International Association for Great Lakes Research 57TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GREAT LAKES RESEARCH at McMaster University May 26-30, 2014 IN EM TRA ST N Y S S IT O IO C N E 4 1 0 2 IO H R AM TA ILTON, ON ABSTRACTS ABSTRACTS 57th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research May 26–30, 2014 McMaster University © 2014 International Association for Great Lakes Research 4840 South State Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Cover design and conference logo by Jenifer Thomas CONTENTS ABSTRACTS .......................................................................................................... 1 A ........................................................................................................................ 1 B ...................................................................................................................... 14 C ...................................................................................................................... 41 D ...................................................................................................................... 60 E ...................................................................................................................... 77 F ...................................................................................................................... 83 G ...................................................................................................................... 98 H .................................................................................................................... 112 I ..................................................................................................................... 126 J ..................................................................................................................... 128 K .................................................................................................................... 136 L .................................................................................................................... 151 M ................................................................................................................... 172 N .................................................................................................................... 203 O ................................................................................................................... 215 P .................................................................................................................... 221 Q ................................................................................................................... 231 R .................................................................................................................... 232 S .................................................................................................................... 246 T .................................................................................................................... 279 U .................................................................................................................... 289 V .................................................................................................................... 291 W ................................................................................................................... 297 X .................................................................................................................... 312 Y .................................................................................................................... 315 Z .................................................................................................................... 319 AUTHOR INDEX ................................................................................................ 323 KEYWORD INDEX ............................................................................................ 336 ABSTRACTS An alphabetical listing of abstracts presented at the 57th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, organized by first author. Presenters are underlined. A ABDEL-FATTAH, S.L., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 59 Larraine Ave., Dundas, On, L9H 6E5. Risk-Based Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Risks on the Biological Systems and Infrastructure in the Great Lakes. Current management of Great Lakes' resources does not consider environmental variability expected from climate change. Resource managers recognize the need to evaluate the impact of a shifting climate, the uncertainty about the impacts, and consider adaptation strategies. This study aims to identify trends and projections for several variables (including air and surface temperatures, precipitation, ice freeze and break up, lake levels, wind and evaporation) as well as the impacts of the expected changes. There is a general recognition that not all climate variables will change in a linear fashion and that climate variables that are projected to change could interact in complex ways that are not fully understood. This study attempts to recognize the drivers of change in order to identify linkages and interactions be- tween climatic variables and proposed impacts.Past climate trends indicate that the average air temperature in Canada has increased 1.2˚C in the last 58 years (Environment Canada, 2006). Warming has been more significant in winter and spring and has contributed to changes in evaporation rates, less rates, less annual precipitation with less as snowfall and more as rainfall, and shorter periods of ice-cover; all of which affect freshwater ecosystems through hydrodynamic and thermodynamic processes. Keywords: Climatic data, Risk assessment, Coastal ecosystems. ADKINSON, A., DOLSON, R., HANNIKAINEN, P., LA ROSE, J., LANGLEY, T., LIDDLE, G.E., ROBILLARD, M., and TRUMPICKAS, J.J., Southern Biodiversity and ABSTRACTS 2 Monitoring Unit, 26465 York Rd. 18, Sutton West, ON, L0E 1R0. Long-Term Trends and Recent Changes in the Lake Simcoe Fish Community. The Lake Simcoe fish community has considerable economic importance and is an important indicator of lake ecosystem health. Since 1954, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has collected information about this fish community through multiple long-term monitoring programs. Monitoring data has shown significant fish community responses to environmental stressors and subsequent lake-wide rehabilitation efforts. Recent trends in the cold-water fish community have included encouraging evidence of natural reproduction and increasing relative abundances of lake trout, lake whitefish, and cisco. Decreasing relative abundance of introduced rainbow smelt has also been observed. The diverse warm-water fish community has been influenced by recent introductions of non-native species like round goby , black crappie, and bluegill. Bluegill relative abundance has increased considerably in recent years and round goby has spread throughout the lake. Overall, there has been high variability in the relative abundance of warm-water fish species, with significant trends exhib- ited by some species, such as an apparent decrease in relative abundance of smallmouth bass. These fish community trends are discussed in the context of ecological changes and management activities occurring in the Lake Simcoe watershed. Keywords: Species diversity, Lake Simcoe, Fish populations. AGBOOLA, A. and HAFFNER, G.D., Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research , University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4. Primary Productivity in the Western Basin of Lake Erie in 2013. The goal of this study was to quantify primary production in the Western Basin of Lake Erie to determine whether if current rates of primary productivity differ significantly from historic values in an era when harmful algal bloom are becoming more prevalent. Wa- ter samples were collected at varying depth between 0m - 7m in Lake Erie at Middle Sister Island (MSI) and Colchester Reef (CR), and primary productivity was measured at depth us- ing the Light and Dark Bottle Method (LBD) through the months of May and October 2013. Results revealed that the primary production for MSI ranged from 1.017 to 4.529 mg C m-3 h-1 and the annual primary production for CR ranged from 0.388 to 2.411 mg C m-3 h-1. These results are significantly lower than those reported by Fitzpatrick et al. in 2007. It is suggested that changes in the ratio of Zeu/Zm might be having a strong regulating effect on primary production in the western basin of Lake Erie. Keywords: Carbon, Productivity, Lake Erie. IAGLR 2014 / HAMILTON ABSTRACTS 3 ALFORD, L.K., University of Michigan, Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, 2600 Draper Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48103. The Next Step: Microplastic Pollution Prevention. As we begin to determine where microplastics are found in the Great Lakes and where the sources of microplastic pollution are located, we need to work towards preventa- tive solutions to this particularly challenging issue. This presentation will cover known and hypothesized sources of microplastic pollution. Based on these sources, there are suggested methods to prevent this pollution, ranging from filtration at wastewater treatment plants to environmental policy. Discussion from session participants is encouraged. Keywords: Microplas- tics, Pollution prevention, Pollution sources, Remediation. ALLAN, J.D. and SMITH, S.D.P., University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources & Environment, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109. The Heterogeneous Distribution