Spotlights
Emily Eberly defends thesis analyzing variation in biotic indices
Emily Eberly successfully defended her thesis on Friday, March 27, 2026, titled "Understanding Variation Among Multiple Indices of Biotic Integrity in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands". Her thesis committee included Dr. Matt Cooper (GVSU Biology), Dr. Carl Ruetz, and Dr. Don Uzarski (Central Michigan University).
The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (GLCWMP) assesses coastal wetland conditions across all five of the Great Lakes through the monitoring of five taxonomic indicators: fishes, macroinvertebrates, vegetation, amphibians, and birds. Though these indicators offer insight into the wetland condition based on population assessments, there is often a high amount of variation across indicators that can make interpreting wetland condition difficult. Emily’s project developed a novel method for interpreting that variation across taxonomic indicators by modeling indicators against the same set of environmental drivers. Her results determined that each indicator was influenced by a different combination of environmental drivers. Water level fluctuations, land cover, and water quality all had varying effects on each taxonomic indicator. These different environmental drivers are the root cause of indicator variation and can be used at each wetland for understanding the specific causes of wetland conditions. Understanding the environmental drivers of each indicator will allow restoration managers to build site-specific restoration targets that better align with ecological objectives.
Following graduation, Emily will continue working full time with the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program as the project manager for GVSU.
Interest Area(s)
Biology, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Environmental Studies
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