Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/author/freedma5/)
Experiments at the U-M Biological Station in Pellston show how exposure to the popular herbicide atrazine can affect whether crayfish are bold or shy, and thus their ability to protect themselves from predators like large-mouth bass. Atrazine gets in rivers, lakes, groundwater and agricultural run-off. Tested crayfish came from Cheboygan County.
Here are the Michigan communities with mayoral elections this year, according to the Michigan Secretary of State.
From Holland to Traverse City, from Three Rivers to Sault Ste. Marie, from Cadillac to Ionia and from St. Ignace to Zeeland, voters across the state will choose mayors on Nov. 5. If past patterns hold — and without presidential, congressional or legislative races on the ballot — only a fraction of the voters in 100 Michigan cities with mayoral elections will participate. That’s despite the fact that “local governments provide many key public services that citizens care deeply about.” We interview the author of a new national study and a Grand Valley State University political scientist.
Here’s a look at average commuting times in seven Michigan metropolitan areas.
Getting to work every day can be a pain, but the amount of pain varies depending on where you live and how you get to your job. Traveling by public transportation such as buses often takes twice as long – or more – as driving alone. And few commuters choose the public transit option. We look at data for seven metro areas in the state, including Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, metro Detroit and Midland and talk to the Michigan Public Transit Association and MDOT.
Some lawmakers want to formally urge the National Park Service to allow a moose tag lottery hunt on Isle Royale, where a burgeoning moose population is devastating the vegetation. Hunting is illegal in the remote Lake Superior national park, and the federal agency rejected the idea of a moose hunt when it instead adopted a plan to relocate wolves – the moose’s main natural predator – to the island. Hunting is allowed at Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshores. Michigan United Conservation Clubs supports limited hunting in the park.
A new book makes the case for recognizing Southeast Michigan as “the freshwater capital of the world.” We talk to the author, who works for an environmental group in Traverse City, and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which proposed the book. Success stories include the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and the resurgent Detroit waterfront. By Eric Freedman.
An old philosphical question asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” A more pratical question is: “If your neighbor’s tree falls on your roof, who is responsible for the damage?” A group of legislators says Michigan needs a law to make the tree owner liable so the financial burden doesn’t rest on the adjacent property owner. By Eric Freedman.
A new study of the intestinal contents of two Ice Age mastodons preserved in lake sediments in Calhoun County and in Ohio may offer insights on extinction and the impact of climate change in the Great Lakes region. One of the researchers is from U of M, where a museum has one of those mastodons. By Eric Freedman.
The American white pelican has established a nest-hold in western Lake Erie for the first time, with prospects of future territorial expansion into lakes Huron and Ontario, a new study says. With a 9-foot wingspan, it’s one of North America’s largest birds. Researchers have found nesting sites on two uninhabited islands on the Canadian side of the lake.