While Lake Sturgeon are distributed widely through Canada, many populations have been greatly impacted by overharvest and anthropogenic disturbance. While some research has been conducted on this species, much of it has been focused on populations that are deemed threatened or of concern, raising the question of what a relatively undisturbed population might look like […]
As part of the NSERC Alliance-funded CRADLES project, and building off foundational work by former MSc student Scott Bergson, PhD student Jubayer Alam is investigating downcore patterns of the presence of Lake Trout, Mysis and Wood Frog among lakes in the Sudbury region varying in both their degree of anthropogenic impacts and elevation. This work […]
In closely related species, understanding the role of genetic incompatibilities in driving speciation is critical. Often, environmental gradients (i.e. elevation, temperature) are often involved in helping drive these incompatibilities, but is difficult to quantify. Using data from an ongoing long-term experiment, we are investigating the growth and survival of hybrid swordtails grown in experimental tanks […]
Lakemounts appear to be major centres of biological diversity and productivity, but very little is known about the potential driving mechanisms for these (to date, largely anecdotal) observations. Recent work with our collaborators has proposed several hypotheses for why these patterns might exist. In September 2025, our group is leading an expedition to Superior Shoals […]
When introduced, predatory fish can have dramatic influences on ecosystems to which they are not native. In our lakes at ELA, pike introductions to predator-naive lakes resulted in a total extirpation of all other fish species. Similarly, research has shown that the presence of particular prey species can greatly influence the growth and energetics of […]
Patterns of species distribution and abundance directly impact the rate, pathways and flow of energy through aquatic ecosystems. As such, understanding the factors that structure aquatic ecosystems is critical in understanding ecosystem function. Several projects have focused on aspects of species assembly and abundance in the lab. Hannah Hancock evaluated physical habitat associations of northern […]
Our research group has been investigating microplastics in freshwater since 2014. Our group was the first to report on the extent of microplastic pollution in Lake Winnipeg, with contaminant levels comparable to those observed on the Laurentian Great Lakes. We also identified Lake Winnipeg as a large potential sink for microplastics. Research conducted by Sarah […]
Lake Superior is one of the largest lakes in the world. While it can often be considered a homogeneous entity, in reality there is tremendous variation in the types of aquatic ecosystems it supports, and yet very little is known about how this variation affects rates of energy flow and the sources of energy among […]
It is becoming apparent that activity, movement and habitat use are a major component of fish life histories, but are rarely accounted for when considering life history relationships and tradeoffs generally. The walleye population in Black Bay, Lake Superior, crashed in the mid-1960’s and has only shown signs of recovery within the past decade. To […]
We are using historical data form IISD-ELA on lakes that have undergone disturbance, as well as lakes with gradients of productivity to evaluate correlates and drivers of fish productivity. This is part of a larger effort involving researchers from the IISD-ELA, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Manitoba. Haley Macleod led this […]
