Aerial view of the field station

2020

Annual Report of the

Cornell Biological Field Station

Cornell Biological Field Station

Advisory Committee Director: Lars Rudstam

Associate Director/Fisheries Program: Randy Jackson

Great Lakes Program: James Watkins

Facilities Coordinator: Brian Young

Cornell:

Pat Sullivan: Chair and Professor, Dep. Natural Resources & Environment

Katherine Bunting-Howarth Associate Director, New York Sea Grant Institute Assistant Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Paul Curtis Extension Leader and Professor, Dep. Natural Resources & Environment

Jeff Carmichael Senior Administrative Manager, Dep. Natural Resources & Environment

Amy McCune Senior Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, and Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Peter Paradise Assistant Dean of Capital Projects and Facilities, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University

Rebecca Schneider Associate Professor, Dep. Natural Resources & Environment

Richard Stedman Professor, Department of Natural Resources; Leader, Cornell Human Dimensions Research Unit, Incoming Chair of DNRE

External:

John Farrell Director, Thousand Islands Biological Station, Professor, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse

Brian Lantry Director, USGS Great Lakes Lake Ontario Unit.

Steve Hurst Fisheries Chief, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Director’s Corner What a year. The corona virus disrupted our life and our program at CBFS. This is a year as no other during my time at Shackelton. CBFS looked like a ghost station most of the time - no interns, no visitors, no potlucks, no volleyball, and no seminars. However, the station was well maintained by Brian and Pete and is in good shape.

The virus also took some of the friends of CBFS. Professor Ray Oglesby of DNRE, who helped us by serving as the CBFS campus director for a couple of years during the transition from John Forney to Ed Mills passed from complications of covid-19. So did Bill Magee who was the representative in Albany for the district including Oneida Lake. Bill was instrumental in getting us funding for the new dorm and he very much appreciated CBFS including a congratulations to our 50 year anniversary from the NY legislature that is now hanging in our lab (with Dave Valesky). Dr. Joe Leach passed, a true friend of the Great Lakes. Joe worked with Ed Mills on exotics and their seminal papers on Great Lakes invasions includes Mills, Leach, Carlton and Secor (JGLR 1993), the most cited of all CBFS contributions. For Ray, Bill, Joe and 344,000 other Americans, life was cut short by covid-19 in 2020. Other friends lost this year include two great aquatic scientists - Jim Kitchell and Bob Werner. We also lost Gabriella Doud, one of our Great Lakes technicians, to another disease at the much too early age of 28. A very sad year indeed.

Even so, we were able to continue field and lab work at CBFS. Our staff diligently wore masks and stayed at a safe social distance. All lab activities were either in separate individual rooms or at home. Zoom meetings all the time, some more successful than others. Thanks to all these efforts, we were spared any covid outbreak at CBFS. Field sampling was possible on both Oneida and Ontario, so we did not miss a year in our long-term data series for those lakes. But we could not get out on the other Great Lakes as the Lake Guardian cruises were cancelled, leaving a hole in the data series for 2020 for the Great Lakes. Our friends around Lake Ontario and Erie did manage to cover some of the sampling for zooplankton at least. Important that we get out on the Great Lakes in 2021! And even with most of us working from home, our research productivity stayed high. We also welcome a new graduate student - Brett Hayhurst - who will be working with Jim Watkins on Lake Ontario issues. He will also strengthen our connection with the Army Corps of Engineers, where Brett is a Hydrology Scientist.

When you visit Shackelton next time, take a look at our sign commemorating John Forney’s contributions to the station. This year John also received an award from the Oneida Lake Association and was inducted in the NYS Outdoorsmans Hall of Fame. Congratulations John.

Only one of our students finished her degree in 2020 - Taylor Brown, M.Sc. Taylor also received the Baldwin award given by the International Association for Great Lakes Research to the most promising student in Great Lakes fisheries. Taylor is continuing with her work on coregonine fishes in Great Lakes and as a PhD student with Suresh Sethi, Brian Weidel and me. We also had three students completing their honors thesis - Ruby Dener, Iriel Edwards and Anna Poslednik - working with Marshall, Watkins, Kassam, Jackson and Evans. Congratulations!

I am counting on a much better 2021!

Lars Rudstam

John Forney receiving award from Ed Mills

In Memoriam - Gabriella Doud

Cornell University Biological Field Station mourns the loss of a valued staff member and friend

With great sadness, we announce the passing of one of our research technician's, Gabriella Doud. Gabriella, who specialized in Great Lakes invertebrate ecology, joined the field station in February of 2016 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in ecology from SUNY Plattsburgh. Always with a smile on her face, Gabriella once described herself using these words "My passion is the environment. I love learning about ecosystems, how they work, and what would happen if there were to be a collapse in an ecosystem. I love to get outside and be hands on with work. I hope to one day educate others about how important it is to preserve the world we live in, and what an impact us humans can have." Gabriella loved going out on the R/V Lake Guardian and traveling to different cities, always meeting and supporting those she met along the way. She continued to develop her skills over time and became very confident on deck. In terms of biology, she favored Lake Ontario and the complex interactions of predatory

cladocerans however; Gabriella once said that Lake Huron was her favorite due to that breathtaking sky blue.

Gabriella left a lasting impact through her research and her friendship…she is missed.

CBFS Staff and Students 2020 Senior Scientists

Lars Rudstam (Director, aquatic ecology) Randy Jackson (Associate Director, fisheries) James Watkins (Great Lakes program leader)

Administration and Buildings Michelle Holeck (Admin. Assistant) Brian Young (Facilities Coordinator) Pete Kite (Maintenance Mechanic) Dustin Darnell (Director of Facilities, Agriculture Experiment Station)

Gabriella working from the CBFS classroom Fall of 2020

Research Support Specialists Tom Brooking (Fisheries) Kristen Holeck (Limnology) Tony VanDeValk (Fisheries)

Technicians Patrick Boynton (Great Lakes ecology) Joe Connolly (Great Lakes ecology) Gabriella Doud (Great Lakes ecology) Christopher Hotaling (Limnology) Christopher Marshall (Great Lakes ecology) Sarah Schaeffer (Great Lakes ecology) Beth Whitmore (Great Lakes ecology) Alexandrea Rice (Great Lakes ecology)

Education Coordinator David White (New York Sea Grant)

Visiting scientists: Kimberly Schulz (Visiting Professor, SUNY ESF) Abigail Quarshie (Humphrey Fellow, Ghana Fisheries Institute) Rosaura Chapina (PhD student, Univ. Vermont)

Professor Emeriti John Forney (Fish ecology) David Green (Fisheries) Ed Mills (Limnology)

Cornell Graduate Students Toby Holda (PhD, DNRE, Rudstam/Watkins): Ecology of Mysis diluviana Stephanie Figary (PhD. DNRE, Watkins/Rudstam): Zooplankton in the Great Lakes Sol Lisboa (PhD, BEE, Walter/Schneider/Rudstam): Groundwater-lake interactions Taylor Brown (MSc/PhD, DNRE, Sethi/Rudstam): Cisco ecology in Lake Ontario Joe Connolly (MSc, DNRE, Watkins/Rudstam): Zooplankton in Great Lakes Leo Louis (MSc, DNRE, Kassam): Ecological calendars at Oneida Lake Christopher Marshall (MSc. DNRE, Watkins/Rudstam): Parasitic copepods in the Great Lakes Brett Hayhurst (MSc. DNRE, Watkins): Great Lake contaminant and nutrient loading

Joe Connolly working from temporary work area in the dormitory

2020 CBFS Interns Due to the covid restrictions, there were no interns at CBFS in 2020 for the first time since the 1970s.

Collaborators CBFS provides a center for ecological research on aquatic ecosystems, and strives to provide an exciting, inviting, and collegial working and learning environment. CBFS faculty and staff collaborate with a large number of investigators in the US, Canada, and other countries. Our collaborators are very important to our program. The following individuals were involved in various aspects of the program in 2020:

Cornell University:

Department of Natural Resources: Paul Curtis, Angela Fuller, Matt Hare, Karim Kassam, Rebecca Schneider, Suresh Sethi, Patrick Sullivan, Bruce Lauber, Rich Stedman. Department of Ecology and Environmental Biology: Nelson Hairston, Steve Ellner, David Lodge, Amy McCune, Paul Simonin, Jose Andres, Kristy Deiner Department of Microbiology: Ian Hewson Biological and Environmental Engineering: Todd Walter Civil and Environmental Engineering: April Gu College of Veterinary Medicine: Rod Getchell Cornell Lab or Ornithology: Aaron Rice Cornell Cooperative Extension/ New York Sea Grant: Kathy Bunting-Howarth, Jesse Lepak, David White

New York Colleges and Universities:

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry: Greg Boyer, John Farrell, Karin Limburg, Kim Schulz, Don Stewart, Roxanne Razavi, Charles Driscoll SUNY Buffalo State College: Lyuba Burlakova, Alexander Karatayev, Susan Daniels, Knut Mehler, Allison Hrycik SUNY- New Paltz: David Richardson SUNY Brockport: Jacques Rinchard SUNY-Oneonta, Kiyoko Yokota, Florian Reyda SUNY-Oswego Nick Sard

Gus and Tony on Oneida Lake February 2020

Hobart and William Smith College: Lisa Cleckner, Meghan Brown

US Universities:

Hartford College: Bin Zhu Lake Superior State University, Michigan: Jonathan Doubek Miami University, Ohio: Craig Williamson The Ohio State University: Stuart Ludsin, Rebecca Dillon, Lyndsie Collis, Jim Hood Penn State University, Berks Campus: Jennifer Arnold, Steven Oswald Purdue University: Thomas Höök, Paris Collingsworth University of Georgia: Brian Irwin University of Michigan: CIGLR: Tom Johengen University of Minnesota Duluth: Euan Reavie, Kitty Kennedy, Katya Kovalenko, Robert Sterner, Kaitlin Reinl University of Notre Dame: Michael Pfrender University of Vermont-Burlington: Donna Parrish, Jason Stockwell, Ellen Marsden, Rosaura Chapina. University of West Virginia: Amy Welsh University of Wisconsin-Madison: Paul Hanson, Corinna Gries, John Magnuson University of Wyoming: Willie Fetzer Virginia Tech: Kelly Cobourn, Cayelan Carey, Kevin Boyle, Michael Sorice, Reilly Henson

Canadian Universities and Institutions:

Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada: Kelly Bowen, Warren Currie, Marten Koops, Mohi Munawar, Monir Hossain Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources: Tim Johnson, Tom Stewart, Jeremy Holden, Jake LaRose, Brent Metcalf Ontario Ministry of the Environment: Todd Howell University of Windsor: Aaron Fisk University of Guelph: Paul Hebert University of Toronto: Gary Sprules, George Arhonditsis University of Waterloo: William Taylor International Universities and Institutions: Anhui Agricultural University, China: Xueying Mei Jinan University, China: Xiufeng Zhang, Zhengwen Liu Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS, Wuhan, China: Yushun Chen Sin-Danish Institute, Beijing. Erik Jeppessen

Tony VanDeValk and Tom Brooking trawling

Anhui Academy of Environmental Science Research, China: Cuicui Qi University of Western Australia: Matt Hipsey University of Stockholm, Sweden: Sture Hansson Belarus University: Boris Adamovich, Hanna Zhukava, Tatayna Zhukova, Tamara Mikheyeva Universite Savoie Mont Blanc, France: Orlane Anneville, Jean-Philippe Jenny University of Geneva, Switzerland: Bas Ibelings University of Konstanz, Germany: Dietmar Straile, Ziga Ogorelec Fishereiforschung Lagenargen, Lake Constance, Germany: Roland Rösch, Alexander Brinkner, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt, Germany: Kay Van Damme Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Science, Berlin, Germany: Thomas Mehner EAWAG, Zurich, Switzerland: Piet Spaak, Linda Hatliner National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine: Dmytro Khrystenko

Local, State and Federal Agencies:

Central New York Planning Board: Kathleen Bertuch NYS Canal Corporation: Peter Pazer NYS DEC-Albany: Lisa Holst, Steve Hurst, Greg Kozlowski, Jeff Loukmas, Doug Stang, Leslie Surprenant, Don Zelazny, Dan Rosenblatt, Chuck Nieder

NYS DEC-Region 8: Brad Hammers, Web Pearsall, Matt Sanderson NYS DEC-Region 7: Dan Bishop, David Lemon, Scott Prindle, Tom Bell, Emily Zollweg NYS DEC-Region 6: Jana Lantry, Roger Klindt, Michael Wilkinson NYS DEC-Lake Ontario Unit: Michael Connerton, Steven LaPan, Chris Legard NYS DEC-Lake Erie Unit: James Markham, Jason Robinson NYS DEC Department of Water: Karen Stainbrook NYS DEC Constantia Fish Culture Station: Bill Evans NYS Lower Hudson PRISM: Brent Boscarino EPA-Region 2: Aisha Sexton-Sims, Daniel Gurdak EPA-Duluth: Joel Hoffman, Anett Trebitz, Tom Hollenhorst EPA-GLNPO: Eric Osantowski, Todd Nettesheim, Elizabeth Hinchey-Malloy, Lou Bloom, Annie Scofield NOAA-Great Lakes Laboratory: Doran Mason, Ed Rutherford, Ashley Elgin, Hank Vanderploeg, Steve Pothoven, Mark Rowe Michigan DNR: Jory Jonas, Pat O’Neill Ohio DNR: Mark DuFour, John Deller Onondaga County: Chris Gandino, Janaki Suryadevara USFWS: Scott Schlueter, Zy Biesinger, Dimitry Gorsky Chris Hotaling using the Ekman to grab sediment

samples

USGS-Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, MI: Bo Bunnell, Ed Roseman, Wendylee Stott, David Warner, Yu-Chun Kao, Robin DeBruyne, Patricia Armenio, Patrick Hudson USGS-Great Lakes Laboratory, Oswego, NY: Brian Lantry, Brian Weidel, Brian O’Malley USGS-Tunison, Cortland, NY: Jim McKenna USGS-Great Lakes Science Center Erie: Patrick Kocovsky, Rebecca Dillon USGS – Great Lakes Science Center Superior: Dan Yule Army Corp of Engineers: Joe Kreitinger, Brett Hayhurst Vermont Fish and Wildlife: Bernie Pientka Wisconsin DNR: Zacharias Feiner

Non-Government Organizations and Private Consulting Firms:

GDIT: Richard Barbiero, Barry Lesht Cooper Environmental: John Cooper Ecologic: Elizabeth Moran The Nature Conservancy: Darran Crabtree, Mathew Levine, Matt Herbert Upstate Freshwater Institute: Dave Matthews, Dave O’Donnell, Sue O’Donnell Virginia Museum of Natural History: Janet Reid Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, Kathleen Bertuch Vshift: Amy Hetherington Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies: Bella Olefsky, Chris Solomon

2020 CBFS Summer Seminar Series Due to the covid restrictions, there were no summer seminars at CBFS in 2020.

2020 Workshops at CBFS Only one workshop occurred at CBFS in 2020 before covid-19 caught up with us and restrictions eliminated any outside visitors at the Station - a meeting for three groups working on the barcoding projects funded by EPA in February 2020.

The Great Lakes DNA Barcoding Project is using new and scalable genetic approaches to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the native aquatic biodiversity of the Great Lakes and to detect previously undiscovered biological invasions. It will provide a baseline against which to monitor future changes in response to unintentional anthropogenic impacts and quantify efforts to restore biodiversity in parts of the lakes where it has declined.

Tony VanDeValk completing trawl data sheets

Academic and EPA scientists participating in the project gathered at the beautiful Biological Field Station at Cornell University in upstate New York. We shared the latest project updates—everything from taxonomy to biodiversity, from ecological analysis to portable DNA sequencing, and the future of DNA-based monitoring. While the project is still in progress with hundreds of more specimens awaiting analysis, so far, our collaboration has resulted in over 1,000 DNA barcodes spanning over 300 invertebrate species.

2020 CBFS Program Highlights Oneida Lake and other Inland Lakes

A major research program at CBFS is the Oneida Lake projects involving two of CBFS’ senior scientists: Jackson concentrating on fish and fisheries and Rudstam concentrating on lower trophic levels. Paul Curtis with Jennifer Arnold and Steve Oswald from Penn State continued their work on colonial waterbirds in the lake, Rebecca Schneider and Todd Walter with PhD student Sol Lisboa studied groundwater phosphorus input, April Gu and her group worked on phosphorus release from sediments, Roxanne Razavi and Suresh Sethi worked with mercury contamination in sport fish as affected by round goby, Karim Kassam with graduate student Leo Louis worked on the ecological calendar, and Alexander Karatayev and colleagues used Oneida Lake and similar data from three polymictic Belarusian lakes to study the long term effects of zebra and quagga mussels on the ecosystem. The Oneida program depends on our dedicated research staff Brooking, VanDeValk, Holeck, and Hotaling. Oneida Lake is a site member of the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) and part of several research projects comparing data from lakes across the world. The fisheries data was used by research groups at USGS (Kao, Bunnell) and DFO Canada (Hossain, Koops), and NOAA-GLERL (Rutherford, Mason, Zhang), all three groups working on the coupling between phosphorus and fish using Oneida data and Great Lakes data. Despite Covid, we managed to continue the long term data series on the lake in 2020 and we did continue our collaborations throughout the world using the CBFS long-term data.

Ongoing project: Long-term studies of Oneida Lake

Randy Jackson, Tom Brooking, Tony VanDeValk, Lars Rudstam, Kristen Holeck, Chris Hotaling, John Forney (Funded by NYS DEC with contributions from the Brown Endowment)

Our studies of the fisheries and limnology of Oneida Lake were initiated in the mid-1950s as an assessment of the status of the lake’s important walleye and yellow perch fisheries. The program has enjoyed continuous funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and for over 60 years and has included annual monitoring of multiple trophic levels and physical conditions, representing a true ecosystem approach to understanding the dynamics of the lake’s fish community and fisheries. Ongoing studies on Oneida Lake include detailed studies of walleye and yellow perch from larval to adult life stages, assessment of offshore and inshore fish community composition and monitoring of nutrients, primary and secondary production, as well as annual creel surveys. While maintaining the continuous data set started by John Forney, we have increased the scope of our studies, which now include intensive sampling of the lake’s nearshore fish community and annual creel surveys. Oneida Lake is the State’s third most heavily fished lake, and data collected by Field Station staff provide timely information to DEC managers to ensure sustainable fishing opportunities, particularly for walleye, yellow perch and

smallmouth bass. The data series has also allowed important insights into the response of lake ecosystem to perturbations such as exotic species and climate change. We have already documented fundamental shifts in fish community composition resulting from increases in water clarity associated with zebra mussels, and are currently assessing the impacts of displacement of zebra mussels by quagga mussels. The double-crested cormorant had profound impacts on walleye and yellow perch, and our studies of these impacts have informed cormorant management throughout their range. Analyses of the response of walleye and yellow perch to cormorant management are shedding light on the relative importance of that management and concurrent restrictions of walleye harvest. Warming water temperatures may be contributing to increased production of largemouth and smallmouth bass, gizzard shad and other species near the northern extent of their range. Sampling in 2014 revealed that the round goby had finally become established in the lake, although densities were low. After an apparent die-off in the winter of 2016, gobies were fully recovered in 2019 to the highest densities observed since 2016. Densities remained high in 2020. Gobies appeared in the diets of most of our more common fish species and were also foraged upon by cormorants. We observed marked declines in angler success in 2016, which is most likely related to the abundant new prey resource represented by gobies, but angler catches improved in 2017 and 2018 when goby densities were reduced. Despite increasing goby numbers, angler catch rates of walleye in 2019 were the highest observed since 2004. We were unable to conduct the 2020 creel survey due to restrictions related to covid-19. We will have an excellent opportunity to continue assessing the impacts of this new invasive on the lake’s fish and fisheries in the upcoming years. Bythotrephes longimanus, the spiny water flea, was discovered in Oneida Lake by CBFS research specialist Kristen Holeck in the fall of 2019 during sampling with Cornell’s Field Biology class. Subsequent sampling revealed localized high densities of this new invasive and use of this new food source by juvenile yellow perch. Our long-term data set will position us well to understand what impacts this new invasive species may have on the lake. Walleye continue to be the most popular sport fish in Oneida Lake. Bass are also a popular fishery, and typically account for 25-30% of the anglers interviewed during our June/July creel survey, another sign of change from the days when walleye anglers comprised most of the lake users. A walleye mark-recapture population estimate in 2019 produced an estimated adult walleye population of just over 1,000,000 fish, the first time this mark has been achieved since 1986. Due to a large 2016 year class, the walleye population at the start of the 2020 season was likely more than 1.1 million fish. Management responses to sharp walleye population declines in the 1990s (resulting in a record low population size of 200,000 fish in 2000), including harvest restrictions and cormorant management, appear to be paying off. As Oneida Lake has changed, so too has the fish community and the fishery, and our studies continue to expand our efforts to understand the dynamics of this economically important resource.

Kristen Holeck collecting Limnology data

Ongoing project: Common terns on Oneida Lake

Paul Curtis, Stephen Oswald (Funded by NYS DEC)

The long-term studies of colonial waterbirds on Oneida Lake, initiated in the 1970s, continued during 2020. Investigators Paul Curtis and Stephen Oswald (from Penn State University) monitored the nesting activity of Common Terns. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the field season started late, and we had no summer intern involved with the study. Breeding success for Common Terns at Oneida Lake was very poor again during the 2020 field season, and no chicks likely fledged from Little Island. Installation of the gull exclusion grid on Little Island was completed on 28 April, 2020. On 26 June, grid wires were checked and 61 ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) nests with a total of 117 eggs were removed from Little Island. The grid wires were less effective than usual because of heavy vegetation on the south part of the island, and no island checks during early June because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the rest of the summer, we removed another 6 ring-billed gull nests with an additional 10 eggs. This is more typical with frequent island checks. The peak nest count for common terns on Little Island was 116 nests with 247 eggs on July 24th and on Willard Island was 218 nests with 345 eggs on July 2nd. Additional counts of other waterbirds were conducted on Wantry and Long Islands, however, no terns were found nesting there. A total of 6 chicks were banded on Little Island, and none of these survived until fledging. Estimated chick survival was poor due to night-time predation by black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), and competition for nesting space from ring-billed gulls. Because of predation and competition for nesting space on Little

Island, the bulk of common tern nesting moved to Willard Island for the first time since 2010 or earlier. The predation from night herons during the normal peak of nesting, and competition for nesting space from ring-billed gulls on the southern two-thirds of Little Island detrimentally impacted the survival rates of tern chicks in 2020. The terns chose to primarily nest on Willard Island, which is very tenuous because of low height above mean water levels. A total of 116 chicks were banded on Willard Island, and 5 of these chicks were observed on 20th August at fledging age. Most chicks and eggs, however, were lost due to storms and the island being over-washed multiple times in late July. NYS DEC staff from Region 7 (M. Putnam, T. Bell, and others) treated excessive vegetation on Little Island with Eraser-XP herbicide (51% glyphosate a.i.). The first treatment was in late June. There was partial vegetation kill, so a follow-up treatment was performed on 20th August, after the tern nesting season was completed. This habitat improvement will hopefully provide additional nesting space for terns in summer 2021.

Chris Marshall preparing to dive in Oneida Lake

Ongoing Project: Ecological calendars to anticipate climate change

Karim-Aly Kassam, Madeline Rich, Tamar Law, Leo Louis, Adnan Akyuz (North Dakota State University), Art DeGaetano, Christopher Dunn, Randy Jackson, Amanda Rodewald, Lars Rudstam, Morgan Ruelle, David Wolfe (Funded by the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Academic Venture Fund)

This project is developing ecological calendars as a means of building of anticipatory capacity for climate change at the scale of community. Ecological calendars are systems to keep track of time based observation of weather, plants, and animals. Seasonal events – such as the nascence of a flower, the emergence of an insect, the arrival of a migratory bird, the movement of fish, or the breakup of lake ice – may serve as more reliable indicators of seasonal change than counting of days based on the position of the sun, moon, and stars. Indigenous and other place-based ecological knowledge of seasonal indicators has enabled communities to coordinate their activities with the rest of their ecosystems. By integrating such knowledge with cutting-edge science, the project is developing ecological calendars that anticipate trends and variability resulting from global climate change. Work on this project was limited in 2020 due to covid-19, but we anticipate reports and Leo Louis MSc thesis in 2021.

Ongoing Project: Food Security

Karim-Aly Kassam, Randy Jackson, Iriel Edwards (Funded by CBFS Summer Fellowship)

This project organically emerged from the Ecological Calendars Project. In 2018, undergraduate intern, Iriel Edwards, investigated how

hunting, fishing, and foraging, create food sovereignty and achieve security within communities in the Oneida Lake watershed through sharing networks. She interviewed 20 local sportsmen and women, mushroom foragers, and those involved in the donation or sale of country foods and products to better understand why people partake in these activities and to what extent. She continued this work with interviews in early 2020 to get winter use. During 2020, Iriel completed her honors thesis on food security in the Oneida Lake area. Her work demonstrates that people greatly use these activities to acquire food and a majority of participants share the country foods they acquire with their friends, family, and members of the community.

Ongoing Project: Long term dynamics of dreissenid mussels and their ecosystem effects

Alexander Karatayev, Lars Rudstam, Lyuba Burlakova, Kristen Holeck, Christopher Hotaling, Randy Jackson, Amy Hetherington, Boris Adamovich, Hanna Zhukava

Following a workshop at CBFS in 2017, we have continued to analyze long-term data on mussels and ecosystems in four polymictic lakes, three in Belarus (the Naroch system lakes) and Oneida Lake. These four lakes may have the longest data sets documenting mussel effects on the ecosystem and the time scale of these changes. There are indications of declining mussel effects with time in the Naroch lakes, which suggest that systems are resilient to change over time periods of decades. However, in Oneida Lake, the arrival of quagga mussels increased the biomass of mussels in the lake and we have documented further declines in Daphnia abundance and chlorophyll concentrations, especially in early spring and late fall. Analyses continued in 2020 as we added data from four more lakes in the Netherlands that had both zebra and quagga mussels.

Ongoing Project: Hg dynamics in fish around New York State following the invasion of round goby

Suresh Sethi, Lisa Cleckner, Roxanne Razavi, Randy Jackson, Lars Rudstam (Funded by NY Water Resources Institute)

The exotic round goby quickly reaches high biomass in invaded lakes including upstate New York lakes like Oneida. As an abundant new ecosystem component, round goby enter the foodweb and their impact on contaminant cycling is a management concern. As predators, round goby foraging behavior potentially exposes them to high contaminant loads, consuming benthic invertebrates and filter feeding invasive mussels. As prey, goby have been recorded in stomachs of almost all resident gamefish in invaded waterbodies. This group studies the potential for goby to impact predatory gamefish contaminant loads which may be affected by both biomagnification or growth dilution. Here, we seek to fill that knowledge gap by providing information on both round goby and

top predator contaminant loads pre- and post-goby invasions. Bioenergetics models were employed in 2020 to further understand the effect on Hg concentration of a switch from feeding on alewife to feeding on round goby.

Completion Report: Sonic HABS disruption and fish effects

Rod Getchell, Ellen George, Aaron Rice, Joseph Malatos, Brian Chambers, Ana Greifen, Chuck Nieder, Lars Rudstam, (Funded by New York State)

This report contains results from field and laboratory studies on the non-target effects of ultrasonic control devices on resident fishes. The field observations were designed to evaluate if there were any behavioral response by fishes to these ultrasound-emitting systems. Under controlled laboratory conditions, seven fish species and wild tadpoles were exposed for two-week periods to ultrasonic control devices during which behavioral effects were monitored, followed by morphological and histological assessment. The Quattro-

Tony VanDeValk and Tom Brooking (in background) completing Fyke net survey as Lars Rudstam looks on

DB units utilized in these studies produced sound over a wide range of frequencies with an estimated sound pressure level of 215.5 dB (re: 1µPa at 1 m) between 2-250 kHz. This acoustic power is comparable to high-frequency acoustic deterrent units designed to cause fish avoidance (>190 dB re 1 µPa at 1 m). The first set of field observations were based on snorkel transects in shallow water in Oneida Lake, New York. The second set used hydroacoustics coupled with small-mesh gillnets in deeper water (Oneida Lake and Onondaga Lake, New York). No avoidance behavior was observed in either shallow or deep water, although the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) results from Onondaga Lake were more difficult to interpret. Fish in the field do not appear to be affected by this device, a conclusion that was also supported by laboratory observations. No harmful histological, morphological, or behavioral effects were observed on species of recreationally and ecologically important fish (or tadpoles) when exposed within one meter of the ultrasonic control device tested.

Ongoing Project: Groundwater and the P budget of Oneida Lake

Rebecca Schneider, Sol Lisboa, Lars Rudstam, Todd Walter, Kristen Holeck, Chris Hotaling

Given concerns about bluegreen blooms and a return to more eutrophic conditions, the Central New York Planning Board is looking at funding a project to develop the nine point plan for Oneida Lake and its watershed. As part of that project, we will investigate the phosphorus budget in Oneida Lake through measurements of P input from streams and groundwater. We are interested in the relative contribution of different P sources and how they may change with altered climates and watersheds. Models will be developed for both the lake and the watershed, and calibrated with field measurements. Starting in summer 2017 we have been working with developing and testing techniques to efficiently quantify groundwater flow and nutrient input in the lake shore. During summer 2020 we monitored and sampled groundwater seepage around Oneida Lake perimeter at 10 representative locations (Figure 1). In addition, the five main tributaries to the lake and the outlet were sampled bi-weekly for baseflow conditions. Auto-samplers were installed at three of the tributaries to collect samples during high-flow events. Furthermore, grab high flow samples were collected from all the tributaries and the outlet three times along the season. During the first half of 2021 samples will be analyzed for phosphorus concentration. The synchronous monitoring of surface and groundwater will allow us to assess the relative contribution of different P sources to the lake.

Sampling sites for surface and groundwater for summer 2020

Ongoing Project: Investigation of the presence and role of poly-phosphate accumulating microorganism (PAOs) in the phosphorus cycle

April Z. Gu lab in Civil Engineering at Cornell and Kristen Holeck/Lars Rudstam from CBFS

A better understanding of the P cycling in natural environments is of great significance for global P management. Although it is ultimately important to consider the full spectrum of all P compounds, polyphosphate (PolyP) is an overlooked but significant mediator of global P cycling. Based on a published large-scope survey among 22 European lakes differing in trophic status, biogeochemistry, hydrology, and morphology, NMR analysis showed PolyP/TP ratios in surface sediments varied from 1.5 to 11.4%. In all cases where PolyP was detected, it was regarded to be biotically generated. The settlement of PolyP-containing microorganisms onto sediments could also serve as an input for sediment PolyP. In the summer of 2019, we documented PolyP in sediments of Oneida Lake using NMR, polyP staining, single cell Raman microspectroscopy. Work continued on cores taken in 2020, and results are being analyzed in Dr Gu’s lab on campus. However 2020 activities were limited by covid-19. We will continue this work in 2021.

Ongoing Project: Onondaga Lake

Lars Rudstam, Kim Schulz (SUNY-ESF), Dave Matthews (UFI), Chris Gandino (Onondaga County)

Although the funded work on Onondaga Lake is completed, we are continuing with analysis of the 20 year data set on the recovery of the lake and the ensuing changes in the food web. Dr Schulz spent her sabbatical fall semester with us getting organized for more analyses and working up the phytoplankton data. We also published a paper on the mussel changes associated with goby invasion in 2020 and with the help of the County completed a 2020 mussel survey. Interestingly, goby invasion led to a mussel decline and a return of zebra mussels as the most abundant of the two species; changes that were predicted from experiments published by CBFS in 2013 and 2014. Water quality of the lake continues to be much improved in the lake.

International Limnology

The long-term data available from Oneida Lake are invaluable for documenting changes associated with invasive species, management, and climate change. But it is only one lake and we rely on

comparisons of our data sets with lakes around the world to deduce general trends. Many of the projects are through the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON). As a site member of GLEON, CBFS are partners in several projects that benefit from comparative approaches to limnology and lake – watershed interactions. Several GLEON projects using Oneida data were active in 2020 even though the GLEON group had to hold its annual meeting virtually. Additional projects have developed through the interests of the scientific community in the Oneida data independent of GLEON, examples are the mussel project, the inland fish production project and the project on the connection between fisheries yield and phosphorus. These projects are part of our long term data analyses and provide important insights into the

Michelle Holeck assisting with fieldwork

structure and function of lake ecosystems. To facilitate these worldwide interactions, we have made 10 datasets available (walleye, yellow perch, gillnet catches, trawl catches, limnology, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, ice cover, dreissenid mussels) on the DataONE data archiving system and update these data sets each year. Finally, our Rudstam is staying connected with past Chinese visiting scholars as part of several China NSF grants on benthification and lake restoration working with past visiting scientist Xueying Mei fran Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei City, Xiufeng Zhang (now faculty chair) at Jinan University in Guangzhou, and a new connection with Yushun Chen at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan working with aquatic plants.

Ongoing GLEON Project Recent changes in ice dynamics across the globe

Sapna Sharma, Gesa Weshenmeyer, John Lenters, John Magnuson, Rudstam and others in GLEON

This project is an update of the Magnuson et al. 2000 Science paper using data through 2019, including Oneida Lake and Cazenovia Lake. Overall, the ice data shows faster declines in the number of ice days in the 2000s, supporting the accelerating warming of the planet. All lakes are not equal and part of this analysis is to compare trends across the globe. A data paper and an analysis of trends papers are in preparation.

Ongoing GLEON Project: Day and night distribution in zooplankton

Jason Stockwell and others in GLEON, including Stephanie Figary and Watkins

Day and night sampling may give different information on the zooplankton abundances in lakes, although most sampling is done during the day. The project aims at understanding the proportion of zooplankton that are not collected with day time tows, and if those zooplankton reside on the bottom sediment or are concentrated in the water close to the bottom that is typically missed with daytime net tows. This has implications for how we sample zooplankton in both Oneida Lake and the Great Lakes.

Brian Young preparing water lines for colder weather

New GLEON Project: Mysis daytime distributions in deep lakes

Rosaura Chapina, Jason Stockwell, Rudstam, Watkins, Holda, others

Mysids migrate into the water column during the night, but their descent may not be all the way to the bottom of the lake in deep lakes and in turbid lakes. Drawing on the GLEON worldwide scientists, this project aims at collecting both day and night time data on mysids in a range of lakes.

New GLEON Project: Zooplankton across Space and Time (ZooST)

Lia Ivanick, Ariana Chiapella, Jason Stockwell (University of Vermont), Stephanie Figary, and others in GLEON

The GLEON Zooplankton as Indicators Group is working closely with a new GLEON working group, ZooST, that was formed October 2020 at GLEON 21.5. This project is using existing zooplankton data to test the reproducibility of different Space-for-Time-substitutions in large multi-lake “snapshot” surveys (e.g., USEPA National Lakes Assessments) by testing if similar regional results would occur if the lakes were sampled at different times over the growing season. ZIG and ZooST will launch a joint data call to the GLEON community in 2021.

Ongoing GLEON Project: Zooplankton as indicators Group (ZIG)

Stephanie Figary and others in GLEON ZIG has grown to include 45 participants from 13 countries and is launching a call for existing zooplankton data through the GLEON network in January 2021. Over the past year, the participants of ZIG defined eight research questions and coalesced on one main question that the group will pursue together. The goal is to develop a global zooplankton dataset to test which aspects of zooplankton community structure are the indicators of environmental change.

Ongoing GLEON Project: Bluegreen blooms in oligotrophic lakes

Kaitlin Reinl and others, including Rudstam

Bluegreen blooms in surface waters are observed even in oligotrophic lakes like Skaneateles Lake and Lake Superior even though these blooms are typically thought of as a problem for eutrophic lakes. A group of scientists from around the world wrote a review article that was submitted to Limnology and Oceanography Letters in 2020.

Lars Rudstam diving for mussels

Ongoing GLEON Project: Global evaluation of the impacts of storms on freshwater habitat and structure of phytoplankton assemblages

Orlane Anneville (INRA, France), Bas Ibelings (University of Geneva, Switzerland), Jason Stockwell and Jonathan Doubek (University of Vermont), Lars Rudstam and other GLEON collaborators

The GEISHA project relates the effects of physical disturbances and water column stability on plankton communities. This project started in 2015 and received additional funding for 2016-2018 in both the US and France to do comparative analysis of long term data series of phytoplankton, including Oneida Lake, to better understand the effect of storms on phytoplankton community organization. A paper on storm effects was published in 2020 in Global Change Biology and the work continues with two more papers, one on the effect of storms on temperature stratification (Doubek et al.) was submitted and another on the effects of storms on phytoplankton succession. (Anneville et al.) will soon be submitted. Oneida Lake is one of 8 lakes found that allowed detailed analysis of storm effects.

Ongoing GLEON Project: Importance of the timing of spring runoff to summer production in lakes

Allison Hrycik, Jason Stockwell (University of Vermont), Lars Rudstam and other GLEON collaborators

The research question tested in this project is “changes in the timing of spring runoff, specifically more runoff occurring in the winter and early spring, will lead to reduced productivity and phytoplankton biomass during the summer stratified period”. Analysis of the data sets, including Oneida Lake, was completed in 2020 and a manuscript was submitted that is now in revision (Hrycik et al.). New GLEON Project: What drives pelagic GPP across lake ecosystem?

Isabella Olesky, Chris Solomon, Stuart Jones, and others in GLEON including Rudstam and Holeck

Light and nutrient availability are key factors that constrain pelagic primary production in lake ecosystems. A newly developed theory (Kelly et al. 2018) attempts to explain variation in GPP across a broad set of lakes in response to varying nutrient loads and lake characteristics. Oneida Lake was selected for inclusion in this project due to the availability and comprehensiveness of its long-term data.

Benthification and lake restoration in China Xiufeng Zhang and Zhenweng Liu (Jinan University), Xueying Mei (Anhui University), Erik Jeppessen (Sino-Danish Centre in Beijung), Jotaro Urabe (Tohoku University, Japan) Bill Taylor (Waterloo University, Canada), Rudstam. Lake restoration is a large issue in China and scientists are actively researching top down regulation, aquatic plants, and mussel Social distancing at facility function

restorations as tools for lake restoration, in addition to nutrient loading reductions. During their stay at CBFS, Xiufeng Zhang and Xueying Mei worked on mussels as causes of increased water clarity and on the effect of fish in ecosystems. They were also involved with P cycling using techniques developed with Bill Taylor at Waterloo. Together with Erik Jeppesen, Zhengwen Liu and students at both Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei City and Jinan University in Guangzhou, we continue with various experiments in mesocosm as well as applications to lake restoration. This work is funded from various national and regional Chinese sources. In 2020, two papers were published in international journals, and two more accepted. In addition, Oneida Lake and the long-term data is described in a national Chinese journal article in Chinese. Aquatic plant ecology in China Yushun Chen (Institute of Hydrology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan), Bin Zhu (Hartford University) and Rudstam The Institute of Hydrology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is located in Wuhan and includes one of the largest botanical garden collections of aquatic plants in China. Research at this facility involves aquaculture, climate change effects, environmental pollution issues, eutrophication and lake restoration. Rudstam and Zhu, who worked together on aquatic plants and mussels at CBFS in the 2000s are collaborating with one of the Academy scientists, Dr Yushun Chen, on a couple of projects about aquatic plant ecology in central China. Two papers were published in 2020 by Dr Chen’s student Wentong Xia. The first explored the heavy metal gradient from rural to urban settings around Wuhan city, and the second studies presented new information on salinity tolerance of several submerged aquatic plants.

The CBFS Great Lakes Program

The Great Lakes research program is a major part of the activities at CBFS and is led by Watkins and Rudstam. Together with Drs. Karatayev and Burlakova from Buffalo State, we continued to monitor all five Great Lakes for zooplankton, benthos and chlorophyll, funded by EPA-Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). CBFS also continued a Great Lakes basin research collaboration with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) known as the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR). In 2020, CBFS participated in the analysis of Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) efforts in both Lake Ontario (2018 data) and Lake Erie (2019 data). A special issue on Lake Ontario 2018 in the Journal of Great Lakes Research is led by Watkins with Rudstam, Scofield, Currie, Hollenhorst and Karatayev. Holeck and Rudstam continued leading the Lake Ontario lower trophic level biomonitoring program, a cooperation between CBFS, NYDEC, USGS, and USFWS. One cisco project funded by USGS on the distribution of cisco and lake whitefish larvae in Lake Ontario was completed with Taylor Brown’s M.Sc thesis, but work on coregonines continues. Together with researchers from Cornell, Buffalo State, Notre Dame, and the U of Guelph, we are improving the library of genetic barcodes for Great Lake invertebrates. Finally, a project on the coupling between fish production and lake productivity (Koops et al. GLFC) and one on mysid migration (Stockwell et al. GLFC) is continuing. The size spectra project with Tom Evans is near completion (CIGLR).

Ongoing project: EPA GLNPO Great Lakes monitoring program

Jim Watkins, Lars Rudstam, Toby Holda, Stephanie Figary, Joe Connolly, Chris Marshall, Gabriella Doud, Beth Whitmore, Patrick Boynton, Sarah Schaeffer, Kristen Holeck (Cornell), Alexander Karatayev, Lyubov Burlakova, Allison Hrycik, Knut Mehler, Susan Daniel (SUNY Buffalo State College ), (Funded by US EPA Region 5 Great Lakes National Program Office, Chicago, IL)

All field activities on the Great Lakes planned for 2020 were cancelled due to COVID. This included the surveys of all five Great Lakes that occur each April and August aboard the 180 ft EPA research vessel the Lake Guardian. We used this year to completely catch up on the zooplankton and mysid sample backlog, to fill data gaps from previous years, and to archive samples. We continued to work on research projects in the grant include genetic barcoding of invertebrates, mysid biology (Cornell graduate student Toby Holda) and zooplankton indicators (Cornell graduate student Stephanie Figary). At Buffalo State, our collaborators Karatayev, Burlakova, Hrycik and Daniel continue to develop video transect techniques to measure dreissenid mussel abundance and compile historical benthic datasets across the Great Lakes.

Ongoing Project: Mysis ecology in the Great Lakes

Toby Holda, Jim Watkins, Lars Rudstam, Patrick Boynton (Cornell University), Brian O’Malley, Dave Warner (USGS), Steve Pothoven (NOAA-GLERL), Kelly Bowen, Warren Currie (DFO Canada), Rosaura Chapina (University of Vermont), David Jude (University of Michigan), Dmytro Khrystenko (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine). Funded by: US EPA GLNPO)

Mysids are an important native species in all the Great Lakes. Understanding mysid ecology is an essential component of understanding these systems as the species is both a major predator on zooplankton and a major prey for alewife, smelt and native coregonids. Historic declines in mysids, changing preyfish communities, and oligotrophication in the Great Lakes have caused scientists to question the long-term reliability of mysids as a food source and to further investigate population dynamics and drivers of change. In 2020/21, we published a manuscript on Michigan mysids from the CSMI year of 2015, and are drafting a manuscript documenting historic and recent (1997-2019) trends in mysid abundance and recent life history across all five lakes.

Great Lakes temporary staff member Alex

Tom Brooking lowering trawl net

Ongoing Project: Genetic Barcoding of Great Lake invertebrates

David Lodge, Lars Rudstam, Jim Watkins, Joe Connolly, Chris Marshall, Beth Whitmore, Lindsay Schaffner, Nelson Hairston, Jr., Kristy Deiner, Paul Simonin, Jose Andres (Cornell), Alexander Karatayev, Lyubov Burlakova, Susan Daniel (SUNY Buffalo State College), Michael Pfrender (Notre Dame University), Paul Hebert (University of Guelph) (three individual projects funded by US EPA Region 5 Great Lakes National Program Office, Chicago, IL)

Genetic barcoding technology has become an important tool in the early detection of invasive species, monitoring diversity, and dietary analysis. Barcodes are short (600 bp) sequences, most commonly located as mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene (COI), effective in separating different species. However, the current extent of the barcode library for invertebrates in the Great Lakes is sparse, severely limiting the usefulness of this technology. Effective barcodes depend on accurate identifications, hence the need for a close coordination between experts in taxonomy and genetics. The goal of this project is to obtain barcodes for all Great Lakes invertebrate species and add those to the Barcode of Life Directory (BOLD), housed at the University of Guelph. This project is divided up into three individual grants focusing on specific taxa, led by Buffalo State (benthic molluscs and oligochaete worms), Notre Dame (zooplankton and rotifers), and Cornell (benthic arthropods). CBFS lead the taxonomic sorting of copepods, cladocerans, and rotifers within the Notre Dame project. In 2020, we continued providing BOLD with specimens for barcoding and started the analysis of patterns. Due to covid-related closures of several genetics laboratories, this project has been extended to 2021.

Ongoing project: Lake Ontario and Lake Erie Biomonitoring Program

Kristen Holeck, Chris Hotaling, Lars Rudstam (Cornell University); Chris Legard, Mike Connerton, Steve Lapan , Jana Lantry, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall and Jim Markham (NYSDEC); Brian Lantry, Brian Weidel and Brian O’Malley (USGS); and Zy Biesinger (USFWS). (Funded by NYSDEC) Ecosystem-based management is an approach to managing environmental issues that considers how an ecosystem functions as a whole rather than focusing on a single species or issue in isolation. Managers have used ecosystem-based management in Lake Ontario since the end of the 1980s, and to enhance this effort the New York State DEC initiated the Lake Ontario Biomonitoring Program (BMP) in 1995 to evaluate the condition of lower trophic levels in offshore, nearshore, and embayment areas of Lake Ontario. Lower trophic level components (nutrients, phytoplankton, and zooplankton) are indicators of ecosystem health and determine the lake’s ability to support prey fish upon which both wild and stocked salmonids depend. In 2016, this project was expanded to include zooplankton samples from the New York waters of Lake Erie. The BMP is a collaborative project that, in 2019, included the NYDEC Cape Vincent Fisheries Research Station (Lake Ontario), NYDEC Dunkirk

Chris Hotaling using fluroprobe to measure algal composition/concentration in Oneida Lake

Fisheries Research Station (Lake Erie), regional NYDEC staff at Watertown, Cortland, and Avon; the USFWS Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office; the USGS–Lake Ontario Biological Station; and Cornell University. Two reports, one for Lake Erie and one for Lake Ontario, were published in 2020. Significant findings for Lake Ontario: (1) Spring total phosphorus (TP) in 2019 was 3.2 μg/L (offshore) and 4.7 μg/L (nearshore), both all-time lows; however, there is no significant time trend in our data series (1995-2019 for nearshore; 2002-2019 for offshore). (2) Chlorophyll-a and Secchi depth values are indicative of oligotrophic conditions in nearshore and offshore habitats. (3) In 2019, nearshore summer zooplankton biomass increased to 16.7 mg/m3 after an all-time low (10.3 mg/m3) in 2017. Offshore biomass (12.0 mg/m3) was near the all-time low (8.1 mg/m3, 2006).(4) Peak (July) epilimnetic biomass of Cercopagis was 2.4 mg/m3 in the nearshore and 1.4 mg/m3 in the offshore. Peak (September) epilimnetic biomass of Bythotrephes was 2.0 mg/m3 in the nearshore and 2.9 mg/m3 in the offshore. (5) Summer nearshore zooplankton density and biomass declined significantly 1995 – 2004 and then remained stable 2005 – 2019. The decline was due mainly to reductions in cyclopoid copepods. (6) Summer epilimnetic daytime offshore zooplankton density decreased significantly 1995 – 2004, but biomass did not. (7) Most offshore zooplankton biomass was found in the metalimnion in July and early-October, and in the

hypolimnion in September. Limnocalanus dominated the metalimnion in July while daphnids comprised most of the biomass in October. In September, Limnocalanus dominated the hypolimnion.

Completed Project: Effect of changes in water clarity on fish and fisheries in the Great Lakes

David Bunnell (USGS), Stu Ludsin (Ohio State University), Hank Vanderploeg (NOAA_GLERL), Craig Williamson (Miana University), Lars Rudstam (Cornell), Annie Scofield, Thomas Hook and Paris Collingsworth (Purdue), Marten Koops (DFO Canada), Roger Knight (GLFC), Rick Barbiero and Barry Lesht (GLNPO EPA and GDIT)

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) Science Transfer Board commissioned a workshop process to better understand and communicate relationships among lower trophic level change and fish community and fisheries change in the Great Lakes. A perspectives paper was submitted in 2020.

Kim Schulz diving for mussels in Oneida Lake

Ongoing Project: Lake Erie 2019 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI)

Jim Watkins, Lars Rudstam, Sarah Schaefer, Pat Boynton. Funding from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – EPA&USGS

The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) is a five-year rotation of intensive sampling efforts for each of the five Great Lakes specified within the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. This increased focus enables higher spatial and temporal resolution of sampling than typical annual surveys. Although 2020 activities for Lake Michigan were postponed due to COVID, 2019 was the year for intensive sampling of Lake Erie. Lake Erie faces challenges including nutrient loading, harmful algal blooms, and invasive species. The three basins increasing in depth from west to east have distinct character. CBFS was funded by USGS to collect and process lower food web (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish larvae) samples from 23 sites which were completed in 2020. A comprehensive zooplankton database for Lake Erie in 2019 was completed and is currently being tested, analyzed and compiled with other water quality and food web data. We collaborated with US EPA MED in Duluth, MN, EPA GLNPO, Ohio State University, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Ongoing Project HABs & Hypoxia Impacts on Lake Erie Food Webs (CSMI-2019)

Stu Ludsin, Jim Hood, Manjunath Manubolu, Ken Reidl, Joshua Stone (Ohio State), Warren Currie, Kelly Bowen, Mohi Munawar, Heather Niblock (DFO Canada), Katelyn Bockwoldt, Joel Hoffman, David Bolgrien, Anne Cotter, Thomas Hollenhorst, Terri Jicha, Anne Ospeth, (EPA-ORD in Duluth), Lars Rudstam, Jim Watkins (Cornell), Paris Collingworth, Tomas Hook (Purdue), Tom Johengen, Steve Pothoven, Henry Vanderploeg (NOAA GLERL)

During the CSMI year 2019, this group sampled along a gradient of hypoxia and a gradient of Microcystis blooms to evaluate the effect of each stressor on the distribution and food web interactions from fish to zooplankton, phytoplankton and microbial groups. Analyses includes hydroacoustics, LOPC, stratified zooplankton samples, microcystin concentrations, fish diets, stable isotopes, and primary production. The group met by zoom through 2020 to discuss data, analyses and results.

Ongoing Project: Lake Ontario 2018 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI)

Jim Watkins, Lars Rudstam, Joe Connolly, Chris Marshall, Beth Whitmore (Funding from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – EPA&USGS) 2020 also marked continued progress in the analysis and publishing of the 2018 CSMI efforts for Lake Ontario. We continued to collaborate with US EPA MED in Duluth, MN, EPA Region 2 in NYC, EPA GLNPO in Chicago, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In 2020, Watkins and Rudstam worked with a group led by EPA Region 2 to produce a comprehensive database including our zooplankton, mysid, phytoplankton, and chlorophyll data in addition to water column profile and water quality data. This data includes five cross lake transects sampled monthly over 2018. Watkins has organized a special issue in Journal of Great Lakes Research for 2021 that includes contributions from CBFS authors Watkins, Connolly, Marshall, and Whitmore.

Ongoing Project: Spatial variability and drivers of Mysis partial diel vertical migration

Jason Stockwell and Rosaura Chapina (U. Vermont), Brian O’Malley and Brian Weidel (USGS), Lars Rudstam (Cornell), Sture Hansson (U Stockholm). (Funded by Great Lakes Fisheries Commission)

Diel vertical migration (DVM) is an important component of food web interactions and population assessments in the Great Lakes. In the case of Mysis, a key prey species for Great Lakes fishes, the population is assumed to undergo DVM and migrate into the pelagia at night. Consequently, Mysis assessment protocols rely on nocturnal pelagic sampling. Mysis, however, exhibit partial DVM (PDVM) – Mysis have been observed on the bottom at night in lakes Ontario, Superior, and elsewhere. The proportion of Mysis populations which exhibit PDVM is unknown, as are the factors which cause some individuals to remain benthic at night. Recent data from Lake Champlain challenge conventional assumptions about Mysis DVM – a substantial portion of the population does not migrate and is thus unavailable to pelagic gear. Furthermore, differences in body size and condition were evident between migrant and non-migrant Mysis (e.g., larger individuals were benthic at night). If similar patterns exist in the Great Lakes, where food web models indicate Mysis is a key player, then previous biomass estimates based on pelagic sampling underestimate lake wide abundance. Samples collected in 2019 were analyzed in 2020 to assess variability in benthic-pelagic distributions of Mysis in Lake Ontario to test if PDVM is a ubiquitous behavior of Mysis in this system, what PDVM may mean for population assessments and food web modeling, and what mechanisms may be driving PDVM. If the night benthic component of Mysis populations is high, then a re-evaluation of profundal food web structure/function and outcomes of management actions would be necessary to include more realistic estimates of Mysis biomass and

distribution. Moreover, if PDVM is related to seasonal patterns in reproductive status, energy reserves, body sizes or environmental conditions, then sampling protocols can be modified to account for these drivers of Mysis behavior when determining lake-wide biomass estimates. A review paper on partial diel migration in mysids is in preparation.

Tony VanDeValk checking trap net

Brian Young and Tom Brooking securing trawler nets

Ongoing Project: Using size spectra to assess production potential for fisheries in the Great Lakes

Thomas Evans, Lars Rudstam, Jim Watkins, Doran Mason (NOAA), Zacharias Feiner (Wisconsin DNR), Gary Sprules (Univ Toronto) (Funded by CIGLR – Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research)

Changes in the structure of community size spectra have been suggested to operate as indicators for ecosystem change or function, but the necessary understanding of how the size structure of communities respond to major ecological change to create useful predictions based on size spectra shifts is lacking. This research provides a mechanistic understanding of the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on size spectra across a range of ecosystems. The opportunity to use the Great Lakes as a natural experiment allowed us to identify spatial heterogeneity in community size structure and its relationship to the taxonomic composition and diversity in aquatic systems. In addition, freshwater size spectra are relatively understudied compared to their marine counterparts. A manuscript on the size spectra analysis across all five Great Lakes was submitted in 2020 and in revision.

Ongoing Project: Cisco assessment in Lake Ontario

Suresh Sethi, Lars Rudstam, Taylor Brown (MSc/PhD student), Brian Weidel (USGS), and others (Funded by USGS)

Coregonine fishes are important components of Laurentian Great Lakes food webs and fisheries and are central to basin-wide conservation and management initiatives. In Lake Ontario, binational management objectives include conserving and restoring spawning stocks of cisco (Coregonus artedi) and lake whitefish (C. clupeaformis), but the spatial extent of contemporary coregonine spawning habitat and which environmental factors are currently important for regulating early life success lake-wide are not well characterized. In Spring 2018, we conducted a binational ichthyoplankton assessment to describe the contemporary spatial extent of coregonine spawning habitat across Lake Ontario. We further characterized a suite of physical, climatic, and biological variables hypothesized to influence coregonine early life stage success and regressed them against observed species-specific catches using GAMMs and multimodel inference to quantify

the relative importance of biophysical drivers. Between 10 April – 14 May, we collected 1,092 ichthyoplankton tows and captured over 2,350 coregonine larvae, including in historical spawning habitats without recent catches of coregonine early life stages. However, over 95% of larval catches were restricted to the eastern basin and were dominated by cisco, with lake whitefish representing less than 6% of captured coregonines. Observed catches of both species were strongly and similarly associated with ice cover duration, but the importance of site-specific characteristics varied, such as distance to shore and site depth for cisco and lake whitefish, respectively. These results highlight the importance of climatic drivers operating at large spatial scales and of local environmental habitat characteristics reflecting species-specific niche differentiation that may act in concert to regulate early life stage success. Furthermore, strong regional

Beth Whitmore doing analysis from her dormitory workspace

and cross-species differences in larval distributions emphasize the importance of lake-wide monitoring for assessing the status of cisco and lake whitefish population trajectories.

Ongoing Project: Implications of phosphorus reduction for sustainable Great Lakes fisheries

Marten Koops, Monir Hossain (DFO), Ed Rutherford and Hongyang Zhang (NOAA), Lars Rudstam, Randy Jackson (Cornell), Willie Fetzer (Univ Wyoming) and others. (Funded by the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission)

Emerging evidence suggests that the Great Lakes are experiencing both an ‘offshore desertification’, whereby low ambient TP concentrations undermine pelagic ecosystem integrity, and in some nearshore areas, blooms of toxic blue-green algae resulting from excess TP. TP is a determinant of ecosystem productivity related to observed biomass at all trophic levels, and has been recognized as a predictor of fish biomass and production for many decades. However, TP reductions have not occurred in isolation; a number of anthropogenic stressors may have affected the energy dynamics that determine how TP is converted into fish biomass. One important stressor is the invasion of dreissenid mussels that have engineered changes in nutrient cycling and lake productivity, and have affected many components of the

food web including the production of fish. In 2019, we started to examine the phosphorus to fishes (P2F) relationship across multiple systems in the Great Lakes basin to test the hypothesis that recent anthropogenic stressors have changed Great Lakes energy dynamics reducing the efficiency of nutrient conversion to fish biomass. Across systems, TP has also been related to species diversity, and different types of fish communities may respond differentially to TP. Further, the altered biotic interactions associated with dreissenid-invaded food webs will elicit distinct shifts in energy dynamics which may differentially decouple the P2F relationship between pre and post-invasion periods. We will also test the hypothesis that the synergistic effect of TP reduction and dreissenid invasion will vary across habitat types (a spatial effect) and biotic communities (an interaction effect). Activities in 2020 continued on the data sets and the construction of the EcopathEcosim models. Pete Kite takes a break from brush hogging

Toby Holda under red light sampling mysids

Ongoing project: NOAA Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR)

Lars Rudstam as Cornell representative to the Council of Fellows for CIGLR

In 2017 CBFS and Cornell University entered a five-year research collective led by NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Focused on the Great Lakes Basin, this is one of sixteen regional NOAA collaborations nationwide. In addition to Cornell, eight other academic partners from across the basin represent many of the leaders in Great Lake research. This partnership provides CBFS and Cornell unique access to the expertise of agency scientists and the capabilities of government laboratories and vessels, including state-of-the-art equipment. The cooperative also offers funding opportunities to support speakers, postdoctoral researchers, and small research grants. One CIGLR

postdoctoral fellow at CBFS and Cornell (Thomas Evans) worked on a project on size spectra analysis in 2019 and some funding was also available for our PhD student Toby Holda. In 2020, CIGLR supported work by engineering professor Scott Steinschneider and his graduate student Kyla Semmendinger.

Service, Outreach, Extension and Education Lake Ontario Objectives and Targets Task Team

During the second part of 2020 and through the first part of 2021, a group of managers and scientists are reviewing the available information and current status of nutrient loading to Lake Ontario. This binational working group is organized by EPA Region 2 and the LaMP group through the Annex 4 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Watkins and Rudstam are among the six invited experts from academia in this working group.

State of the Great Lakes - evaluation of indicators

EPA is publishing the state of the Great Lakes document every 2 or 3 years. In this report, the state of over 200 indicators are evaluated for both long term and 10-year trends. The document for 2019 was completed in 2020 and available online. Holeck wrote the invasive species report together with Sturtevant. Watkins and Rudstam wrote the zooplankton indicator report with Barbiero from EPA. This evaluation continues and work on the 2021 report has already started.

Tony VanDeValk, Pete Kite and Brian Young (not pictured) winterize the trawler

Special issues in Journal of Great Lakes Research

To improve communication of science results across the Great Lakes, Watkins is leading a team of guest editors (Hollenhorst, Currie, Karatayev, Scofield and Rudstam) to produce the special issue Stressors and Successes, Lake Ontario in 2018. The importance of Lake Ontario is increasing as a result of a growing human population that lives along its shores. As the most downstream of the Great Lakes, the Lake Ontario ecosystem finds itself under pressure from a wide range of stressors including chemical contaminants and invasive species. However, the lake can be resilient. This special issue highlights the broad network of binational monitoring efforts by state/provincial and federal agencies and their academic partners. The research by creative and collaborative teams assembled under the umbrella of CSMI 2018 touch the entire ecosystem of the lake, including physics, chemistry and biology, providing managers with current information for decision making and restoration prioritization. This issue also provides examples of data sharing/synthesis and modeling tools promoting the use of the extensive data sets to explore ecosystem management options.

In addition, the special issue on Lake Baikal, with Rudstam as one of the guest editors, was published in 2020.

Encyclopedia for Inland Waters

The Elsevier encyclopedia series has one volume on Inland Waters with its first edition published in 2009. With 10+ years of new information, the writing of the second edition under the guidance of chief editors Thomas Mehner and Klement Trockner started in 2019 with expected publication in 2021. These encyclopedias are used around the world as a reference by teachers, managers and scientists. Rudstam is the editor for the “fundamental concepts and theories” section. Activities in 2020 included finding authors for all chapters and revisions and editing of submissions.

Standard methods for Great Lakes fisheries sampling

Andrew Briggs, David F. Clapp, Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Jeremy P. Holden, Janice Kerns, Matthew Kornis, Rebecca Redman, Lars G. Rudstam, and Shawn P. Sitar

During 2020, this group added a chapter on cool and coldwater fish sampling in the Laurentian Great Lakes. The goal is to develop standard sampling gear and procedure across these lakes. The chapter is part of Scott

Bonar, Norman Mercado Silva and Kevin Pope’s AFS book Standard Methods for sampling North American freshwater fishes, 2nd edition. This book should be published at the end of 2021.

Teaching undergraduate and graduate students

CBFS faculty were involved with two courses - Fish Ecology Conservation and Management - 3 cr, (Rudstam, 32 students) and Fish Bioenergetics - 2 cr (Watkins, Rudstam with Suresh Sethi, 9 students) in the spring of 2020. Both courses moved to online teaching mid-semester and zoom meetings got a little old. Even so, we completed the courses and the students were reasonably happy,

considering the conditions. The lab course in Fish Ecology was cancelled. Both Watkins and Jackson were also advising honors thesis students. The only field course visiting the lake (and not the lab) in 2020 was Karin Limburg’s fish class from ESF. In addition, CBFS faculty together with Suresh Sethi ran a weekly lab meeting with our graduate students and research staff although the meetings were virtual from March through December 2020.

Oneida Lake Education Initiative

David White

Covid resulted in disrupted school activities throughout the year which decreased activities geared towards K to 12 students. Dave White did redesign the travelling trunks (specimens and fact sheets for use in the classroom) and these trunks will be sent to the surrounding school districts in 2021.

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program

Angela Fuller, Lars Rudstam, Martin Feehan (Cornell), Rena Borkhataria (University of Florida). (Funded by the Doris Duke Foundation)

This grant from the Doris Duke Foundation provided stipends for four Cornell students interested in conservation and diversity in the conservation workforce. The students are provided summer stipends for two summers, but the second summer (2020) was only possible for one of our four students due to covid. The other three will hopefully get their 2nd summer experience in an agency or NGO during the summer of 2021. During the year, the scholars meet each second week with a graduate student mentor (with Martin Feehan). They also take a one-credit class with leadership training and diversity issues in the conservation field.

CBFS trawler

Facilities and Maintenance Failing roofing on two buildings at CBFS was replaced in 2020. The original asbestos roofing tiles on the vehicle garage next to the office were abated and replaced with asphalt shingles. The Cottage roofing was also removed and replaced with new asphalt shingles.

The Cottage received significant repairs over the past year. Sections of the building sill that were deteriorated from water and insect damage were replaced and repaired. Upgrades to the Cottage exterior also included full siding and window replacement. The hot water heater and furnace were replaced. Addition of a new high efficiency furnace no longer required use of the chimney. The chimney was removed below the roofline during the new roof installation to eliminate the area as a potential source of water infiltration.

Improved storage options were installed in the Pole Barn at CBFS. Metal partitioned storage cages, with shelving, were constructed to provide better storage for project equipment and supplies. The new designated project storage area improves organization and reduces building clutter. Shelving units were also installed on the ground floor of the Main Office for the same purpose.

Again in 2020, continuing tree damage caused by emerald ash borer infestation required a company to be hired for more tree removal. Another tree on CBFS property was in danger of falling on an adjacent landowner’s building so it was taken down. The large poplar tree located next to the Maintenance Shop was also cut down to avoid future damage to the building.

Grants and Funding Funding for the various elements of the research program include the CBFS (Shackelton) Brown endowment and a wide range of public and private agencies. Completed in 2020: Ecology and management of warm water fish communities. NYDEC (PI Jackson, coPI Rudstam; $1,800k,

2015-2020).

Cottage undergoing renovations

Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. CIGLR. (PI Rudstam, coPI Mason, Feiner, Watkins $70k, 2018-20).

Evaluating Non-target effects of ultrasonic control of harmful algal blooms, NY DEC (PIs Rudstam and Getchell, $120k, 2018-20).

Coupled Natural and Human Systems, CNH-L: Linking land-use decision making, water quality, and lake associations to understand human-natural feedbacks in lake catchments. National Science Foundation- administered by Virginia Tech (PI Cobourn, coPIs Carey, Boyle, Duffy, Hanson; associated: Kemanian, Klug, Soranno, Sorice, Rudstam, Vanni, Weathers; $1,800k, 2016-2020).

Status of lower food web in Lake Erie in 2019. CESU. (PI Watkins; $40k, 2019-20).

Continuing in 2021: Great Lakes Long-term Biological Monitoring Program. US EPA – Great Lakes National Program Office

(PI Rudstam, coPIs Watkins, Karatayev, Burlakova); $6,000k, 2017-2022). Biomonitoring of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. NY DEC (PI Rudstam; $120k, 2017-2021). DNA Barcoding in the Great Lakes – Invertebrates. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office. (PI Lodge,

co-PI Rudstam and others, $400k, 2017-21). DNA Barcoding in the Great Lakes – Zooplankton. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office. (PI Pfrender

(Notre Dame), coPIs Rudstam, Watkins, $253k to CBFS, 2017-21). Doris Duke Conservation Scholars. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. (PI Sullivan, coPI Fuller, Rudstam;

$90k, 2014-2021). Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes. (PI Johengen, University of Michigan, coPI Rudstam. Agreement of

cooperation, 2017-22). Quantifying coregonid habitat-use across space and time to inform assessment and restoration. USGS

Cooperative Research Program. (PI Sethi, coPI Rudstam, 2018-2021). Implications of phosphorus reductions for sustainable Great Lakes fisheries. Great Lakes Fisheries

Commission. (PI Koops, coPI Rudstam, Jackson and others, $300k, 2018-21). Spatial variability and drivers of Mysis partial diel vertical migration. Great Lakes Fisheries Commission.

(PI Stockwell, coPI Rudstam and others $238k, 2018-21). New grants in 2020: Oneida Lake warmwater fisheries research. NYSDEC (PI Jackson, coPI Rudstam; $1,600k, 2020-2024).

Publications and Presentations

MSc. Thesis: Taylor Brown, M.Sc. 2020. Natural Resources (Sethi, Rudstam, Weidel). Contemporary spatial extent and

environmental drivers of larval coregonine distributions across Lake Ontario. BSc Senior Honors Thesis: Ruby S. Dener. B.Sc. 2020. Environmental Science and Sustainability (Watkins and Marshall). Crustacean

Ectoparasites on Fish of Oneida Lake in 2019.

Anna Poslednik, B.Sc. 2020. Environmental Science and Sustainability (Jackson and Evans). Determination of Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) δ13C and δ15N fractionation factors and diets using stable isotope and gut content analysis.

Iriel Edwards, B.Sc. 2020. Environmental Science and Sustainability (Kassam). Subsistence in an industrial nation: the contribution of hunting, fishing, and foraging to food security in the Oneida Lake watershed.

Accepted and on-line “pre-prints” of journal articles and book chapters: Gao, S, S Zhang, Y Liu, L Rudstam, X Mei. 2021 Dynamics of trophic state in Oneida Lake. Ecological

Science (in Chinese). George, E, D Crabtree, M Hare, LG Rudstam. 2021. Early life history of cisco and lake whitefish in

Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario: distribution and lack of predation by alewife and rainbow smelt. Arch. Hydrobiol.

George, E. 2021. Communicating through social media at scientific meetings. Arch. Hydrobiol. Holda, TJ, LG Rudstam, SA Pothoven, DM Warner, DS Khrystenko, DM Watkins. 2021. Lake-wide,

annual status in Mysis diluviana in Lake Michigan in 2015. J. Great Lakes Res. Karatayev, AY, LE. Burlakova, K Mehler, AK Elgin, LG Rudstam, JM Watkins, M Wick. 2021. Dreissena

in Lake Ontario 30 years post-invasion. J. Great Lakes Res. Mei, X, V Razlutskij, LG Rudstam, E Jeppesen, Y Tang, X Zhang, L Liu. 2021. The effects of omnivorous

fish on benthic-pelagic habitats coupling in shallow aquatic ecosystems: a minireview. Lake Science. Sturtevant, R, K Holeck. 2021. Sub-Indicator: Invasive species in S. Cherwaty-Pergentile, editor. State of

the Great Lakes 2019. Technical Report. Watkins, JM, RP Barbiero, LG Rudstam. 2021. Sub-Indicator: Zooplankton in S. Cherwaty-Pergentile,

editor. State of the Great Lakes 2019. Technical Report. Zhang, X, C Tong, W Taylor, L Rudstam, E Jeppesen, I Bolotov, Y Bespalaya, V Razlutskij, X Mei, and

Z Liu. 2021. Does differential phosphorus processing by plankton influence the ecological state of shallow lakes? Science of the Total Environment

Journal articles: Andres, KJ, SA Sethi, E Duskey, JM Lepak, AN Rice, BJ Estabrook, KB Fitzpatrick, E George, B Marcy-

Quay, MR Paufve, K Perkins, AE Scofield. 2020. Seasonal habitat use indicates that depth may mediate the potential for invasive round goby impacts in inland lakes. Freshwater Biology 65:1337-1347.

Boscarino, BT, S Oyagi, EK Stapylton, KE McKeon, NO Michels, SF Cushman, ME Brown. 2020. The influence of light, substrate, and fish on the habitat preferences of the invasive bloody red shrimp, Hemimysis anomala. J. Great Lakes Res. 46:311-322.

Diehl, J, ZO Korpi, SA Oswald, PD Curtis, JM Arnold. 2020. Nocturnal sleep behavior and vigilance of incubating Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) at two inland breeding colonies. Waterbirds 43:28-35.

Dillon, RA, JD Conroy, LG Rudstam, PF Craigmile, DM Mason, SA Ludsin, 2020. Towards more robust hydroacoustic estimates of fish abundance in the presence of pelagic macroinvertebrates. Fish. Res. 230: 105667

Evans, TM, AM Weber. 2020. Multiple stable isotopes identify sediment organic matter as the primary nutritional source to American brook lamprey larvae along a stream gradient. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 77:81-89.

Huang ,Y, X Mei , L Rudstam , W Taylor , J Urabe, E Jeppesen , Z Liu , X Zhang. 2020 Effects of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) on water quality in aquatic ecosystems: an experimental mesocosm study Water 12, 1444; doi:10.3390/w12051444.

Jenny, JP, O Anneville, Y. Baulaz, D. Bouffard, I Domaizon, S A Bocaniov, N Chèvre, M Dittrich, J-M Dorioz, E Dunlop, G Dur, J Guillard, T Guinaldo, S Jacquet, A Jamoneau, Z Jawed, E Jeppesen, G Krantzberg, J Lenters, B Leoni, M Meybeck, V Nava, T Nõges, P Nõges, M Patelli, V Pebbles, M-E Perga, S Rasconi, CR Ruetz, L Rudstam, N Salmaso, S Sapna, D Straile, O Tammeorg, MR Twiss, DG Uzarski, A-M Ventela, WF Vincent, SW Wilhelm, S-Å Wängberg, GA Weyhenmeyer. 2020. Scientists’ warning to humanity: rapid degradation of the world’s large lakes. J. Great Lakes Res. 46: 686–702.

Kao, Y-C, MW Rogers, DB Bunnell, IG Cowx, S S Qian, O Anneville, T Douglas Beard Jr, A Brinker, JR Britton, R Chura-Cruz, NJ Gownaris, JR Jackson, K Kangur, JKAA Lukin, AJ Lynch, N Mercado-Silva, R Moncayo-Estrada, F J Njaya, I Ostrovsky, LG Rudstam, ALE Sandström, Y Sato, H Siguayro-Mamani, A Thorpe, PAM v Zwieten, P Volta, Y Wang, A Weiperth, OLF Weyl, JD Young. 2020. Assessing effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across global lakes. Nature Communications 11: 2526.

Lauber, TB, RC Stedman, NA Connelly, RC Ready, LG Rudstam, GL Poe. 2020 The effects of aquatic invasive species on recreational fishing participation and value in the Great Lakes: Possible future scenarios. J. Great Lakes Res. 46: 656-665.

Nasworthy, K. AE Scofield, LG Rudstam. 2020. Feeding ecology of Limnocalanus macrurus in the Laurentian Great Lakes. J. Great Lakes Res. 46:891-898.

Paufve, MR, SA Sethi, LG Rudstam, BC Weidel, BF Lantry, M Chalupnicki, K Dey, M Herbert. 2020. Differentiation between lake whitefish and cisco eggs based on diameter. J. Great Lakes Res. 46: 1058–1062.

Rudstam, LG, CJ Gandino. 2020. Zebra or quagga mussel dominance depends on trade-offs between growth and defense - field support from Onondaga Lake, NY. PLoS One 15:e0235387.

Scofield, AE, JM Watkins, E Osantowski. LG Rudstam, 2020. Deep chlorophyll maxima across a productivity gradient: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 64:2460-2484.

Scofield, AE, JM Watkins, LG Rudstam. 2020. Heterogeneity in zooplankton distributions and diel vertical migrations: Application of a laser optical plankton counter in offshore Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 46:780-797.

Stockwell, JD, BP O'Malley, S Hansson, RJ Chapina, LG Rudstam, BC Weidel. 2020. Benthic habitat is an integral part of Mysis ecology. Freshw. Biol. 65:1997–2009.

Stockwell, J, J Doubek, R Adrian, O Anneville, C Carey, L Carvalho, L DeSenerpont Domis, G Dur, M Frassl, HP Grossart, B Ibelings, M Lajeunesse, A Lewandowska, M Llames, S-I Matsuzaki, E Nodine, P Nõges, V Patil, F Pomati, K Rinke, LG Rudstam, J Rusak, N Salmaso, C Seltmann, D Straile, S Thackeray, W Thiery, P Urrutia-Cordero, P Venail, P Verburg, RI Woolway, T Zohary, MR Andersen, R Bhattacharya, J Hejzlar, N Janatian, ATNK Kpodonu, TJ Williamson, HL Wilson. 2020. Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes. Global Change Biology 2020:2756-2784.

Timoshkin, OA, JV Klump, LG Rudstam, Y Saposhnikova, L Sukhanova. 2020. Introduction to Recent research on Lake Baikal: the 2018 Conference, Freshwater Ecosystems-Key Problems. J. Great Lakes Res. 46:1-3.

Welsh, AB, DM Carlson, SM Schlueter, JR Jackson. 2020. Tracking stocking success in a long-lived species through genetics and demographics: evidence of natural reproduction in Lake Sturgeon after twenty-two years. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 149:121-130.

Xia, W, R Wang, B Zhu, LG Rudstam, Y Lui, Y Xu, W Xin, Y Chen. 2020. Heavy metal gradients from rural to urban lakes in central China. Ecological Processes 9:47.

Xia, W, B Zhu, X Qu, H Liu, LG Rudstam, L Ni, Y Chen. 2020. Effects of salinity on germination and growth of submerged macrophytes. Ecohydrology 2020:e2235.

Books and special issues: Timoshkin, O A, J V Klump, L G Rudstam, Y Saposhnikova, and L Sukhanova. 2020. Recent research on

Lake Baikal: the 2018 Conference, Freshwater Ecosystems-Key Problems. J. Great Lakes Res. Special issue in volume 46

Research and technical reports: Brooking, TE, JR Jackson, AS Jones, TA Offner, O Onyekwelu, A Li, AJ VanDeValk, LG Rudstam, 2020.

Summary of underwater video surveys of round goby abundance in Oneida Lake, 2017-2019. Report to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Albany, NY

Curtis, P. D., S. Oswald. 2020. Common tern (Sterna hirundo) research and management Oneida Lake, New York 2020. Report to NYSDEC, Albany NY.

Holda, T., LG Rudstam, J Watkins, D Warner, S Pothoven. 2020. Data on Mysis diluviana collected from Lake Michigan during the CSMI year in 2015 and the following spring in 2016. WebData on Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity. doi:10.5063/VH5M7V

Holeck, KT, LG Rudstam, C Hotaling, D Lemon, W Pearsall, J Lantry, M Connerton, C Legard, S LaPan,, Z Biesinger, B Lantry, B Weidel, B O’Malley. 2020. 2019 Status of the Lake Ontario lower trophic levels. NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report Section 16

Jackson, JR, AJ VanDeValk, TE Brooking, KT Holeck, C Hotaling, LG Rudstam. 2020. The Fisheries and Limnology of Oneida Lake 2019. Report to NYSDEC, Albany, NY.

Rudstam, LG, JM Watkins, AE Scofield, RP Barbiero, LE Burlakova, AY Karatayev, K Mehler, ED Reavie, ET Howell, EK Hinchey. 2020. Status of lower trophic levels in Lake Huron.in S. C. Riley, editor. State of Lake Huron. Great Lakes Fisheries Commission Special Publications 2020-01

Rudstam, LG, E George, AN Rice, R Getchell. 2020. Evaluating behavioral effects of ultrasonic control of harmful algal blooms. Report to NYSDEC, Albany, NY.

VanDeValk, AJ, TE Brooking, JR Jackson. 2020. The fall and rise of the chain pickerel in Oneida Lake. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Albany, NY

Extension and outreach publications: Baloğlu, B, CC Marshall, L Rudstam, DM Lodge, E DeWalt, PW Simonin, E Whitmore, L Burlakova, K

Deiner. 2020. What can't be measured won't be managed: scientists and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency7 work together to conserve the Great Lakes. Barcode Bulletin.

EPA Great Lakes Restoration: Effect of Lake Trophic State on Great Lakes Chlorophyll Distribution and Implications for Long-Term Trends. Highlighting Scofield et al. L&O paper.

NY Sea Grant. The cisco perhaps the biggest little fish could make its comeback. Research News in Coastline. Highlighting Ellen George and her thesis work in Lake Ontario

Presentations and abstracts: Outreach/Public presentations Jackson, JR, AJ VanDeValk, TE Brooking. 2020. Oneida Lake Update 2018. Oneida Lake Association

Executive Board Business Meeting, Bridgeport, New York Finger Lakes Meeting, Geneva, NY, January 2020 Rudstam, LG. Gobies and invasive mussels in New York lakes - predicting future ecosystem effects Graduate Student Association Annual Symposium, Ithaca, NY, Jan 2020 Boynton, P, T Holda, J Watkins, L Rudstam. Seasonal population dynamics of Mysis diluviana in Lake

Ontario in 2018 Connolly, JK, SL Schaefer, PV Boynton, JM Watkins, LG Rudstam. Seasonal trends in the rotiferan micro-

zooplankton community of Lake Ontario Figary, S. Exploring variability in the Great Lakes using lower trophic levels Schaefer, S. Seasonal trends in the epilimnetic rotifer community of Lake Ontario in 2018 Marshall, C, J Connolly, P Hudson. Distribution and ecology of Ergasilus cotti (Kellicott 1897) from

mottled sculpin and rainbow darter. Whitmore, E. Using genetics to analyze Great Lakes bosminid community structure

Great Lake Genetic Barcoding Meeting, Shackelton February 20-21 2020 Marshall, C. Parasitic Crustacean genetic summary Whitmore, E. Cladoceran genetic summary Connolly, J. Harpacticoid copepod genetic summary Watkins, J. Calanoid and cyclopoid copepod genetic summary

EPA GLNPO meeting February 25-26, 2020 Chicago, IL Rudstam, LG, JM Watkins. Research component Zooplankton – chlorophyll-mysids Figary, S. Research Ideas.

American Fisheries Society, New York State Chapter Meeting, February 6-7, 2020, Lake Placid, NY Brooking, T, KT Holeck, JR Jackson, AJ VanDeValk. Effects of round goby on fish diets and benthic

communities in Oneida Lake, NY. Fitzpatrick, KB, BC Weidel, MJ Connerton, JR Lantry, JP Holden, MJ Yuille, SR LaPan, LG Rudstam, PJ

Sullivan, TO Brenden, SA Sethi. Predator-prey population dynamics modeling for chinook salmon and alewife in Lake Ontario.

Jackson, JR, AJ VanDeValk, TE Brooking. Burbot: Oneida Lake’s last coldwater species confronts climate change.

Kronisch,G, D Gorsky, Z Biesinger, D Dittman, M Chalupnicki, R Klindt, T Brooking, R Jackson, A Van De Valk, S Schlueter, N Ringler, E Zollweg-Horan. Early evaluation of lake-wide lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) movements in the context of Lake Ontario management units.

Marshall, C, J Connolly, P Hudson. Distribution and ecology of Ergasilus cotti (Kellicott 1897) from mottled sculpin and rainbow darter.

Marshall, C, J Watkins, J Connolly, R Dener. A survey of parasitic crustaceans in Oneida Lake. Brown,T, S Sethi, L Rudstam, M Connerton, J Holden, J Hoyle, M Chalupnicki, D Gorsky, C Karboski, T

Evans, N Sard, J Gardner Costa, S Prindle, M Sanderson, R Klindt, M Todd, E Roseman, A Lau, A

Cooper, D Reinhart, B Lantry, B Weidel. Contemporary spatial extent and environmental drivers of larval coregonine distributions across Lake Ontario.

VanDeValk, A, R Jackson, T Brooking. A comparison of Oneida Lake predator diets before and after round goby arrival.

Watkins, J, T Brown. Capacity of zooplankton prey for supporting coregonid restoration efforts. AFS Annual Meeting 2020, Virtual Meeting VanDeValk, A, R Jackson, T Brooking. The fall and rise of the chain pickerel in Oneida Lake, New York. Great Lakes Area Working Group on Colonial Waterbirds (GLAWGCW), 39th Annual Meeting- First Virtual Meeting, 21st October 2020 Curtis, P, S Oswald, J Arnold. Common Tern nesting success and management at Oneida Lake, New York. Other Meetings Schmidt, A. Fine-scale diel vertical distribution, size structure and density of Mysis in Lake Huron. CIGLR

annual meeting, Dec 2020. (NOAA Intern with Mason, Rutherford and Rudstam). Zhang, X, Z Liu, E Jeppesen, LG Rudstam, WD Taylor, J Urabe, RD. Gulati, V Razlutskij, X Mei.

Eutrophication and benthification affected by aquatic animals. Nov 2020. Zhang, X, Z Liu, Y Tang, E Jeppesen, LG Rudstam, WD Taylor, RD Gulati. Regime shift of ecosystem:

eutrophication vs benthification. Dec, 2020. Zhou, GJ, R Desai, I Han, J Lee, P He, Q Zhou, AZ Gu, L Rudstam. 2020. Investigation of the presence

and role of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) in lake and sediment. Conference abstract.

Awards and Service

Awards: 2020. Taylor Brown: The Baldwin Award for outstanding MSc student working in fisheries and fish ecology in the Great Lakes from the International Association for Great Lakes Research and Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. 2020. Ruby Dener: Fredric N. Gabler '93 Memorial Research Endowment (funds used for travel to NY AFS Conference in Lake Placid). 2020. Stephanie Figary: 2020 Cornell DNR Graduate Student Association Symposium, Best Talk. 2020: John Forney: OLA Conservationist of the Year award. 2020: John Forney: NYS Outdoorsman Hall of Fame. Service: Holeck, KT: Member, Lake Ontario Technical Committee – New York State Holeck, KT: Author State of the Great Lakes indicator - invasive species. Jackson, JR: Associate Editor, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Jackson, JR: Northeastern Division American Fisheries Society representative to the Education Section Jackson, JR: Member, Advisory Panel to the Rare and Endangered Fish Unit of NYSDEC Jackson, JR: Member, NYSDEC Bureau of Fisheries, Black Bass Research Team Jackson, JR: Member, NYSDEC Bureau of Fisheries Statewide Database Committee

Jackson, JR: Member, NYSDEC Bureau of Fisheries, Sauger Management Team Mills, EL: Board of Directors, Oneida Lake Association Mills, EL: Governor’s Reimagine the Erie Canal Initiative Mills, EL: Associate Editor, Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Rudstam, LG: Associate Editor, Journal of Great Lakes Research. Rudstam, LG: Guest Editor JGLR special issue on Lake Baikal. Rudstam, LG: Guest Editor JGLR special issue on Lake Ontario 2018 Rudstam, LG: Section Editor Encyclopedia for Inland Waters: Fundamental Concepts and Theories. Rudstam, LG: Associate Editor, Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Rudstam, LG: Member, Lake Ontario Technical Committee – New York State Rudstam, LG: Campus representative for Great Lakes Research Consortium Rudstam, LG: Council of Fellows, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research Rudstam, LG: Author of State of the Great Lakes indicator - zooplankton Rudstam, LG: Lake Ontario Objectives and Targets Task Team, Annex 4 Watkins, JM: Associate Editor, Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Watkins, JM: Author of State of the Great Lakes indicator - zooplankton Watkins, JM: Lake Ontario Objectives and Targets Task Team, Annex 4 Watkins, JM: Lead Guest Editor JGLR special issue on Lake Ontario 2018

2020 Facility Use 12/12/19-01/20/20 Abigail Quarshie-Humphrey Fellow Housing 01/02/20-01/19/20 Iriel Edwards-Honors Student Housing 02/10/20-02/11/20 DEC staff Housing/Lab 02/18/20-02/18/20 GLRI DNA Barcoding Workshop Housing/Cafeteria/Classroom 05/26/20-08/31/20 Maria Sol Lisboa Housing/Lab 07/23/20-07/24/20 Steve Oswald-Tern Project Housing 08/03/20-08/06/20 Greg Drake-Geneva Housing 08/07/20 OLA-Forney presentation Grounds 10/2/20 Karin Limburg’s Fish Class Grounds