Graduate students are a vital and critical part of our mission at the Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI). We welcome the 10 new graduate students joining us this fall. 

Greg Chorak is from Whitehall, Michigan. He received his B.S. in Biology from Grand Valley State University in 2014. He is working with Dr. Carl Ruetz assessing yellow perch stocks along eastern Lake Michigan. He will be using population genetic techniques to determine whether there are separate genetic stocks of yellow perch in nearshore Lake Michigan and drowned river mouth lakes, which has important implications for fisheries management. This study is funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust.

Nick Gezon is from Holland, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He is working with Dr. Kevin Strychar to investigate the role of viruses in the ecology of the benthic amphipod Diporeia throughout the Great Lakes. 

Ben Giffin is from Gaylord, Michigan.  He received his B.S. in Biology from Aquinas College in 2014.  He is working with Dr. Charlyn Partridge on determining live vs dead bacteria using qPCR.

Tori Harris is from Lisle, Illinois. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Biology - Wildlife Biology in 2015. She is working with Dr. Rick Rediske investigating the effects of sawmill debris in Muskegon Lake by looking at benthic macroinvertebrates.

Emily Kindervater is from Bargersville, Indiana and received her B.S. in Biology from Hope College in 2015. She will be working on the restoration of Lake Macatawa with Dr. Alan Steinman. She is hoping to study  nutrient uptake by periphyton in 2-stage ditches in the agricultural watershed.

Suse LaGory is from the suburbs of Chicago, and graduated from Michigan State University with her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife in 2014. She spent the last year working on native fish conservation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Suse is working with Dr. Carl Ruetz, and will be studying seasonal impacts on stream fish populations.

Jason Lorenz is originally from Tawas City, MI.  He received his B.S. in Fisheries & Wildlife Management from Lake Superior State University in 2010.  He has been working on lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, in the Great Lakes since 2008 and is currently working as a Biologist for the Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians.  He is working with Dr. Carl Ruetz on evaluating the introduction of sturgeon spawning habitat into the Kalamazoo River.  

Rajesh Sigdel is originally from Nepal. He received his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University, Nepal in 2014. During this time, he was accepted into the Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program in 2011, and attended GVSU for one year.  Rajesh is currently a graduate assistant through the Grand Valley Metro Council and is working with Dr. Rick Rediske to help develop a watershed management plan for Indian mill creek, a sub-watershed of Grand River.  

Justin Wegner is from East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Natural Resources Management in 2014. He is working with Dr. Mark Luttenton studying Brook Trout behavioral thermoregulation and habitat use in a small cold-water stream.

Jay Zuidema is from Muskegon, Michigan. He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences in 2013. He is working with Dr. Jim McNair on estimating components of lake metabolism using a multi-layer free-water dissolved-oxygen approach.

Ann Hesselsweet and Michele Smith, science instructors on the W. G. Jackson, represented AWRI at a science event at Reeths Puffer High School on September 3.

Al Steinman attended a Board of Trustees meeting of The Nature Conservancy in Clarklake, MI on September 11.

Al Steinman participated in an EPA STAR proposal review panel via conference call on September 15 and 17.

Al Steinman chaired the meeting of the Environment Grant Giving Committee of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County on September 29.

AWRI staff are in bold, graduate students are denoted with a *, and undergraduate students are denoted with **.

Publications

Bopi Biddanda recently had a report published in the non-peer reviewed newsletter InterChange:
Biddanda, B. A. and D. K. Dila*.  2015.  Muskegon Lake estuary: A Goldilocks Zone of net biological productivity in a Great Lakes watershed.  In Connections for the STEM Classroom section of InterChange, the Magazine of the Regional Math and Science Center, GVSU.  https://www.gvsu.edu/rmsc/interchange/connections-for-the-stem-classroom-299.htm

Bopi Biddanda had a manuscript published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology:
Biddanda B.A., A.C. McMillan**, S.A. Long**, M.J. Snider*, and A.D. Weinke*, 2015.  Seeking sunlight: rapid phototactic motility of filamentous mat-forming cyanobacteria optimize photosynthesis and enhance carbon burial in Lake Huron’s submerged sinkholes.  Frontiers in Microbiology 6:930.  doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00930

Presentations
(Presenter listed first)

Bopi Biddanda was a guest lecturer twice in September for BIO 580, Advanced Aquatic Ecology; Mark Luttenton and Kevin Strychar are co-teaching this course.  The first lecture was on September 15, and was titled “Carbon Cycling in the Biosphere with special emphasis on Inland Waters”.  The second lecture was on September 22, and was titled “Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling in the Biosphere with special emphasis on Freshwater Ecosystems”.

Mark Luttenton was a guest lecturer for Bob Hollister’s BIO 323, Aquatic Plants, in September.

Charlyn Partridge presented at the CLAS Faculty Colloquium on September 18.  The title of her presentation was “Utilizing genomic tools to explore diversity and adaptation in natural populations”.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation on the 2014 Flat River data at a meeting of the Flat River Stakeholders and representatives from the MDEQ in Stanton, MI on September 15 concerning a watershed planning grant.

Al Steinman was a guest lecturer for Constanza Hazelwood's class at Northwestern Michigan College on September 14. He lectured remotely on Michigan's Blue Economy.

Al Steinman gave a presentation to the Muskegon In Focus group at the USS Silversides on September 30. He spoke on Michigan's Blue Economy.

Janet Vail presented information about AWRI to the Muskegon In Focus group on September 23.  This group had an educational cruise on the W. G. Jackson, and then presentations in the Multi-purpose Room at the Lake Michigan Center.

Al Steinman represented AWRI when it was recognized as 1 of 5 organizations in Muskegon County for its world class excellence at the Muskegon Chamber of Commerce breakfast on September 24.

Al Steinman received a grant for $10,000 from the Community Foundation for Muskegon County to supplement work on the Innovative Water Management in Michigan project. 

AWRI in the News

“Muskegon Lake Estuary: A Goldilocks Zone of Net Biological Productivity in a Great Lakes Watershed”
InterChange (GVSU Regional Math/Science Center), September 2015.
The article is about freshwater plankton, their role in the food web, and their abundance in some of our local water bodies.

“Brook trout study explores life-giving groundwater seeps”
Muskegon Chronicle, September 13, 2015
Justin Wegner and Graeme Zaparzynski (two current AWRI graduate students) are conducting research on Brook Trout in Cedar Creek.

LMC Events

Sept 11, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28 and 29
The following schools visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson:
CA Frost Elementary (Kent County); Ludington High School (Mason County); Whitehall Middle School (Muskegon County); GVSU’s EDI 631 class; Saugatuck High School (Allegan County); Meadow Ridge Elementary (Kent County); and Fruitport Middle School (Muskegon County).   

Sept 11
Series Seminar: Dr. Cara Ocobock, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University, presented: “Enduring the extreme: behavioral and physiological mechanisms for inhabiting a range of high altitude climates”

Sept 14
The West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum held a luncheon meeting at the LMC.

Sept 23
The Muskegon In Focus group held its annual luncheon presentation and vessel trip on the W.G. Jackson.

Sept 29
An “Aquatic Wild” Educator workshop sponsored by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was held in the MPR.