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Multidisciplinary GraduateMultidisciplinary GraduateMultidisciplinary Graduate

Student SymposiumStudent SymposiumStudent Symposium April 6th and 7thApril 6th and 7thApril 6th and 7th

London Life Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research

2990 Riverside Dr. W.

GLIER Conference Room 250

201720172017

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A Message from the Director The GLIER Graduate Colloquium is an annual event that highlights the accomplishments and research expertise of GLIER's graduate students in the realm of environmental science with a focus on aquatic systems, such as the Great Lakes ecosystem, just outside our doors. This marks the 11th consecutive year for the GLIER Colloquium, and each year brings new excitement and important research and ideas. Large lake ecosystems are especially vulnerable to human and natural interacting stressors that cur-rently threaten these critical global resources. The challenges facing the Great Lakes and aquatic ecosystems world-wide include invasive species, harmful chemicals, habitat alteration, harmful algal and bacterial blooms, climate change and overexploitation – all areas of study for GLIER students and faculty. Those types of stressors impact critical ecosystem services such as clean water, healthy fisheries, sustainable agriculture and aquacul-ture, and public aesthetic values. GLIER students utilise cutting-edge tech-nology and novel analyses from diverse fields such as; pollution chemistry and ecology, environmental genomics and transcriptomics, predictive mod-eling, acoustic tracking, biogeochemistry, environmental physiology, iso-tope analyses, nutrient chemistry, behavioural scans, microbiology and environmental DNA, among others. Our students work in a range of natural and modified systems from the Great Lakes to pan-Canadian fresh- and salt-water ecosystems, but we also have a vibrant research footprint in inter-national research venues as well, in far-flung places such as Denmark, New Zealand, Mexico, China and South Africa.

I am excited to be part of the dynamic research effort reflected by the graduate student presentations in this colloquium. One especially ex-citing part of GLIER's work is our engagement with the public in our efforts to aid in the conservation and restoration of aquatic resources and biodi-versity. I hope our community will take note of this display of excellent re-search and student expertise and recognize GLIER and the University of Windsor for the research and environmental solutions we all provide.

Daniel Heath, Director Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research

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Keynote Speaker: Dr. Irena Creed

Western University

Department of Biology

Irena Creed is Professor and Canada Research Chair at Western University in the Department of Biology, with cross-appointments to Geography and Earth Sciences. She investigates the ecological outcomes of hydrological and biogeochemical processes in freshwater ecosystems under present and predicted climate scenarios, including the interactions between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the formation of potentially harmful algal blooms. She tracks the movement and fate of nutrients within and through watersheds, which are released to the atmosphere (generating greenhouse gases) and aquatic systems (affecting productivity and diversity), work that is relevant to integrative disciplines like ecosystem health and ecosys-tem services. Her research has improved understanding of watershed hy-drological and biogeochemical functions, and has been used by govern-ments to support policies and management measures to reduce risk to wa-ter supplies.

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the environmental match-mismatch hypothesis using Chinook salmon, an ecologi-cally and commercially important Great Lakes fish and results will indicate whether mothers can modulate offspring success within the environmentally relevant con-text of climate change. Olfactory Enhancement and Tagging Effects in Juvenile Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) Marlena McCabe, Trevor Pitcher Anthropogenic stressors negatively impact natural populations and lead to their declines. As such, ex-situ conservation practices are becoming essential to maintain biodiversity and prevent extirpation of vulnerable populations of many species. One species currently undergoing restoration efforts, to supplement Huron-Erie Corridor populations is the threatened lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Knowledge is currently limited on effective supportive breeding programs for lake sturgeon. My research aims to explore whether a supportive breeding program can be effective for lake sturgeon by focusing on two potential barriers to a successful program. Lake sturgeon rely on imprinting behaviour to find appropriate spawning grounds. To ensure successful restoration of captively released sturgeon, I will ex-amine whether olfactory enhancement can impact imprinting behavior. Further-more, tracking the movement patterns of these released juvenile sturgeon is critical to establish the success of the program. It is currently unknown whether acoustic telemetry tags impact juvenile sturgeon. Laboratory studies will be used to deter-mine whether these tags effect survival, growth, and swimming abilities of juvenile lake sturgeon. Collectively, the results of these studies will have implications for future conservation groups in rearing effective lake sturgeon populations while en-hancing research in successful supportive breeding of species at risk.

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“Oh, the places you’ll go!”: Is climate change

driving cyanobacteria to remote lakes?

Climate change has resulted in higher rates of change in

temperatures in lakes in the temperate biome compared to other

biomes. Scattered throughout these temperate lakes are the

emergence of apparently random cyanobacteria blooms. Our search

for understanding why some lakes are blooming, while others are

not, leads us to formulate a new conceptual model. Higher

temperatures together with hydrological intensification of

landscapes rich in organic matter deposits create the perfect storm

for cyanobacteria blooms – where enhanced export of dissolved

organic matter delivers nutrients to warm and stable lake waters

that only cyanobacteria can access.

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Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marguerite A. Xenopolous

Trent University

Department of Biology

Dr. Marguerite Xenopoulos is a Professor at Trent University and a Sustaining Fellow for the International Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. She is a well-established ecosystem ecologist with expertise in carbon and nutrient biogeochemistry. Her primary research interests are on the effects of human activities on ecosystem structure and function of freshwater systems. Xenopoulos was a lead author in the United Nation’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment whose focus was to understand the consequences of ecosystem change on ecosystem services.

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Pre- and post-spawning female choice in Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Jason A. Lewis, Yuya Makiguchi, Daniel D. Heath, Trevor E. Pitcher Sexual selection is a major driver of mating system evolution across taxa. It is now understood that females play a large role in determining the outcome of reproduction, with female choice occurring both before and after mating. Pre-spawning female choice involves females choosing a mate based on external fea-tures (e.g. elaborate ornaments, colours, behaviours) which may provide infor-mation about male quality, while postspawning female choice involves females biasing the fertilization of her eggs towards specific males. However, it is unknown whether these two mechanisms of female choice act together to select for the same males or oppose each other and select for different males. Until recently, measures of pre-spawning female choice were difficult to measure in salmon, but we can now use accelerometer data loggers to accurately determine specific fe-males with which individual males mated. Both pre- and post-spawning female choice will be measured in individual Chinook salmon and compared to determine if they work to enforce or oppose selection towards the same males. This work will not only provide answers to important evolutionary questions, but also could be applied to salmonid conservation programs as mater choice is rarely taken into consideration.

Adaptive stress: maternal stress may optimize salmon offspring performance under climate change

Theresa Warriner, Christina Semeniuk, Oliver Love

Climate change is a significant driver of elevated water temperatures across the globe, altering temperature regimes that may result in substantial effects on aquatic life. Fish are particularly sensitive for these temperature changes given their early development is temperature-dependent. Recent studies suggest that intergenerational effects such as maternal stress have the potential to dampen negative effects of environmental stress on offspring performance. If offspring encounter the same stressful environment as their mother, a prenatal signal of environmental quality may enable offspring to prepare for the same stressed envi-ronment (environmental match). However, if offspring encounter a different envi-ronment, maternal stress signal may be maladaptive (mismatch). To examine whether a prenatal maternal stress signal prepares offspring for a stressful envi-ronment under the climate change (match), we exposed Lake Ontario Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) eggs to 0 or 1000ng/mL cortisol and incubat-ed them at temperatures indicative of current and future climate conditions (+3°C). We tracked offspring survival and growth, and will examine physiological and behavioural performances under these two temperature regimes. This study tests

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time consuming and labor-intensive but provides the most reliable results. This method of detection has successfully detected veligers in 92.2% of the plankton samples. The flow cytometer and microscope (flowCAM) is designed for rapid im-aging of particles and saves time when analyzing plankton subsamples. We have positive detection of veligers in 30.9% of the same plankton samples. The fastest method was PCR analysis of plankton samples. This can be conducted in any mo-lecular lab and can be a fast test for presence of target species. We discuss labor, time, pros and cons involved in each method of detection to help determine which method best suits the needs of the researcher or invasive management team. Effects of rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) introduction on the diatom record of a Canadian shield lake in Parc National de la Mauricie, Québec Karista Hudelson, Paul Drevnick, Isabelle Lavoie, Aaron Fisk Lac Français in Parc National de la Mauricie, Québec, is home to a relic pop-ulation of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), one of the southernmost populations of charr in North America. Despite restricted use of the lake, the health of the charr population has been in a slow but steady decline since the 1960s, which could be attributed to climate warming or localized habitat alterations due to historical log-ging, fishing activities, the introduction of four invasive fish species, and the tem-porary damming of the lake. The purpose of this study is to determine how the history of land and lake alterations has impacted the charr habitat. Analyses of the dated sedimentary record revealed two temporal shifts in diatom community com-position. The primary feature was a drop in the percentage of benthic diatoms/increase in Cyclotella pseudostelligera ~1940, coincident with the introduction of rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris). Larval rock bass are zooplankton predators, thus their presence could reduce predation pressure on planktonic C. pseudostelligera. Other trends in the diatom record (decrease in Cyclotella bodanica ~ 1910, in-crease in Fragilaria crotonensis from around 1910 to 1960) are evident but, to our knowledge, do not correspond with events from the human history of the lake.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

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Freshwater lakes are an important component of the global carbon

cycle as they serve as a substantial storage and transformation sites

of carbon in the environment. Carbon (C) budgets that compile gains

and losses of C have largely been completed in small to medium size

lakes. However, knowledge gained from small lakes may not

extrapolate to large lake ecosystems due to the large spatial scales

which decouple landscape influences on carbon cycling. I will present

a first level approximation of a C mass balance for Lake Erie, the

smallest and most productive of the five Laurentian Great Lakes.

Over 90% of water and carbon inputs to the lake originate from the

Detroit River. The magnitude of dissolved organic (DOC) and

inorganic carbon (DIC) exported downstream increased by 10.5% and

0.5% respectively relative to the terrigenous inputs. While in-lake

carbon loads were about 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than the

inputs, outputs of particulate organic carbon (POC) decreased by

59% compared to inputs. Results indicate that Lake Erie is a net

source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere with the highest fluxes

of CO2 from the eastern basin, while the highest levels of C burial

were found in the central and western basin. Our results suggest that

there is likely a substantial amount of internal C production (greater

than terrestrial inputs) that drives the carbon dynamics of Lake Erie.

A Carbon Mass Balance for Lake Erie

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Coffee Break

10:00-10:20am

Thursday, April 6th

9:00am Keynote Speaker: Dr. Irena Creed

“Oh, the places you’ll go!”: Is climate change

driving cyanobacteria to remote lakes?

10:20am-12:00pm GENETICS

Moderator: Kyle Wellband

10:20 Maternal effects on DNA methylation in early Chinook

salmon development

Clare Venney

10:40 The inheritance of the microbiome in Chinook salmon

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Mo Ziab

11:00 The effects of outbreeding on Chinook salmon

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fillet quality

Celine Lajoie

11:20 Recreational water safety: microbial community,

pathogens, and microbial source tracking

Razagh Shahraki

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mussel has colonized or is expected to spread. Our results showed that the detec-tion limit varied extensively among primer pairs, ranging from 4×10-2 to 4×10-6 ng of total genomic DNA. Laboratory detection was affected by availability of eDNA (i.e. both mussel abundance and incubation time). Detection capacity was higher in laboratorial samples containing re-suspended matter from bottom layer versus sampling only the surface layer. Among 22 field sites, detection was 100% at sites with high mussel abundance and as low as 40% at sites with low abundance when tested using our most sensitive primer. Careful selection of primer pairs ensures effective eDNA-based, non-indigenous species detection in surveillance and man-agement programs. Detection of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) using eDNA and eRNA Joshua Finn, Margaret Hunter, Daniel Heath, Hugh MacIsaac Arrival of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in the Great Lakes could lead to establishment and spread of the species throughout the basin. Accurate detection of grass carp will be necessary to locate individuals during early invasion stages so they can be removed from the Great Lakes. Current surveillance tech-niques use DNA present in the environment (eDNA) to detect invasive species such as grass carp. Though eDNA detection techniques continue to improve, current methods still suffer from detection errors, such as false positives. Environmental RNA (eRNA) detection can potentially reduce false positives due to increased selec-tivity as compared to eDNA, while increasing the risk of false negatives. To deter-mine the viability of eRNA as a tool for species detection, we compared eDNA and eRNA detection using markers developed for grass carp. If successful, insights gained from eRNA detection could help direct future management of the species. Feasibility and efficacy of three methods of zebra mussel larvae detection Sharon Yong, Dr. Hugh MacIsaac, Dr. Mattias Johansson Rapid action against invasive species early in the invasion process can in-crease the likelihood of successful control or eradication. This is more desirable than the effort required to manage an established population. Effective detection of invasive species during early phase of invasion is key to initialization of a re-sponse against them. Choosing the best method of detection for your target spe-cies is important. Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, introduced to North America in late 1980’s economic and ecological harm as a biofouling species. Zebra mussels can be detected via the presence of their larvae in the water in the sum-mer. There are several methods to detect veligers. Here we explore the feasibility of using conventional, automated and molecular methods in the analysis of veliger samples. The use of custom-made crossed-polarized lenses on stereomicroscope is the conventional method of detection. This tried and tested method is the most

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community was observed, consisting of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroide-tes. The results obtained through this study will serve as an initial step in under-standing the role of microbes in the complex mechanism of NA biodegradation. Community Compositional Changes in Lake Erie: Harmful Algal Bloom Shifts in the Western Basin Owen, J.M; Chaganti, S; Stammler, K; Haffner, G.D Since the 1990s, Lake Erie has seen an increase in algal blooms composed mainly of toxin producing cyanobacteria such as Microcystis and Anabaena. The bloom was so toxic in 2014 that there was a water shutdown in Toledo, Ohio, leav-ing nearly 400,000 people without drinking water. In 2015, Lake Erie saw the larg-est bloom on record, yet in 2016 there was little evidence of a bloom. With in-creasing temperatures (climate change), it is expected that blooms will increase in frequency and severity; however, there may be other factors such as shifts in com-munity composition determining size and toxicity of the bloom. To determine the relative importance of factors regulating community composition, four sites on the Canadian side of the western basin were selected for water quality analysis. At these sites, water samples were collected at four different depths and analyzed for nutrients and chlorophyll a. Community composition was determined through microscopic and genomic analysis. Microscopic analysis revealed that cyanobacte-ria were present lower in the water column early in the summer. Cyanobacteria reached peak concentrations at the surface especially during August and Septem-ber. These peak concentrations were especially highest at the offshore sites, Col-chester Off and Pelee Off. Understanding the community composition and what causes the seasonal shifts will help scientists predict and track these blooms.

INVASIVE SPECIES Early detection of a highly invasive bivalve based on environmental DNA (eDNA) Zhiqiang Xia, Aibin Zhan, Yangchun Gao, Lei Zhang, Douglas Haffner, Hugh J. MacIsaac The advent of environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques provides an efficient way for early detecting of non-indigenous species at low abundance. However, eDNA-based methods often suffer from uncertain detection sensitivity. Here we developed an eDNA-based early detection method based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) for highly invasive golden mussels, Lim-noperna fortunei. Further, we tested technical issues including sampling strategy and detection sensitivity, based on a laboratory experiment. We then applied the method to field samples collected from waterbodies in China where this invasive

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Lunch (provided)

12:00-1:00pm

Coffee Break

2:00-2:20pm

11:40 Lake Michigan: diets of zooplanktivorous fishes through

DNA analysis and next generation sequencing

Justin Mychek-Londer

1:00pm-2:00pm TROPHIC ECOLOGY & ANIMAL MOVEMENT

Moderator: Scott Colborne

1:00 Isotopic niches of lake sturgeon movement groups

following multiple invasions

Tanya Fendler

1:20 Post-stocking movement and habitat use of hatchery-

reared bloater (Coregonus hoyi) in Lake Ontario using

acoustic telemetry

Natalie Klinard

1:40 Ontogenetic trends in trophic position and resource use

of three Lake Erie fishes

Cecilia Heuvel

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2:20pm-3:00pm TOXICOLOGY AND CONTAMINANTS

Moderator: Marco Hernandez

2:20 Hormonal control of PCB and mercury elimination by

fish

Sweetha Robin Samuel

2:40 Comparison of contaminant accumulation in silver carp

and bighead carp from Three Gorges Reservoir and

Mississippi River

Shifeng Yao

3:00 Drivers of probabilistic and spatially explicit food web

bioaccumulation model: an application in the Detroit

River

Jingyuan (Stephen) Li

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Biogeochemical stability of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Alluvial Sediment from an Active Coal Mine Sara Butler, Chris Weisener, James Pope, Daniel Heath Acid mine drainage (AMD) occurs when sulfides are exposed to the atmos-phere, water, and microorganisms. AMD produces low pH and high sulfate and iron levels in mine waste water which when left untreated can stress ecosystem health. A treatment option that is currently being studied at a AMD ,seep utilizes mussel shells within a bioreactor (MSB) constructed to neutralize acid generated and promote the microbial mediated precipitation of metals. Since installation in 2012 the flow rate of the effluent water has significantly decreased due to deposi-tion of 5-10cm of fine sediment, decreasing permeability. To maintain the effec-tiveness of this technology, an action plan was designed for the sediment removal periodically for the life of the bioreactor which is expected to be 10-15 years. A concern is the potential risk associated with storing or disposing of the sludge ma-terial being removed. The goal of this project is to determine sediment under oxy-gen rich and oxygen deficient environments both in the presence and absence of the natural microbial consortia. Principle to this is the risk of redissolving metals back into solution via microbial interactions. Lab incubations coupled with field microcosm experiments will be used to examine the material under different envi-ronmental conditions including both oxic and a sterilized control compared with its biologically active counterpart. Anaerobic biodegradation of Naphthenic acid: Determining the role of microor-ganism through OMICS approch Sabari Prakasan Mullapulli Raveendran, Subbarao Chaganti, Daniel Heath, Jan Ci-borowski, Chris Weisener The naphthenic acid (NA), a complex mixture of organic acids is a constitu-ent of raw bituminous ore, and one of the major components responsible for prob-lems such as toxicity and corrosion in oil exploration industries and refineries. The degradation of NA is vital for the industries from both economic and environmen-tal perspectives, so as to reduce machinery corrosion, and limit toxicity of waste tailings. This study evaluated the ability of anaerobic microorganisms isolated from two hydrocarbon contaminated tailings ponds (Recalcitrant and non-Recalcitrant) to utilize NA as a sole source of carbon and energy. The microorganisms enriched from these hydrocarbon-rich environments were treated with different model NAs and natural NA to determine the response of microbes towards this unique carbon source. Next-generation sequencing of 16s rRNA gene was performed to deter-mine the microbial shift in response to various sources (both model and naturally derived) of NA. Irrespective of NA type, the Recalcitrant samples were dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria. In case of non-Recalcitrant samples, a more diverse

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is highly debated (human vs. animal), and it is uncertain whether sediment serves as a potential source for pathogens and/or nutrients during resuspension. Tradi-tional testing relies on time sensitive plate-cultures with minimal insight on valid human health risks. This current approach is outperformed by modern meta–OMICS technologies. In this study, intensive sampling at beaches within the Lake Huron-Erie corridor was initiated to characterize spatial and temporal microbial function at the sediment-water interface. It is hypothesized that physicochemical attributes of the sediment influence microbial community structure, quantity and function. By using taxonomic and metatranscriptomic approaches, this project will characterize the microbial structure and activity of the nearshore sediment-water interface. Additionally, suspended sediment will be sampled and correlated as a potential source vector. This approach will provide a bettering understanding of how sediment governs deterministic and stochastic processes that effect microbial composition and functionality, which may impact beach closures. Assessing the microbial community and functional dynamics of Biocord bioreac-tors in wastewater treatment Adam Skoyles, Subba Rao Chaganti, Chris Weisener The Canadian National Pollutant Release Inventory states that nitrate, am-monia, and phosphorus are the three most abundant substances released by in-dustrial wastewater. Approximately 150 billion litres of ineffectively treated wastewater are released annually into Canadian water bodies, resulting in disrup-tions to the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients). To prevent environmental damages caused by nutrient loading, including groundwa-ter pollution and harmful algal blooms, enhanced wastewater treatment is essen-tial. Biocord bioreactors are a cost-effective option in wastewater treatment that provide an environment which encourages growth of naturally occurring microbes to reduce the release of nutrients. My study focuses on investigating how the mi-crobial community and functional dynamics of the bioreactors varies seasonally. It is expected that colder temperatures will reduce the ability of the bioreactors to remove nutrients from the system. This should be demonstrated through changes in community composition and functional gene expression. Targeted amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene will be used to determine the community shifts while the functional dynamics will be assessed using metatranscriptomics. This information will be crucial to determine if the technology remains effective across all seasons and will also provide valuable information for optimizing Biocord tech-nology in different environmental settings.

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Coffee Break

10:00-10:20am

Friday, April 7th

9:00am Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marguerite A. Xenopolous

A Carbon Mass Balance for Lake Erie

10:20am-12:20pm BIOGEOCHEMISTRY

Moderator: Rao Chaganti

10:20 Novel insights into freshwater hydrocarbon-rich

sediments using metatranscriptomics: opening the

black box

Tom Reid

10:40 Evaluation of freshwater presence and functionality of

the nearshore sediment in the Great Lakes

Danielle VanMensel

11:00 Assessing the microbial community and functional

dynamics of Biocord bioreactors in wastewater

treatment

Adam Skoyles

11:20 Biogeochemical stability of acid mine drainage (AMD)

alluvial sediment from an active coal mine

Sara Butler

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11:40 Anaerobic biodegradation of Napthenic acid:

determining the role of microorganisms through OMICS

approach

Sabari Raveendran

12:00 Community compositional changes in Lake Erie: harmful

algal bloom shifts in Western basin

Jessica Owen

1:20pm-3:00pm INVASIVE SPECIES

Moderator: Mattias Johannson

1:20 Early detection of a highly invasive bivalve based on

environmental DNA (eDNA)

Zhiqiang (Dylan) Xia

1:40 Detection of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) us-

ing eDNA and eRNA

Joshua Finn

2:00 Feasibility and efficacy of three methods of zebra

mussel larvae detection

Sharon Yong

Lunch (provided)

12:20-1:20pm

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Friday, April 7th

BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Novel insights into freshwater hydrocarbon-rich sediments using meta-transcriptomics: opening the black box T Reid, SR Chaganti, IG Droppo, CG Weisener Anthropogenic influences on our freshwater microbial ecosystems are inevi-table, as natural resources are exploited for our growing global population, re-sulting in increased contaminant loads to these fragile habitats. Recent approval for the expansions of the new cross-continental oil and gas pipelines raises the probability of catastrophic pipeline fractures and subsequent adverse impacts on freshwater microbial ecosystems. Therefore, it is more pressing than ever to have a comprehensive understanding of structural and functional shifts in microbial populations exposed to hydrocarbon-rich substrates. These baseline characteriza-tions can provide insight into proposed bioremediation strategies crucial in clean-ing up contaminated spill sites. Hence, this study was conducted to reveal compari-sons of in-situ microbial gene expression within freshwater hydrocarbon-rich envi-ronments cutting through the McMurray formation - the geologic strata consti-tuting the oil sands. This is the first to study both structural and functional varia-tions among these freshwater microbial ecosystems using metatranscriptomics, providing insight into the in-situ gene expression within these sites. Key genes in-volved in energy metabolism and hydrocarbon degradation, with an emphasis on nitrogen, sulfur and methane processes, including transcripts relating to the ob-served expression of anaerobic methane oxidation are reported. Expression of alkane monooxygenase (alkB) correlating to PAH concentrations at each site sug-gests its effectiveness as a bioindicator gene in freshwater environments. This in-formation provides better linkages between hydrocarbon impacted environments, closing knowledge gaps for optimizing not only oil sands mine reclamation but also understanding the biogeochemistry of other freshwater sites at risk of hydrocar-bon contamination in the future.

Evaluation of freshwater pathogen presence and functionality of the nearshore sediment in the Great Lakes Danielle VanMensel, Subba Rao Chaganti, Ian Droppo, Chris Weisener The detection and quantity of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) is used to moni-tor and assign the quality of drinking and recreational water. Recreational water usage is a major tourist attraction throughout the Great Lakes, yet FIB levels (i.e. Escherichia coli) have increased substantially over the last decade. Pathogen origin

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getic-based, steady state food web bioaccumulation model to predict PCB expo-sures in sport fish of the Detroit River AOC. The model was initially calibrated to paired benthos/sediment samples to ensure realistic predictions at the base of the food web. Following calibration, the model was validated against an extensive fish contamination database. Multiple simulations were applied and contrasted against the validation dataset at different spatial scales (riverwide, 2 zone, 4 zone and 6 zone) to uncover how species specific movements contribute to variation in fish exposures. Simulation contrasts demonstrate that 2 and 4 zone models pro-vided more accurate prediction of fish contamination than a river-wide (i.e. 1 zone simulation) and the 6 zone model. However, the above improvements were not equally observed for all model species. Deviations in model performance for indi-vidual fish species are contrasted against their literature derived ecological profiles (i.e. estimates of species foraging ranges) and physiological attributes (e.g. dorsal muscle lipid versus whole body lipid content) to uncover drivers of between sam-ple variation and PCB exposure risk in the system.

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2:20 Effects of rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) introduction

of the diatom record of a Canadian shield lake in Parc

National de la Mauriceie, Quebec

Karista Hudelson

3:00pm-4:00pm ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

Moderator: Holly Hennin

3:00 Pre- and Post-spawning female choice in Chinook salm-

on (Onchorhynchus tshawytscha)

Jason Lewis

3:20 Adaptive stress: maternal stress may optimize salmon

offspring performance under climate change

Theresa Warriner

3:40 Olfactory enhancement and tagging effects in juvenile

lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Marlena McCabe

Coffee Break

2:40-3:00pm

Complimentary GLIER Social

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Abstracts Thursday, April 6th

GENETICS Maternal effects on DNA methylation in early Chinook salmon development Clare J Venney, Kyle W Wellband, Daniel D Heath Phenotypic variation is necessary for evolutionary responses to environ-mental variation. While much phenotypic variation can be attributed to heritable additive genetic variation, maternal effects can affect offspring development and performance. Maternal effects have been identified in many taxa yet the molecu-lar mechanisms behind transient parental effects have not been thoroughly stud-ied. DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group to the 5’ carbon of CpG cyto-sines, suppresses transcription and has been identified as a potential mechanism for the propagation of maternal effects. Here we measure maternal effects on DNA methylation using two 6x6 factorial breeding crosses at three stages in early Chinook salmon development. We assay 16 genes involved in development, me-tabolism, stress response, and immune function using a PCR-based Next-Generation sequencing method for the quantification of DNA methylation. We show that maternal effects on DNA methylation are locus-specific, change through ontogeny, and align with previous research on maternal effects in Chinook salmon. This study provides insight into the molecular basis of maternal effects, supporting DNA methylation as a source of individual variation and a potential mechanism upon which selection can act. By determining the role of DNA methylation in the propagation of maternal effects, we identify a novel source of variation in natural populations, which can help to inform and improve conservation efforts. The Inheritance of the Microbiome in Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Mubarak Ziab, Subba Rao Chagant, Daniel D Heath The microbiome is a complex community of microbes living in or on an or-ganism. The gut microbiome of fish and other animals has been implicated in their development, behavior and physiology. Studies in fish and other animals have shown that the environment plays a role in driving the composition of the gut mi-crobiome. However, the role of inheritance and host genetics remains poorly un-derstood. To address this knowledge gap, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) was used to determine the roles of additive genetics, population effects, and maternal vertical transmission on the gut microbiome. DNA was ex-tracted from gut contents, and universal primers were used to target the 16S ribo-

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eliminate mercury at a faster rate than females due to hormonal control (testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone) of chemical elimination processes. Howev-er, currently there has not been a direct experimental test of this effect. Animals will be pre-dosed with PCBs and mercury via diet which will be en-riched in both types of contaminants for a period of 3 weeks. Then the treatment groups will be fed a diet amended with 11-ketotestosterone. Whole-body and tis-sue-specific analysis of PCBs and Hg will be performed using gas chromatography electron capture detection and by direct mercury analyzer. Hormone levels in blood will be measured at the time of sacrifice using immunological methods. Comparison of contaminant accumulation in silver carp and bighead carp from Three Gorges Reservoir and Mississippi River Shifeng Yao, Ken Drouillard, Jiajia Li, Doug Haffner, Lei Zhang,Yun Li, Duane Chap-man Asian carp, including bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are a major threat to the Great Lakes as they have established large populations in the Mississippi River and are suspected of having entered Lake Michigan. As planktivores, these species occupy a low trophic status and also exhibit very fast growth rates which reduce their tendency to bio-accumulate toxic contaminants. In China, these species of fish are highly sought after as food fish and stocked into many water bodies including the Three Gorges Reservoir. This study compares contaminant accumulation in silver carp and big-head carp collected from Three Gorges Reservoir and Mississippi River. PCBs, orga-nochlorine pesticides, total mercury and methylmercury were examined in each specimen. Contaminant profiles were further compared using multivariate tech-niques. Organochlorine contamination was observed to be similar and low relative to fish consumption advisory thresholds in both populations. Mercury residues showed high contamination in North America fish, but still below concentrations warranting concern. Drivers Probabilistic and Spatially Explicit Food Web Bioaccumulation Model: An Application in Detroit River Jingyuan Li, Alice Grgicak-Mannion, Jason Demers, Ken Drouillard Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are one of eight chemicals of mutual con-cern identified by Canada and the United States under Annex 3 of the 2012 amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Despite being banned for more than 40 years, these chemicals are still predominant contributors to fish consump-tion advisories in the Laurentian Great Lakes. The Detroit River is a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) and has been extensively studied with respect to its sedi-ment and water PCB contamination. This study applied and validated a bioener-

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tection post-stocking detection probability (68 of 70 tagged bloater) and dispersal, although 8 fish continued to be tracked within the array 7 months later. Establish-ing a self-sustaining population of deepwater ciscoes will help restore fish native to Lake Ontario, thus increasing biodiversity, improving food web stability, and serving as a basis for reintroduction and management of other native species throughout the Great Lakes. Ontogenetic trends in trophic position and resource use of three Lake Erie fishes Cecilia Heuvel, Doug Haffner, Yingming Zhao, Aaron Fisk The feeding ecology of fishes often vary with ontogeny, in particular for predatory that tend to increase in trophic position with size. As such, ontogeny needs to be considered when assessing trophic transfer of energy and biomass through food webs. Although the feeding ecology and ontogeny of top predators has been studied, middle and lower trophic level species have often been over-looked despite their large contributions to biomass within aquatic food webs. Here, we quantified isotopic niche and diet of three species at different trophic levels (lower: Freshwater Drum, middle: White Perch, upper: Walleye) in Lake Erie using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N), and carbon (δ13C). We predicted that isotopic niche would correlate most at small size classes (<200mm TL) and diverge at medium (200-400mm) and large (>400mm) size classes. Unexpectedly, small fishes experienced isotopically distinct niches, whereas the niches of medium fish converged before diverging again at lengths >400mm. Drum exhibited distinct changes in niche at different size classes, whereas Walleye and Perch showed few if any distinct changes in niche with length. This suggests understanding how niche relates to diet and trophic position is crucial to understanding the influence of on-togeny on food web structure in a large and productive lake.

TOXICOLOGY AND CONTAMINANTS Hormonal Control of PCB and Mercury Elimination by Fish Sweetha Robin Samuel, Ken Drouillard, Oliver Love Human exposure to bioaccumulative contaminants such as PCBs and mer-cury occurs mainly from the consumption of contaminated fish. PCBs and mercury exhibit sex-based differences in their bioaccumulation by fish. For PCBs, females commonly achieve lower concentrations than males of similar age and size. For mercury, the opposite pattern tends to occur. Sex-based differences in PCB accu-mulation by fish have been hypothesized to be related to maternal offloading of contaminant to eggs and to some extent sex-based differences in foraging strate-gies. For mercury, this does not occur. Madenjian et al. hypothesized that males

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somal DNA (rDNA) gene. Using next generation sequencing and the analysis of vari-ance (ANOVA), the microbiome of individual fish were characterized for composi-tion and diversity. Here, we present evidence to show that: 1) Chinook salmon hosts a core microbiome, dominated by Mycoplasma spp.; 2) Additive genetics contribute insignificantly in driving gut microbiome diversity; 3) There are signifi-cant population effects on the gut microbiome. Understanding how inheritance drives the microbiome will allow aquaculture managers to select for better per-forming stocks of Chinook salmon, and will have consequences in conservation biology efforts for their declining populations. The effects of outbreeding on Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fillet quality Celine Lajoie, Oliver Lover, Trevor Pitcher Approximately 20% of British Columbia's salmon farming industry is repre-sented by native Pacific Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Few com-mercial facilities rear Chinook salmon limiting their breeding stocks which may allow for inbreeding and can potentially lead to downstream effects on product quality. As consumers refuse to pay for low quality products even when prices are reduced, fillet quality metrics have become increasingly important to the aquacul-ture industry. As such, there is a need to determine whether the economic viability and fillet quality of farmed Chinook salmon can be improved through hybridization between wild and farmed populations. Fillet quality metrics were assessed in adult Chinook salmon generated from hybrids between 6 wild populations and 1 inbred commercial population to determine the impact of hybridization on fillet quality. Assessed quality metrics included fillet size, shape and weight, colour, carotenoid content and lipid content. We further aim to examine whether a trade-off exists between growth rate and fillet quality and how growth differs amongst the hybrid populations. Long term goals of this research include the development of a high performance Chinook salmon strain with elevated fillet quality, maximized culture efficiency and minimized environmental impacts. Recreational water safety: microbial community, pathogens and microbial source tracking Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki, Subba Rao Chaganti, Daniel D Heath Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) have been approved as an indicator of sewage contamination to monitor harmful microbes in recreational water and are recom-mended by the World Health Organization for determining the safety of recrea-tional waters. Monitoring of FIB by conventional culturing is a routine and available approach to check water safety; however, lack of strong association of FIB with

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pathogens and the true source of contamination, as well as time-consuming labor-atory steps in FIB detection increase the concern about reliability of FIB to predict RWI and water safety to susceptible beachgoers. To address the problems raised by conventional FIB, this research project designed to use meta-genomics, meta-transcriptomics and qRT-PCR monitoring tools to characterize variation in microbi-al community species abundance and distribution over time among different loca-tions, develop new molecular genetic approaches to identify fecal contamination sources study abundance and distribution of pathogenic bacteria in dynamic eco-systems and study functional gene variation and expression in microbial communi-ties to assess pathogen survive and adaption to recreational water conditions. This project will serve to develop genomic and transcriptomic tools for rapid, cost effective and reliable monitoring and source tracking of harmful pathogens and FIB for better assessment of beach water quality. Lake Michigan: Diets of Zooplanktivorous fishes through DNA analysis and Next Generation Sequencing Justin Mychek-Londer, Daniel D Heath

Zooplanktivorous fishes are an important component in offshore Laurentian Great Lakes food webs. Traditional visual based estimations of their diets can be limited as consumed prey digests and can be difficult to identify sans training. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of prey DNA from gut tracts is an emerging tech-nique possibly increasing overall resolution and confidence in prey presence/absence determinations. Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), bloater (Coregonus hoyi), ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mor-dax), and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) were fishes sampled at three Lake Michi-gan ports using benthic trawls in 82-128 m depth strata. I will use DNA and NGS approaches to identify interactions among these predators and their prey. I will address tradeoffs in the resolution of such approaches by using novel species spe-cific primers as well as universal primers expected to broadly amplify DNA of many taxa found in a sample but sometimes only above the species level. Initial results suggest successful removal, isolation, and extraction of prey DNA from predator stomachs in a uniform efficient manner allowing positive downstream PCR amplifi-cation. I will review comparative background information, hypotheses, initial re-sults, implications of and the potential benefits of what lies ahead in this research.

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TROPHIC ECOLOGY AND ANIMAL MOVEMENT Isotopic Niches of Lake Sturgeon Movement Groups Following Multiple Invasions Tanya Fendler, Aaron Fisk, Trevor Pitcher, Harri Pettitt-Wade, Steven Kessel, Justin Chiotti, Dimitry Gorsky, Darryl Hondorp

The introduction and proliferation of invasive species may result in their integration into the diets of native fishes. For example, native benthic-feeding fish have the potential to feed on both Dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.) and round goby (Neogobius melanostomus). We aim to quantify lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) feeding ecology through two major invasive species invasion (Dressiends and round goby) to better understand how invasive species have changed benthic food web connectivity in the Great Lakes. The ability of lake stur-geon to live for 150 years make them an ideal study species for looking at historic trends in benthic food web connectivity. Acoustic telemetry in combination with stable isotope analysis was used to assess the isotopic niches of adult lake stur-geon in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor (HEC). Acoustic telemetry was used to establish the movement patterns of lake sturgeon, identifying individuals that made large scale movements (i.e., migratory) and those that did not (i.e., resident). Initial results for lake sturgeon from the Detroit River show that migratory individ-uals have a higher trophic level, smaller isotopic niche size, and little isotopic niche overlap when compared to resident individuals, suggesting an increased diet de-pendency on fish. Foraging and habitat use are tightly linked aspects of ecology that should be considered together to inform conservation and restoration efforts of threatened species.

Post-Stocking Movement and Habitat Use of Hatchery-Reared Bloater (Coregonus hoyi) in Lake Ontario Using Acoustic Telemetry Natalie V Klinard, Scott F Colborne, Tim B Johnson, Edmund A Halfyard, Michael J Conroy, Michael Connerton, Aaron T Fisk Until the mid-1950s, a diverse group of deepwater ciscoes including bloater (Coregonus hoyi) were part of Lake Ontario’s native fish community, now reduced to a single shallow-water species (C. artedi). Plans to re-establish a self-sustaining population of deepwater ciscoes in Lake Ontario include stocking hatchery-reared juvenile bloater each year with a future goal of releasing 500,000 per year . To de-termine the post-stocking movement and habitat use of these hatchery-reared bloater, 120 yearling bloater were implanted with acoustic transmitters between 2015-2017 and released intermixed with the restoration stocking individuals in eastern Lake Ontario. Tagged bloater were detected on an array of 80 acoustic receivers deployed in the St. Lawrence Channel. First year results showed high de-