Application of the wetland fish index to the Kalman Preserve, Emmet County, Michigan

Abstract

The Great Lakes coastal wetlands are important land-water interfaces that serve a variety of functions important to plants and wildlife as well as humans. Human activities such as road building, shoreline development, dredging, draining and land filling contribute to the degradation of these valuable areas. Biological indicators can be used to assess degradation and link potential sources of disturbance. The Wetland fish Index (WFI)(Seilheimer & Chow-Fraser 2006&20078) is a biological index based on fish species composition. Assessing fish species can be cheaper and less time consuming than looking at different parameters of water quality. The index is also able to say more about the long term affects of human disturbances on wetlands as opposed to short term fluxes. We applied the WFI to the Kalman Preserve wetland located on the Little Traverse Bay in Emmet County MI. We found seven different species of fish, a variety of habitats and vegetation, and several groups of macroinvertebrates. The WFI based on fish we caught at the preserve suggested a wetland that is only moderately degraded. These results are in agreement with the past Floristic Quality Assessment conducted in 2006.