Explore a range of collaborative projects led by our team in partnership with agencies like Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). From early career research initiatives to established investigator projects, these research efforts reflect our shared commitment to advancing ecosystem science and informing resource management in the Great Lakes basin.
Funding Entity: NSERC Alliance (awarded August 2024)
Principal Investigators (CEM): Dr. Kevin McCann & Dr. Joey Bernhardt / Collaborators: CEM Associates Dr. Aaron Fisk, Dr. Bailey McMeans & Dr. Robert Hanner
This project addresses a significant challenge in Canada: mitigating the impact of multi-stressors (nutrients, harvesting, climate change, invasive species) on the sustainability of the Great Lakes fisheries and their food webs. There has been a growing need both within Canada and globally to develop ecosystem management techniques that seek to understand and manage for the structure-function and structure-resilience relationships that belies diverse complex ecosystems. This endeavor includes a highly integrative (from managers to scientists) network of interest groups to produce world-leading research in ecosystem management under changing conditions.
Individual Projects:
Lake Erie harvest resilience implications (Drs. Yodzis, Hale, and Brimacombe)
Ecosystem/food web indicators (PhD. candidates Reilly O’Connor and Charlotte Ward)
Telemetry bioenergetic models (Dr. McCann and PhD. candidate Alexa Scott)
Funding Entity: Department of Fisheries & Oceans (awarded August 2024)
Principal Investigators: Dr. Kevin McCann & Dr. Joey Bernhardt
This project has been designed to develop scientific knowledge to support strategies for mitigating impacts during nearshore construction. We aim to estimate species impact risks over time, thereby providing a foundation for management strategies that establish timing windows to minimize harm (e.g., disrupted reproduction or foraging). Disturbing critical life history events can have lasting effects on fish populations, and our research will help refine timing-based management for nearshore development. An easy-to-use Shiny app that can be used to produce first estimates of risk analysis of given timing windows in given geographical zones will be one of the products of this project.
Funding Entity: NSERC Alliance (awarded August 2024)
Principal Investigators (CEM): Dr. Joey Bernhardt / Collaborators: CEM Associate Dr. Neil Rooney, along with the Ontario Aquaculture Association, GLFC, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Food & Rural Affairs, OMNR, and Sheshegwaning First Nation
This project will develop tools to assess the ecological impacts of freshwater finfish aquaculture in Georgian Bay (Lake Huron), with the goal of supporting sustainable protein production for a growing global population. While aquaculture holds great promise for meeting future food needs, concerns remain about its potential effects on nutrient levels, water quality, and local species, which—if unmanaged—could lead to eutrophication, algal blooms, and oxygen depletion.
Funding Entity: Great Lakes Fishery Commission (awarded May 2025)
Principal Investigators (CEM): Dr. Kaleigh Davis & Dr. Joey Bernhardt / Collaborators: Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) and Nawash Fisheries
Lake Huron’s whitefish (dikameg) have been declining, and SON is keen on supporting their recovery. A leading hypothesis for why dikameg populations are suffering is that larval dikameg are limited by food availability, induced by low water column phosphorus availability. In this pilot study, Drs. Kaleigh Davis and Joey Bernhardt - in collaboration with SON - are testing how phosphorus availability affects phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance and nutritional quality to inform next steps in dikameg restoration efforts. Working closely with SON to ensure knowledge and ideas are shared equitably is a key part of this project as restoration strategies are explored.
Status: Grant Application Submitted
Principal Investigators (CEM): Dr. Kevin McCann & Dr. Joey Bernhardt
The proposed Watershed Assessment and Management (WAM) network will provide cutting-edge instrumentation and technical expertise to assess the environmental impacts of land use that have created fast water landscapes throughout Canada. This network, involving six universities (Guelph, Lakehead, Toronto, Ontario Tech, Trent, Windsor) and the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), will utilize a genes-to-ecosystem approach to develop predictive landscape scale data that will serve as both: i) an early warning system for looming environmental impact, and; ii) produce models that aid landscape scale design.
Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Why are Lake Ontario Chinook shrinking? Predator-prey population dynamics (size matching & consumption efficiency)
Status: Ongoing
Lake Ontario’s Chinook salmon fishery is one of the largest in the world, but both average and trophy fish sizes have been shrinking in recent years. While several factors may be contributing—such as warming waters, changing food supply, and shifts in lake-wide productivity—it’s been hard to pinpoint which mechanisms matter most. This project by Drs. Kayla Hale and Kevin McCann develops a model that captures key predator-prey dynamics between Chinook and alewife, embedding them within the broader Lake Ontario food web. By comparing real-world data with predictions from different ecological scenarios, the model helps test which interventions could best support large, resilient Chinook populations. Other collaborators on this project include the OMNR.
Centralized Great Lakes landscape data through a conservation authority alliance
Status: Ongoing
One of the main priorities identified by CEM’s funders—including the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry—is strengthening collaborative ties with Ontario’s conservation authorities (CAs). This project by Drs. Tim Fernandes, Kayla Hale, and Kevin McCann is designed to bring together local and regional knowledge about the environment to better manage ecosystems and support their long-term health. Using the monitoring data that CAs already collect, we aim to create tools—like resilience and ecosystem health indices—to help government resource managers make informed decisions to protect and sustain the Great Lakes.
Identifying global hotspots of thermal tolerance risk and resilience through evolutionary potential
Status: Ongoing
Biodiversity thrives in part because different environments allow many species to coexist. But with global change altering these patterns, species must adapt to new and shifting conditions to survive. This project, led by Dr. Amanda Cicchino in collaboration with researchers at the University of Montana, explores how environmental variability—differences across space and time—affects the ability of species to evolve traits that help them cope with heat. Using computer simulations and global temperature data, her research tests how factors like reproduction rates and lifespan influence whether populations can maintain heat-tolerance traits. The results will help identify regions where species may be especially vulnerable or resilient to climate change.
Telemetry bioenergetic models (NSERC Alliance Food Web)
Status: Ongoing
Animals forage to gain energy, but being active also comes at an energetic cost. Using tracking data, Dr. Kevin McCann and PhD. candidate Alexa Scott are building models to see how these activity patterns affect the health and stability of food webs. This approach will help us better understand energy flow in ecosystems and could guide better management efforts. This endeavour is part of the larger NSERC Alliance Food Web project championed by Drs. Jake Brownscombe and Bailey McMeans (University of Toronto).
Linking estimates of CTmax to thermal performance curves
Status: Ongoing
Scientists often measure the highest temperature an animal can survive (CTmax) to predict how climate change will affect cold-blooded animals like fish, reptiles, and insects. But in the real world, these ectotherms may struggle well before reaching this extreme limit, and CTmax can vary depending on how it’s measured. To better understand how useful CTmax really is, Dr. Amanda Cicchino is comparing it with other measures of temperature tolerance and performance, drawing on data from more than 500 studies across many species. Early results show that CTmax does reflect broader thermal limits, helping refine predictions about which species may be most at risk as the world warms. Collaborators on this project include researchers at McGill University, Yale University, the Norweigan University of Science and Technology, and the University of Guelph.
Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch population/biomass assessments
Status: Ongoing
This project by Dr. Chris Brimacombe investigates what drives long-term changes in yellow perch and walleye populations in Lake Erie. Using decades of data collected by management task groups, our researchers are exploring how population trends relate to both broad environmental shifts—like climate patterns—and local factors such as water temperature, nutrient levels, and fishing pressure. The goal is to better understand how these influences interact to shape the health and abundance of these key species. This is a collaboration that includes participants from the OMNR.
Managing for resilience in the Great Lakes basin – developing an ecological restoration framework
Status: Completed (in review)
This project explores how resilient ecosystems in the Great Lakes maintain stability through natural “portfolio effects,” where different species respond uniquely to changing conditions, creating overall balance. By studying how these effects operate across habitats and species, we can better understand the impacts of human pressures and guide better management decisions. The project, led by Drs. Kayla Hale, Tim Fernandes, Joey Bernhardt and Kevin McCann, focuses on designing coordinated, landscape-scale restoration to strengthen these natural portfolios, stabilize food webs, and promote long-term ecosystem resilience. This is a collaboration that includes participants from inSileco Inc., the DFO and OMNR, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Ohio State University, GLFC, and Cornell University.
Credit: NOAA/GLERL
Interacting effects of thermal stress and food limitation on lake whitefish growth
Status: Ongoing
Lake whitefish, a cold-water species central to the ecology, culture, and economy of the Great Lakes, are struggling to recover as their young face declining food supplies and rising water temperatures. Warmer waters increase the energetic demands of growing fish while at the same time limiting food availability, creating a risk of “metabolic meltdown” where resources can’t keep pace with needs. Dr. Amanda Cicchino is combining lab experiments with models to test how food shortages and heat stress interact to affect larval whitefish growth and survival, and to pinpoint areas in Lake Huron where fish may be at greatest risk. The findings will support management and restoration efforts for this important species in a changing climate. Collaborating agencies include the OMNR, Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre, and DFO.
Food web hot spots: Implications of thermal plume
Status: Ongoing
Human activities are influencing the availability of resources in ecosystems, which can reshape local food webs. In Lake Huron, Dr. Kevin McCann and PhD. candidate Rachael Keighan are studying how fish respond to these changes—from aquaculture to thermal plumes—using acoustic tracking and stable isotope analysis, in collaboration with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Our goal is to see how foraging and habitat use shift in response to human-driven changes in the resource landscape.
Lake Erie – DNA barcoding on yellow perch diet
Status: Ongoing
Yellow perch are a key fish for both commercial and recreational fisheries, but populations in Lake Erie’s central basin are on the decline. Dr. Kevin McCann, along with Dr. Robert Hanner and Mariana Blanco (University of Guelph) as well as Dr. Connor Warne (Ontario Commercial Fisheries Association), are using eDNA to study their diets before and after low-oxygen events (hypoxia) to understand how these conditions affect where perch feed and how their populations respond. This work will help fill critical gaps in knowledge and guide management of this important fishery.
Understanding the global change of increasing entropy in abiotic and biotic features
Status: Developing
Drs. Megan Szojka and Joey Bernhardt are studying how rising environmental disorder—like heatwaves or lost species interactions—affects the reliability of cues that guide organism behavior. By combining global data on abiotic and biotic entropy, they’re aiming to predict how increasing environmental uncertainty impacts networks of interacting species. Their insights could also help understand specific ecosystems, such as the Great Lakes.
Lake Erie harvest resilience implications (NSERC Alliance Food Web )
Status: Ongoing
This new project by Drs. Kayla Hale, Chris Brimacombe, and Mike Yodzis applies cutting-edge methods from ocean research to study how entire fish communities in Lake Erie respond to changes in fishing pressure or nutrient inputs. By feeding these human-driven changes into food web models built from real lake data, we can predict how each species is likely to respond—whether it increases, declines, or stays the same. The goal is to understand the resilience of the broader ecosystem to human impacts, providing a more complete picture of biodiversity change in the Great Lakes. Other collaborators on this project include the OMNR, University of Windsor, and inSileco Inc.
Ecosystem/food web indicators (NSERC Alliance Food Web)
Status: Ongoing
With support from the NSERC Alliance Food Web grant, these projects are developing ecosystem indicators to predict change in fisheries. PhD candidate Reilly O’Connor is analyzing northwest Atlantic catch data alongside Drs. Ken Frank (DFO) and Aaron MacNeil (Dalhousie) to understand signals that preceded cod and benthic community collapse, aiming to apply similar indicators to the Great Lakes. PhD candidate Charlotte Ward is using a global isotope database and Linear Inverse Modelling to reveal consistent food web patterns that precede biodiversity loss, offering a promising tool for ecosystem management.
Turkey Lake nearshore experiment timing windows: A whole-lake experiment to understand and effectively mitigate the impacts of pile driving noise on the habitat use of freshwater fish
Status: Ongoing
We are investigating how pile driving affects freshwater fish in a whole-lake experiment at Turkey Lake. Using a state-of-the-art fish tracking system and underwater acoustic monitoring, Drs. Tim Fernandes and Kevin McCann - along with the DFO’s Dr. Tyler Tunney - is studying how Lake Trout, Burbot, and White Sucker respond before, during, and after simulated pile driving. This research will help the DFO and developers understand and mitigate noise impacts on fish behaviour and physiology, supporting better management and protection of sensitive freshwater ecosystems.
Risk analysis and timing windows in freshwater lakes
Status: Ongoing
Dr. Kevin McCann and MSc. student Erica Plivelic are using multi-species telemetry data from Algonquin Park to understand how human actions—like nearshore development and climate change—impact fish communities. This research will help identify periods of higher risk and inform better management decisions, with results feeding directly into ongoing timing-window strategies in collaboration with inSileco Inc. and the DFO.
How do trade-offs affect the evolution of ecological limits in phytoplankton?
Status: Completed
Human activities like pollution, warming, and nutrient changes are putting stress on freshwater ecosystems. This project, led by Drs. Jason Laurich and Joey Bernhardt, tested how phytoplankton adapt when faced with multiple stressors at once. Findings showed that while these key species can handle some challenges, trade-offs appear to limit their ability to evolve and cope with several pressures at the same time. Collaborators on this project include the Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science & Technology.
To what extent can host-microbiome interactions mediate abiotic stress tolerance in phytoplankton?
Status: Ongoing
Human-driven stressors are putting pressure on many species, but genetic variation may help them evolve traits that make them more tolerant. The accelerating pace of global change, however, presents a unique challenge to evolutionary responses; if aquatic environments are shifting more rapidly than
species can respond through adaptive evolution, the survival of critical species
may be at risk. In this project, Dr. Jason Laurich is running large-scale lab experiments to see how algal microbiomes affect phytoplankton’s ability to handle nutrient shortages, heat, and salt stress.
