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JULY 1998
The President's Message
A couple of months ago we decided that there would be information that would need to be imparted to the association members in late July. This was going to be accomplished by sending out fliers. However, during the past few weeks several issues, that we felt the membership would enjoy learning about, have developed and so we decided to send out this bonus issue. Please bear with us as this is the first issue which Nat is doing on a new computer and with a new publishing package. We have barely had time to unpack the computer let alone figure out new programs. If this issue is a little rough around the edges we're sorry, the next one should be better. Concentrate on the contents and the informative articles, I feel that they are worth your time.
Mark Paddock has again favored us with two interesting and informative articles. The University of Michigan Biological Station mailed some information to me and I have reproduced this for the newsletter. Neil Leighton has written another "Piscatorial Peccadilloes" article as only he can. My thanks to these people for their time in helping us pass on to the membership timelyand interesting information. I would also like to say a very special Thank You to Dr. Chris Vogel. Please see her article, which is a part of Mark's article "What Is That Tower?" Dr. Vogel, professors, scientists or administrative personal at the UMBS please feel free to make contributions solicited or unsolicited to the association newsletter.
One of our concerns this summer has been that of water safety. This issue is going to be addressed at the annual meeting. Various water safety groups have published new pamphlets and we will be passing these out. Also, there will be a display of new water safety equipment. No long winded speaker just a show and tell display and explanation. Please bring the whole family as this should be an interesting program for the pre-teens, teens, young adults right through to the older members of our society. Also as an added incentive, we will have door prizes. So remember the Date is August 12, 1998 at the University Biological Station Lecture Hall at 7:00. Registration begins at 6:45 p.m.
In just a little over a week the 30th anniversary barbecue will be held. In conjunction with the barbecue there will be a regatta with prizes for both the winners and for the not so speedy participants. The theme of the party is Safari and preparations are alive and well. Please feel free to dress the part or even decorate your boat. If you have still not purchased your tickets and will be at the lake on August 2, 1998 at 1:00 please give me a call. You still have a few days to reserve your spot in line for some of Hoot's great cooking. I plan on returning to the lake July 25th and can be reached at 537-4810. The answering machine is on so if I happen to be out enjoying lake activities just leave a message.
Speaking of lake activities, I'll leave you with this thought. Last week on one of those wonderful hot and sunny days as Nat and I were out boating, we looked around and commented that it was a busy day on the water. Then we began to laugh. You see there were only 15 or so other boats sharing the lake with us. A few weeks before we happened to be at a party on a lake near our home town of Jackson when someone commented what a quiet night it was on the lake, there were only 40 or 50 boats cruising around a lake which is about one quarter the size of Douglas. We are indeed fortunate to have such a secluded lake. In part we have the UMBS to thank for this as they protect the land and lake in order to do their research work. Personally I feel we can all share this wonderful environment. There is the part of the lake for playing and doing summer boating which many of our members, myself included, enjoy. But there is also a part of the lake which we should respect and go out of our way not to disturb. If you should see the evidence, i.e.. nets, of research going on please stay clear and do not try to satisfy your curiosity. Perhaps in turn the UMBS will keep us appraised of some of their results or interesting discoveries as they have in this issue. Remember when you are in the fish tail area, research may be going on, tread slowly and lightly on both water and land. Working together, being informed and educated, and respecting each other will make our lake even more special that it already is.
Enjoy the rest of summer, the best is yet to come! I'll see you at the Barbecue August 2nd and at the Annual Meeting August 12th.
CAPSIZE BUT DON'T DIVE!
All experienced (and some not so experienced) sailors have capsized. In order to reduce the fear and understand the procedure involved in righting your sailboat you should practice capsizing in a controlled situation. Never dive into water that you are unsure of the depth - jump in! Teach your young swimmers about this to avoid injury and possible paralysis.
Douglas Lake Loons Abandoned Their Nest
By Mark Paddock
"Our" loons arrived back to Douglas Lake in mid-April. Males usually arrive a week or so ahead of females. Bill Hutto and I put out two artificial nesting rafts in Maple Bay soon after the ice melted and before the loons paired up and began nesting. The same loons pair up year after year on the same lake. They may live 15-25 years or longer.
In early June I and others observed the pair (male & female) swimming together frequently on various locations. This made me suspect they were not incubating eggs because, during nesting one loon always stays on the nest. Then in late June Ruth and I saw a pair with two tiny chicks on a nearby lake but still no chicks on Douglas Lake.
Finally on July 11 we decided to check out the artificial nesting rafts. There was a loon pair on the bay near by, but they exhibited no distress as we approached the rafts. To our surprise and dismay we found three abandoned eggs on the raft. It appeared to have been abandoned for weeks. Three egg clutches are rare; less than 1% have been reported in almost 700 observations. Loons can hatch and rear their chicks but all three would probably not live to be fledged.
Why did they abandon their nest? It may have been human disturbance at a critical time, infertile eggs or some other reason. We know that people persist in boating over near the nesting raft in spite of a warning buoy. Studies show that over half the loon pairs will renest if they abandon their first nest early in the nesting season, far fewer if abandoned late. This may be what happened on Douglas Lake.
Now we must wait for next year and hope for success.
Piscatorial Peccadilloes
"Foolin' around with fish"
by Neil Leighton
Well my fellow Douglas Lakers so far you have not been completing your homework assignments to wit: letting us know with what and with whom you have been fooling around
(piscatorially speaking that is). The reply to our query as to what type of fish you have been catching and where they are located has been underwhelming to say the least. Al Lindner and Tom Huggler would be out of business if they were relying on information about Douglas Lake. However all is not lost. A nice keeper pike and several good sized small mouth bass were taken off Ingleside about 200 yards from shore in 8-12 feet of water. All this has taken place within the last month. As the weather gets warmer and the Lake takes on the characteristics of a Wisconsin "Fish Boil" tying a chub to your anchor and dropping it down about 25 feet or more may be the best we can do for pike.
What I would like to ask, (nay, plead) is that you keep track of what you catch that is noteworthy such as legal pike (no hammer handles need apply), legal bass of all description and fair sized panfish such as rock bass, 'gills, pumpkin seeds, and perch in the range of 8+ inches. Add to this the date and time, i.e. early, late, evening and the general end of the Lake where you caught them. This could be North or South Fish Tail, western end, around Pell Island, etc. We would in all seriousness (now there is a stretch) like to do an unscientific survey for the summer and we need your help. Then jot this priceless information on a post card and send to Neil Leighton, 9358 Ingleside Road, Levering MI 49755 or drop it in my mail box if you are over in this neck of the woods. If all else fails then give us a call, we are in the directory. Until then you future Captain
Ahabs, keep on fishing, but remember to wash your hands after you the bait the hook (your Mom would have told you to do that).
A Wealth of Research at UMBS
Kathy Gasper was kind enough to send us the following information.
You may have noticed increased activity recently around the University of Michigan Biological Station on Douglas Lake
(UMBS). In addition to the usual active research program in 1997, hosting students and investigators from universities across the country and around the world, they plan for even more activity this year.
In decades past, UMBS was a summer camp. Now it is active most months of the year with research and educational activities. This year, there will be 16 classes at the Biological station. Also, the program supporting Research for Undergraduate Experience has been renewed through the year 2001.
In the past two years, two new research towers have been erected in the forest to study the effects of changing environmental gasses and conditions in the forest atmosphere.
A host of other active research programs are ongoing, receiving state and federal funding by
MDNR, NSF, DOE, NIGEC, USDA, GLPF, EPA, New Zealand NSF and others. Research at the Biological Station benefits not only students and the scientific community, but also fisheries and wildlife, and general environmental quality.
You can find additional information on the UMBS web site at:
http://www.umich.edu/ ~umbs
What Is That Tower?
By Mark Paddock
Many are wondering what that tower is for that suddenly appeared above the forest about a mile south of the
D.L.B. I called the Biological Station to get specific information; I already knew in general. Dr. Chris Vogel, the resident scientist associated with the research, of which the tower is a part, was gracious to write the information below.
The University of Michigan Biological Station has recently erected two measurement towers and
associated laboratories along the west side of Bryant Road on UMBS property. The purpose of the two towers is to conduct research on the interactions between the atmosphere and the biosphere, in this case the mixed hardwood forest. For example, investigators are interested in how the growth and health of the forest is affected by episodes of unusual weather, air pollution, and high ultra-violet light.
One tower (100 feet tall) is the location of the study titled: PROPHET (Program for Research on
Oxidants:PHotochemistry, Emissions and Transport). The goal of PROPHET is to improve the understanding of the climatology of ozone. The research includes studies of organic compounds (e.g.
isoprenes) that are released by some species of trees and which can lead to the formation of ozone.
The second tower (150 feet tall) is the location of a study titled: Mass and Energy Exchange in a Northern Mixed Hardwood Ecosystem. The goal of this research is to improve the understanding of the exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the forest ecosystem. This tower is part of a new network of 24 similar towers that are distributed over North America. The network is a first attempt at measuring the total exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the North American continent.
There are scientists from approximately 30 universities working at these towers. Funding is provided by the
National Science Foundation, the University of Michigan and other sources.
Chris Vogel
University of Michigan Biological Station
We should understand that there are scores of ongoing research projects at UMBS. A large proportion at this time are investigating the possible effects global changes in climate, increase in carbon dioxide, ozone and other atmospheric components may have upon our Northern Michigan ecosystems.
You can find more information about this CO2 monitoring project and other towers in the AmeriFlux network at
www.esd.ornl.gov/programs/NIGEC/
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