ABSTRACT

The Great Lakes Basin in North America holds more than 20 percent of the world's fresh water. Threats to habitats and biodiversity have economic, political, national security, and cultural implications and ramifications that cross the US-Canadian border. This multidisciplinary book presents the latest research to demonstrate the interconnected nature of the challenges facing the Basin. 

Chapters by U.S. and Canadian scholars and practitioners represent a wide range of natural science and social science fields, including environmental sciences, geography, political science, natural resources, mass communications, environmental history and communication, public health, and economics. The book covers threats from invasive species, industrial development, climate change, agricultural and chemical runoff, species extinction, habitat restoration, environmental disease, indigenous conservation efforts, citizen engagement, environmental regulation, and pollution.Overall the book provides political, cultural, economic, scientific, and social contexts for recognizing and addressing the environmental challenges faced by the Great Lakes Basin.

chapter 1|8 pages

Introduction

Examining the terrain

part II|52 pages

Extinction and survival

chapter 5|14 pages

Georgian Bay, Lake Huron

Freshwater turtles and their wetland habitat in a changing landscape

chapter 6|12 pages

Framing extinction

Societal attitudes toward the passenger pigeon in editorials and opinion pieces

chapter 7|13 pages

Recovering the ecology of fear

Cascading effects of gray wolf predation and competition in a Great Lakes Basin forest

part III|42 pages

Pollution, climate change, and invasive species

chapter 9|12 pages

Toxicants in the Great Lakes

Living with a toxic legacy while managing for chemicals of emerging concern

chapter 10|14 pages

Water quality in the Great Lakes

Interactions between nutrient pollution, invasive species, and climate change

chapter 11|14 pages

Emerald ash borer, black ash, and Native American basketmaking

Invasive insects, forest ecosystems, and cultural practices

part IV|54 pages

Public policy

chapter 12|12 pages

Legislating the Great Lakes

Socially constructing water through congressional discourse

chapter 13|12 pages

Conservation authorities in Ontario

Key players in the governance of invasive and endangered species

part V|10 pages

Conclusions

chapter 16|8 pages

Through the crystal ball