Western Michigan University Biological Sciences professor Tiffany Schriever says she and a group of students walk the trails down to wetlands from spring to fall. They use nets and water chemistry equipment to test the waters near the Great Lakes coastline.
Schriever will be among the presenters at Western Michigan University’s Spring Convocation on Tuesday, March 26th at the Fetzer Center. She says they have found great diversity in wetlands, even those that are relatively close together.
Schriever says the next round of research will start in April, and usually wraps around October. They research wetlands from northern Indiana to northern Michigan. She says last year Wilderness State Park was the northern most point where research was conducted. Schriever says this year two students will explore islands in Lake Michigan, the Wisconsin side of the lake and part of the Upper Peninsula.
WestSouthwest Brief with Tiffany Schriever
Schriever says she discovered that very little research had been conducted on “interdunal” waters. She says most of the research has focused on wetlands directly connected to Lake Michigan. Schriever says citizen scientists can also contribute to the research of ecosystems. “People go out there all the time, and if you go out there on a regular basis you’re going to notice these changes. You just need to record them.”
