WEST MICHIGAN — This past winter season brought West Michigan warmer temperatures than normal. While a break from the extreme cold can be beneficial for us, it could lead to major concerns down the line for wildlife.
Our short-lived cold snaps lead to less ice coverage on the Great Lakes and inland lakes than what we normally see, resulting in warmer water temperatures for the start of the spring season.
Our Great Lakes are vast and extremely deep, which allows for more resiliency in our changing climate. Inland lakes, rivers, and streams are much more shallow, on the other hand. This means that they will heat up faster, resulting in greater consequences for fish and wildlife.
For further information about how the Great Lakes will be affected by warmer water temperatures down the line, click HERE.
FOX 17's Haleigh Vaughn spoke with Brian Gunderman, DNR Southern Lake Michigan Unit Manager, about what these warmer water temperatures might lead to.
Gunderman shared that the warmer water temperatures are resulting in earlier fish spawning time periods, weed growth, and algae blooms. The overproduction of algae blooms specifically can have negative side effects for native fish species.
"If we have severe algae blooms, it interferes with water clarity, and a lot of our fish are visual feeders. Bluegill, for example ... can impede their ability to find food, so that can be a problem. The other thing that happens is if you have really dense weed or algae growth, while those things produce oxygen during the day, they use it at night. So, you can have these oxygen crashes at night and we sometimes see summer kills due to lack of oxygen," said Gunderman.
Fish naturally thrive in cold water, which is rich in oxygen and nutrients. So, when the temperatures spike ... fish are on the move. They migrate until they find a habitat that is ideal for them.
"In the years where it warms up early and stays hot, it can go to the point of just not being suitable at all," said Gunderman. "And those fish are going to have to go into some colder tributaries or find some spring seeps to try to survive the summertime.”
The warmer climate can also lead to more moisture and energy in the atmosphere. That can result in stronger storms, including heavy rainfall.
The heavy rain can produce changes to our inland lakes, rivers, and streams, as well.
"When you have these really high flow events, it can interfere with trout reproduction," said Gunderman. "If we have really high flows, it can wash eggs or fry downstream, and we can lose a year of reproduction.”
He added, "Whenever the water is very quickly going up or going down, that's really stressful to them. And so that can either kill them directly, or it just makes them more vulnerable to a disease outbreak.”
The DNR is actively working on ways to help our wildlife with the changing climate, focusing on resiliency. They encourage wetland creation, accommodating the wider range of water flows during flooding events.
"You know, we can't predict what the future is going to bring. So we try to prepare for everything," said Gunderman. "We're trying to encourage municipalities and, and landowners to try to think of that when they're planning projects along river systems or lake systems for that matter."
For more information about the DNR and their plan for the river system, click HERE.
