differences between water levels on Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. This trend may indicate a combination of flow and conveyance changes within St. Clair River. To identify where conveyance change may be taking place, eight water-level gaging stations along St. Clair River were selected to delimit seven reaches. Positive trends in water-level fall were detected in two reaches, and negative trends were detected in two other reaches. The presence of both positive and negative trends in water-level fall indicates that changes in conveyance are likely occurring among some reaches because all reaches transmit essentially the same flow. Annual water-level fall in reaches and reach lengths was used to compute conveyance ratios for all pairs of reaches by use of water-level data from 1962 to 2007. Positive and negative trends in conveyance ratios indicate that relative conveyance is changing among some reaches. Inverse one-dimensional (1-D) hydrodynamic modeling was used to estimate a partial annual series of effective channel-roughness parameters in reaches forming the St. Clair River for 21 years when flow measurements were sufficient to support parameter estimation. Monotonic, persistent but non-monotonic, and irregular changes in estimated effective channel roughness with time were interpreted as systematic changes in conveyances in five reaches. Time-varying parameter estimates were used to simulate flow throughout the St. Clair River and compute changes in conveyance with time. Based on the partial annual series of parameters, conveyance in the St. Clair River increased about 10 percent from 1962 to 2002. Conveyance decreased, however, about 4.1 percent from 2003 to 2007, so that conveyance was about 5.9 percent higher in 2007 than in 1962.

St. Clair River↗

USGS2003

Assessment of lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) spawning efforts in the lower St. Clair River, Michigan

One of the most threatened remaining populations of lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes is found in the connecting channels between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Only two spawning grounds are presently known to be active in this region, and both are in the St. Clair River. The spawning reef in the St. Clair River delta has been recently colonized by round gobies ( Neogobius melanostomus ) in densities up to 25/m 2 , raising concerns regarding predation on the benthic-oriented eggs and larvae of the sturgeon. Investigations in 1998–1999 showed that while round goby predation does occur, a number of other factors may be equally affecting sturgeon spawning success, including few spawning adults (< 60), suspected poaching pressure, low retention rate of eggs on the reef, low hatch rate (~0.5%), the presence of organic contaminants, and predation from native and exotic invertebrates and fish. Overall, we estimate that less than 1% of the eggs deposited during a spawning run survive to hatch. We were able to increase the egg hatch rate to 16% by placing eggs in predator-exclusion chambers on the reef. The fate of the larvae is uncertain. Two weeks after hatching, no larvae were found on the reef. We were unable to find them anywhere else in the river, nor was predation on larvae noted in either year. There were factors other than predation affecting larval survival in 1999. There was a higher silt load on the reef than in 1998 and large numbers of dead larvae were found. Recruitment success from this site could be improved by utilizing techniques to increase the number of eggs on the reef, such as reducing the illegal take of adult fish and by placing eggs in predator-exclusion chambers to increase hatch rate.

Michigan↗

USGS2003

An acoustic doppler current profiler survey of flow velocities in St. Clair River, a connecting channel of the Great Lakes

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were used to measure flow velocities in St. Clair River during a survey in May and June of 2002, as part of a study to assess the susceptibility of public water intakes to contaminants on the St. Clair-Detroit River Waterway. The survey provides 2.7 million point velocity measurements at 104 cross sections. Sections are spaced about 1,630 ft apart along the river from Port Huron to Algonac, Michigan, a distance of 28.6 miles. Two transects were obtained at each cross section, one in each direction across the river. Along each transect, velocity profiles were obtained 2-4 ft apart. At each velocity profile, average water velocity data were obtained at 1.64 ft intervals of depth. The raw position and velocity data from the ADCP field survey were adjusted for local magnetic anomalies using global positioning system (GPS) measurements at the end points of the transects. The adjusted velocity and ancillary data can be retrieved through the internet and extracted to column-oriented data files.

St. Clair River↗

USGS2001

Visualization of drifting buoy deployments on St. Clair River near public water intakes - October 3-5, 2000

St. Clair River is a connecting channel of the Great Lakes between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. The river forms part of the international boundary between the United States and Canada in the eastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan and southern Ontario. Drifting buoys were deployed to help investigate flow characteristics near public water intakes in ten reaches of St. Clair River from October 3-5, 2000. In eight deployments, buoys were released at uniform intervals in a transect across the river to better understand flow patterns. In the remaining six deployments, buoys were released in a cluster near the middle of the channel to study turbulent dispersion characteristics. The eight spherical and seven cylindrical buoys used in the study were equipped with drogues and had similar drift characteristics. Each buoy contained a geographical positioning system (GPS) to monitor its movement. Computer animations were developed that integrated these GPS data with data shown on navigational charts. These computer animations, which can be viewed through the Internet, provide a scientific visualization tool to study the deployments.

St. Clair River↗

USGS1996

Distribution and winter survival health of Asian clams, Corbicula fluminea, in the St. Clair River, Michigan

We studied the distribution and winter survival of the Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, in the St. Clair River from the fall of 1988 to the spring of 1990. Between fall of 1988 and spring of 1989, distribution of Corbicula was extended from 5.5 to 11.5 km downstream from an electric power plant. However, total abundance of clams decreased during the winter. By fall of 1989, Corbicula was found 14.5 km from the power plant, and the mean density of clams was 27 individuals/m 2 . Between fall of 1989 and spring of 1990, distribution was reduced to 7.5 km from the power plant and abundance decreased 97%. During the winter of 1988-1989, we collected clams monthly from one station 2.2 km from the power plant, and we observed that clams survived the harsh winter for two months after the water temperature dropped about 1.5°C below the reported lethal level for Corbicula in midwinter. During the winer of 1989-1990, we held clams at the sediment-water interface in enclosures, and we observed that condition indices (dry body weight; dry shell weight) of clams remained stable (mean = 0.05 ± 0.01) in December and January and then declined significantly (p < 0.05) to 0.04 ± 0.01 in February. All clams perished by late March. The deteriorating physiological state of clams, as indicated by declining condition index, seemingly is a factor in late winter mortalities of Corbicula in the St. Clair River. In contrast to the rapid geographic spread and population increases in the southern United States, Corbicula likely will not spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes beyond shoreline thermal refugia of heated-water discharge plumes from power plants.

Michigan↗

USGS1991

Growth and overwinter survival of the Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea, in the St. Clair River, Michigan

We report the discovery in April 1986 of the first population of Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea, known to occupy a lotic environment in the Laurentian Great Lakes system. This population occupied a 3.8 km long sandy shoal in the discharge plume of a steam-electric power plant on the St. Clair River (Michigan), the outflow of Lake Huron. Samples collected April 1986 to April 1987 revealed the growth of one-year-old Corbicula (1985 cohort) began after mid-May and ended by mid-November, while water temperatures were higher than 9°C. Maximum growth (0.78 mm wk -1 ) occurred between mid-August and mid-September, while water temperatures were about 16-23°C. We recorded a substantial overwinter mortality of the 1986 cohort, but not the 1985 cohort; this was particularly evident at sampling locations more remote from the heated discharge of the power plant, suggesting low water temperature wast the major mortality agent. The available information suggests low water temperature in the St. Clair River may limit the success of Corbicula in the river, including portions of populations inhabiting thermal plumes, by reducing growth, delaying the onset of sexual maturity and reproduction, and causing heavy overwinter mortality in the first year of life.

Michigan↗