Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project
This page lists recently updated key indicator reports for the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project. The indicators on this page are grouped into three categories that illustrate causal relationships. Current key indicator reports can be found HERE.
Pressure Indicators
Pressure indicators describe direct and indirect pressures, including human activities, that impact the environment. They are driving forces of environmental change such as increased resource use, transportation patterns, pollutant emissions, sprawl, population growth, or the rate at which contaminants and invasive species are being introduced. Pressure indicators measure the factors that cause changes in the ecosystem.
Click on the links below to learn more about individual pressure indicators.
- Human Population in Southeastern Michigan
- Land Use Change in Southeast Michigan
- Michigan's Carbon Emissions
- Oil Pollution of the Detroit and Rouge Rivers
- Phosphorus Loads and Concentrations from the Maumee River
- Transportation in Southeastern Michigan
State Indicators
State indicators describe the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the natural world, and human health and welfare. Through monitoring of state indicators we can measure how ecosystem conditions change. State indicators may be levels of air or water quality, contaminants in fish, wildlife population levels, or diseases in animals or humans. State indicators also give a measure of current ecosystem status to use as a reference when assessing the impact of future activities. State indicators measure impacts of pressure indicators.
Click on the links below to learn more about individual state indicators.
- Abundance of Burrowing Mayflies
- Algal Blooms in Western Lake Erie
- Analysis of Phosphorus Concentrations in the Western Basin of Lake Erie
- Asthma Hospitalization Rates in Wayne County, Michigan
- Canvasback Population
- Chironomid Abundance and Deformities
- Chloride in Western Lake Erie water
- Common Tern Reproduction
- Contaminants in Herring Gull Eggs
- Contaminants in Western Lake Erie Fish
- Contaminants in Western Lake Erie Sediments
- Criteria Air Pollutants in Southeast Michigan
- Detroit River Christmas Bird Count
- Detroit River Coastal Wetlands
- Dissolved Oxygen Levels in the Rouge River
- Double-crested Cormorant Population Changes
- Hawk Migration over Holiday Beach, Canada
- Hawk Migration over Lake Erie Metro Park
- Hexagenia Density and Distribution in the Detroit River
- Invasion of the Erie Marsh Preserve by Common Reed (Phragmites australis)
- Lake Erie Ice Cover
- Lake Erie Water Levels
- Lake Sturgeon Population
- Lake Whitefish Spawning
- Lead Poisoning in Detroit, Michigan
- Mercury in Lake St. Clair Walleye
- Oligochaete Densities and Distribution
- Plankton Communities in Western Lake Erie
- Walleye Population of Lake Erie
- Water Clarity in Western Lake Erie
- West Nile Virus in Michigan
- Wildcelery recovery
- Yellow Perch population
Response Indicators
Response indicators describe societal actions in policy or behavior undertaken to improve and protect the ecosystem. These actions can originate from groups, individuals, corporations, or government policies that ultimately improve ecosystem conditions. Response indicators may be pollution regulations and control measures, habitat rehabilitation and restoration, use of clean technologies, and other activities that improve the health of the ecosystem. Others specifically reverse the negative driving forces of pressure indicators like resource use, transportation, pollution, land use, or population.
Click on the links below to learn more about individual response indicators.