IB447 - Field Ecology
Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula
May 15, 2006 - May 24, 2006
Instructors: Profs. Carol Augspurger & John Cheeseman
TA: Gerardo Carfagno
Emergency Contact Info
Links to the PowerPoint Presentations (note: some are very big files)
Geology
Glaciation
Mining in the UP
The Great Lakes
Origin of Great Lakes
Great Lakes Ecological Concerns
Fisheries
Dunes and Succession
Dune Plants and Laws
Sand Dune formation
Forest Associations
Animals in the UP (1)
Logging (1)
Logging (2)
Logging and human perspective
The snow is gone but a temporary drought would help control the insects... for the recent rainfall history, click here. Come to think of it, a bit of warmer weather would actually be nice, too.
The Michigan Basin (from the National Atlas)

Oh! The Places We'll Go!
Since you may be reading this while we are gone on the trip, I think that leaving you with a picture of a black fly in the act of biting might not be confidence inspiring. If you are still packing, however, read the warnings and helpful hints, below. Meanwhile, here is an image from the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality website. Enjoy.

And things to listen to...
"The butterfly is spokesman for the insect world," he liked to say. "People may wonder why there aren't as many as there used to be. Well, today you can buy enough chemicals at the hardware store to kill the whole town's insects. If you interrupt the food chain by eliminating the insect biomass, you've got trouble. We've got to get away from the mindset that everything ought to be perfect, without insects on it." - about Doug Beardsley, Mackinac Island Butterfly House founder.
An album of Michigan Folksongs - playable from the website itself, including:

The Jam on Gerry's Rocks
Red Iron Ore
Jack Haggerty and his Flat River Girl
Once more a lumbering go
And oh so many more great hits

The Isle Royale website has this to say about insects: "Bring plenty of insect repellent and netting or other skin barriers. Think in terms of being able to cover all exposed skin on your body from biting insects. Insects can bite through thin clothing. Make sure your tent has mosquito netting and that it has no holes. Bring materials to repair damaged mosquito netting. Expect mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums, deer flies and stable flies."

For a nice article written from the fisherman's perspective, with DEET alternatives, click here. Or, check the Seasonal Bug Index from Munising.
Last updated - 5/12/06