You're invited to attend a special presentation that has been organized by Dr. Michael Rennie, Associate Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Freshwater Ecology and Fisheries at Lakehead University.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Bryan Matthias, Visiting Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Sustainability Solutions - Fulbright Canada Lakehead University
Presentation: "Quantifying Impacts of Historical and Emerging Ecological Stressors on Aquatic Ecosystems”
Date: MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018
Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM
Locations: AT1006 (Thunder Bay) and OA2005 (Orillia)
All are welcome to attend this free, public presentation. Please email biology@lakeheadu.ca to receive future announcements.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Bryan Matthias is a Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Sustainability Solutions with Lakehead University and a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. His research focuses on improving fisheries management using a combination of theory, models, and data. Dr. Matthias holds a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point and both a master’s degree and doctorate in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida.
ABSTRACT
Understanding the effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on ecosystem structure and function is a critical component for ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-level effects of stressors are often assessed using long-term monitoring or direct experimental manipulation of ecosystems. However, it can be difficult to predict how ecosystems change without using models that directly account for food web structure and species interactions. Therefore, it is clear that a combined approach using both long-term data and ecosystem models are required to provide a mechanistic understanding of how ecological and anthropogenic stressors impact ecosystems. Over the past few years, I have been developing ecosystem models Lake Superior and Lake 223, a small oligotrophic boreal shield lake in the Experimental Lakes Area of Ontario. Using these systems as case studies, I have been able to 1) assess how non-native species have influenced the structure and function (i.e., trophic transfer efficiency and energy residence time) of the Lake Superior ecosystem, 2) forecast how recent recruitment trends of Cisco Coregonus artedi influence the Lake Superior ecosystem when compared with recruitment trends from the 1980s and 1990s, and 3) quantify the direct and indirect effects of surface water acidification on ecosystem dynamics of experimentally acidified Lake 223.
