Assessment of Population, Reproductive, and Health Impairments in Colonial Waterbirds Breeding in Michigan's Areas of Concern and Grand Traverse Bay

This program will provide assistance to an institution to investigate and monitor of the effects of environmental contaminants on the breeding population numbers, reproduction, and immunological health of fish eating birds found in the Saginaw Bay, Raisin River, and other Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs), building on previous investigations in past years. To accomplish this goal, the recipient institution will collect new data to evaluate the status of fish eating bird population health relative to reference (non AOC) areas and to these same areas as measured in the past. The recipient institution must have a proven record of experience in working with these types of bird colonies in the Great Lakes and measuring specific immunological endpoints in order to maintain scientific integrity and comparability of data. In addition to the continuing work on colonial waterbird populations, reproduction, and immune function, the recipient institution will measure the same endpoints at Bellow Island, and evaluate potential influence of contaminants of emerging concern to those endpoints. Resulting data will be used to inform the Wildlife Populations and Reproductive/Deformities Beneficial Use Impairments in Michigan's AOCs. This is a notice of intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to Calvin College without competition under justification 505DM 2.14.B.2 and 4. Competition for the award is not practical as Calvin College is uniquely qualified to perform this study. Their researcher has demonstrated the associations between PCBs and suppression of T-cell-mediated immunity in herring gull and Caspian tern chicks at highly contaminated sites in the Great Lakes as well as associations with altered antibody-mediated immunity. Because they have developed and used these immunological methods at these study sites over the past 20 years, data that they generate under this grant can be directly compared with past data to determine trends and restoration of Beneficial Use Impairments. The Michigan Ecological Services Field Office will provide substantive involvement in the study through collaborative planning for all aspects of the study including coordinating and assisting in field collection, determination of sample analysis, coordination with analyses laboratories, and assisting in developing reports and presentations summarizing work.