Hellbenders, North America’s largest amphibian, are an endangered species and an indicator of good water quality in Ohio’s streams. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium recently released 116 eastern hellbender salamanders […]
The first meeting of the 2025-2026 season of the Huron Bruce Nature (HBN) club went swimmingly with an excellent presentation on the changing ecology of Lake Huron fish communities by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Management biologist Arunas Liskaukas. Nearing retirement after a 35-year “dream” career researching and working with fish, this passionate scientist […]
Great Lakes Echo
By Clara Lincolnhol
Meet former K-9 Maple. She made a big career switch earlier this year—from a human remains detection dog to a beekeeper at Michigan State University’s Pollinator Performance Center. The friendly brown-and-white dog, with a long tongue that hangs out of her mouth, dons her own beekeeping suit and uses her powerful nose to detect American foulbrood -- a bacteria that left undisturbed, means certain death for an entire honeybee colony.
The post Meet Maple: Former K-9 now beekeeper first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
By Clara Lincolnhol
One of Michigan’s most rare, iconic and celebrated bird species is the Kirtland’s warbler. Once nearly extinct in the 1970s, decades-long, targeted conservation efforts helped their population rebound. But this year’s census revealed something concerning: a significant drop in warblers– nearly 700 fewer pairs.
The post Iconic Michigan songbird undergoes concerning population decline first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Echo
By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
For students hoping to become conservation officers for the state Department of Natural Resources -- tasked with enforcing fish, game and natural resource protection laws -- one Northern Michigan University class gives a glimpse into their day-to-day work.
The post Dead deer and small fish: Michigan students learn to investigate poaching first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
In the age of Viagra, you would think the market for rhinoceros horn would simply dry up.
By Donté Smith
Butterfly populations are in decline across the continental U.S., dropping by 22% between 2000 and 2020 according to a study in the journal Science. Almost a third of the 342 species studied have seen their numbers fall by more than half. To help combat that trend, the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, launched its Great Lakes Rare Butterfly Program in 2021 to protect the region’s most threatened species.