RAEON has supported several projects related to shoreline change in the Great Lakes, including a study using artificial vegetation to protect shorelines by reducing the impacts of waves and wakes. RAEON also supported a project to measure the evolution of Point Pelee National Park and to identify sediment transport pathways and potential mitigation strategies to protect critical ecosystems within the park.…
RAEON, in partnership with the US Geological Survey, is range testing a novel mobile platform to improve glider-based acoustic telemetry studies. Scientists use acoustic telemetry – which includes fish tags and stationary receivers – to determine the distribution and movements of aquatic species.…
Canada’s GHG reductions and carbon offsets to prevent warming beyond 1.5 °C need to be reported internationally in order to be recognized in global negotiations around climate change. With growing local and national scale interest in wetlands as a Nature-based climate Solution, improved estimates of wetland organic carbon (OC) sequestration and GHG flux across wetland types are required.…
This project will help scientists better understand and predict the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs) using real-time data. The project team will deploy real-time continuous monitoring instruments in Lake Erie — the first time this equipment has been used this way in freshwater — to better understand how nutrients, temperature, and other factors lead to the development of HABs and hypoxia, oxygen-depleted water. …
Freshwater fish are an important economic and cultural resource to Canadians. Recent research indicates, however, that some recreational fisheries may be struggling. Managers are unsure whether fish production is declining in Canada’s inland lakes, especially in the context of warming temperatures that are affecting fish and their habitats.…
Scientists deployed an autonomous underwater vehicle to continuously collect high-resolution spatial and temporal data in Lake Ontario to better understand key lake processes, including currents, primary productivity, and the distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton.…
Lake Winnipeg —one of North America’s Great Lakes — recently has been labeled one of the most threatened lakes in the world because of increased phytoplankton productivity. Many stressors are triggering these alterations in phytoplankton productivity, including climate change. But to separate climate change from natural variability is challenging and requires a large data set with more than three decades of continuous phytoplankton data.…
Intensive agricultural lands feed into Canada’s Great Lakes. The primary type of nitrogen used in agriculture has changed over time, shifting from organic to inorganic forms, such as urea. This change has corresponded with an increase in the frequency, magnitude, and duration of phytoplankton blooms, including cyanobacteria that are known to produce toxins harmful to life.…
Cyanobacteria, algae that form on the surface of nutrient-rich waters, can produce an array of toxins. Accurately measuring these toxins in waterbodies is crucial because they can pose risks to human health and other biological communities. Unfortunately, monitoring and research of these toxins has focused almost exclusively on one particular compound—microcystins.…
Atlantic salmon were historically abundant in Lake Ontario, but their populations disappeared from the lake more than a century ago. Management agencies and conservation groups have made restoring Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario a top priority. This project will investigate two key factors that may affect the success of these programs – a high thiamine diet from exotic prey species and warming water temperatures due to climate change.…
