Air and water temperatures are expected to rise, and lake levels are predicted to decline over time, with longer droughts between heavier rain events. An ecologist explains what scientists believe will happen to our ecosystem in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area and the single, most important reason behind it all.
The streets of downtown Glen Arbor are packed these days with tourists, beachgoers, and shoppers. The tills hum at apparel shops, rented bikes and kayaks roll off the assembly line at Crystal River Outfitters, and there’s a hungry line out the door at Art’s Tavern. But “help wanted” signs on storefronts, restaurant entrances and social media appeals, have become as ubiquitous in our tourism boomtowns — in Glen Arbor and up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline.
When the conversation turns to how the arts are represented in a community, one might point to a museum within the city’s limits; or to a restored movie theater where art house films are screened alongside blockbusters. Those are outward, bricks-and-mortar symbols of a community’s cultural life. But what, then, are the less visible characteristics of a community in which the arts are an integral part?
From staff reports A new ant species was recently described, for the first time, by German researchers from specimens collected in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This ant exhibits an unusual behavior: it enslaves other ants. Dr. Susanne Foitzik from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) will present a program discussing this interesting species and its […]
Historically, water quality monitoring programs have relied on traditional techniques, such as culturing microorganisms (e.g., E. coli, enterococci) in the laboratory, to evaluate if beaches are safe for swimming, surfing, and other water-exposure recreational activities. However, the significant time-lapse between sample collection and results, typically 18 hours or longer, can result in inaccurate management decisions due to rapidly changing water quality conditions. This results in either unnecessary beach closures or beaches open to swimming when the water quality is actually poor. Recent advancements in DNA-based technology are increasingly becoming indispensable tools in environmental applications, including water quality monitoring. With these techniques, water quality results are achievable on the same day of sampling, within hours of sample collection.
I am grossed out. On the video, a creature reminiscent of horror flicks, B-movies, an almost pornographic monster, except it’s not a monster, except it’s real and it is a monster. Sortof. The winged thing trembles on a flesh-like surface. The film reveals in full detail the tail-end of the monster’s abdomen, where a serrated ovipositor descends, and a double row of “teeth” pierces the surface. Slowly, with mesmerizing tenacity, she saws into the thin-skinned softness, dipping ever deeper into the flesh. Then, and this is where I feel sick, out of that same organ she forces a single small white egg, deposits it firmly into the hole. The ovipositor closes, lifts like a machine, revealing a tiny filament still extending from the hole—the breathing tube of the egg. The egg’s breathing tube!?! The creature turns; huge red eyes stare straight into the camera, and after all that, the darn thing starts the process all over. Hundreds of times. I am not kidding.
Suspend reality for a moment, and think of the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA) as a plant. Then, think of the GAAA’s building as a container in which art, culture and creativity in the Glen Arbor region have been nurtured since 2002, the year that building behind the Lake Street Studios was completed.
Over the past decade, there has been an increased incidence of bird deaths in Lake Michigan due to Type E avian botulism. Over 6,500 dead birds have been documented within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore alone. Scientists from the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have been conducting a collaborative research project to determine the causes of these botulism outbreaks — work that includes underwater research in Good Harbor Bay.
The National Park Service will name the next superintendent to run Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore by the end of May — if not sooner — Park spokesperson Christine Powell told the Glen Arbor Sun today. Powell works out of the National Park’s Midwest Regional office in Omaha, Neb.
New report by University of Michigan Water Center offers statistical analysis of Straits of Mackinac Linen 5: Worst Case Spill Scenarios From staff reports More than 700 miles of shoreline in lakes Huron and Michigan are potentially vulnerable to oil spills if the pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac ruptures, according to a new University […]