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| Research Overview |
| Research Overview |
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The Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit is one of the largest aquatic science research, training and employment sites in Ontario with programs involving up to 50 contract staff and students per year and an annual budget of over $1.5 million.
Water has been called the “blue-gold” of the 21st century. Water systems are life supporting, and a healthy water system is essential for a robust economy and good quality of life. The tragic state of the world’s freshwater resources is now widely recognized (2003 UNESCO report). By the year 2025 demand for fresh water world-wide will exceed availability by 56%. While we are fortunate in Canada to have a large per capita supply of clean water, our freshwater resources are under increasing threat from a variety of stressors including industrial pollution, nutrient loading, stormwater runoff, habitat loss due to inappropriate shoreline development, the introduction of invasive species, among others, all of which are complicated by new stressors associated with changing climate. Much of our freshwater, about 22% of Canada’s total water surface area (including more than 1 million lakes), is found within the Boreal Shield Ecozone, a landscape that is one of the most threatened. Protection of our water is crucial, not only as a source of drinking water, but as a recreational resource vital for the quality of life for residents and as the foundation for our tourism and eco-tourism industry.
The research goals of the Co-op Unit are: to evaluate and track the health of aquatic ecosystems; to assess and monitor the processes of recovery and rehabilitation of industrially-damaged waters; and to develop and test rehabilitation techniques. The Co-op Unit provides research opportunities in the fields of restoration ecology, environmental science, and aquatic resource management, for undergraduate and graduate students, and provides an education program that benefits students, government, and the general public. Current areas of study include climate change, endangered fish species rehabilitation, zooplankton recovery in acid-stressed lakes, the effects of exploitation on game fish populations, the effects of habitat loss on salmonid reproduction, impact of invasive species, effects of cage aquaculture on fish communities, bioaccumultaion of mercury in northeastern fish communities, reproductive ecology of northern fish populations and sampling methods for fish and invertebrate communities.
Water Monitoring and Reporting Program
This program is the foundation of the core knowledge at the Co-op Unit which provides its uniqueness and relevance as a Centre. Staff collect and store data for a diverse set of chemical and biological metrics, across a wide landscape, over many years. These data sets are important to MOE, MNR and industry for policy development and regulation verification purposes. This program also produces special publications and electronic data sets that report the data to stakeholders.
Research Program
This program draws and builds on the data collected in the Water Monitoring and Reporting Program for the creation of scientific peer reviewed publications. This program is also involved in method development for more efficient and effective (with respect to both cost and outcomes) research approaches and techniques. While Co-op Unit scientists are primarily engaged in applied research to address specific, practical questions, the complex subject matter of their research – i.e. the ecosystem – often requires that a basic research approach is taken. This research program - both applied and basic - is fertile ground for graduate student research and thesis projects.
Education, Curriculum Development and Training of HQP
Faculty with the Co-op Unit contribute to both the teaching and research programs. Regular full semester as well as modular or “field-type” courses are offered producing a regular stream of M.Sc. and Ph.D. graduates. The Co-op Unit has an impressive record of training Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) with over 23 Master’s students and 100 undergraduates, many of whom have gone on to related positions in industry or academia.
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