There are very few places on earth like IISD Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA). It’s a one-of-a-kind research facility. However, having worked at a number of research locations, I have learned that field research at IISD-ELA shares some familiar scenarios with other field work I have been a part of. Working on lakes, with live fish, and in varying weather conditions is all part of the job, but it also definitely sets the scene for some challenges and hilarious anecdotes. And as a resident Fisheries Research Biologist at IISD-ELA, who better to reveal five things you never knew about aquatic field work…

 

1.   There are many, many, many bugs

It’s true that residents of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are no strangers to bugs. But when it comes to working outdoors all day, their pestering is certainly amplified. To all of those Winnipeg folks in business attire, complaining about being bitten by a mosquito or two on their leisurely 10-minute walk from building to building, you haven’t seen a thing!

 

Working in the field means there is no escape from the bugs: black flies, mosquitoes, horse flies, no-see-ums. It’s amazing how abundant these little guys can get. These biting flies live off animal blood, so they have evolved to locate us by sensing the carbon dioxide we expire. They also particularly like dark clothing and warmth. This means that when IISD-ELA researchers, such as myself, are working out in the field, we are often bombarded by flies swarming our work stations. Often, this is just a matter of annoyance rather than something affecting our scientific research. However, we have learned to evade the little pests by wearing long sleeve, light-coloured clothing, and by often wearing incredibly fashionable bug hats and jackets.

 

IISD-ELA is home to many of these bugs. Black flies are the first to emerge in mid-May and stick around until late June. Mosquitos begin to emerge not long after the black flies. Often they will emerge in late May or early June and persist for much longer into the summer. As is the case with black flies, female mosquitos are the ones that bite. Surprisingly, they’re not trying to be annoying, they actually use blood meal to develop their eggs and need several meals to fully develop them. Horse flies and stable flies are less abundant at IISD-ELA, but are certainly still around and can give a fierce bite, making their presence known. These little gems are found around the warmest months, usually July and August and disappear by late August. Usually, I dislike wearing bug deterrents, but around this time of the year, I can certainly find a compromise.

2.   It can get very cold

IISD-ELA is functional all year round. Being located in northwestern Ontario, the field station is also subject to true Canadian winters. This means that as a field biologist at IISD-ELA, I, like many others, most certainly cannot escape working in all sorts of weather conditions. I have worked in conditions as hot as +30°C and as cold as -30°C, and I can tell you, for a fact, neither are particularly comfortable.

In early September, I’m often thrilled that finally, those pesky bugs are gone! Then I pull my hands out of the cold water and feel the wind blowing its cool air my way, and say to myself, “maybe, just maybe, I should have worn more layers”. If you work in aquatic science it’s inevitable that your hands will get immersed in cold water at some point. And you will try and stave off that cold by wearing more layers; you could look like the Michelin Man, and still be trying to sneak on that sixteenth layer.

But does it work? In fact, wearing extra layers does help extremities stay warm, to a certain degree. When we’re warm, our core readily sends blood to our hands and feet. However, when we’re cold, blood remains at our core as a defense mechanism to ensure that our essential core organs remain at 37°C (if our core temperature drops below 35°C, we could be at risk of hypothermia). By wearing extra layers, you can convince your core that you have enough heat, which will encourage more blood to flow to your extremities. So if you’re in the field and find your hands and feet are getting colder and colder, go ahead and sneak on those extra layers.

 

3.   It’s wet 

Well, we do work at IISD Experimental Lakes Area, and we do work in all seasons, so it comes as no surprise that we can sometimes get pretty wet. I have worked many field days in the rain. In fact, this past year alone, I tracked 23 field occasions in my records during which my team and I worked in varying rainy conditions.

On May 31, 2016, pictured above, the Fish Crew was checking trap nets to mark fish to later estimate their populations. We were also performing surgeries to implant lake trout and white sucker with tags that help us track where they go in the lake. On that day alone, it rained 17 mm; who knows over the years how many water droplets my raincoat has seen! Almost every day, we wear rain gear to help us keep dry: rain coat, rain pants, rain boots, even rain gloves. We even record our data in field notebooks that have a waxy coating to withstand the rain and lake water. We are often fully prepared for working in wet conditions, and on occasion, this means eating lunch under an impromptu tent.

There is an old wives’ tale that says that fishing is better during or after a rainfall, because fish and their food tend to come to the surface when it rains. In fact, a quick analysis of our data from 2013-2016 suggests that there is no relationship between rainfall and fish catches by angling (R=0.04, p=0.73 for those science folks), at least not at IISD-ELA. While this is reassuring to the fisherman that isn’t getting the bites, it doesn’t necessarily make me feel better about collecting data in the rain. Nevertheless, the next time you’re out fishing in the rain, you can feel better about packing up and heading home early for a nice hot chocolate and a warm, cozy fire.

 

4.   Fish and technology don’t always respect your schedule 

As a fish populations biologist, I need to be in the field when fish are spawning so I can more easily capture and mark them. That said, I have found over the past few years that fish in the lakes I am studying certainly do not have respect for my schedule. For the most part, they like to spawn at the exact same time across all 10 lakes (and particularly enjoy waiting until a long weekend to do so).

White suckers spawn in the spring, usually around the end of May when surface temperatures are around 14°C. While they are already a warm water fish species, they like to move closer to shore to find warmer, shallow waters with gravel and cobblestone ground to lay their eggs. Lake trout, on the other hand, wait until late fall to reproduce. They look for changes in photoperiod (the time of day during which the animal is exposed to light) and temperatures to signal that it’s time to spawn. Specifically, they prefer temperatures around 12°C, but will begin canvassing for interest before this time.

Likewise, flaws in technology and equipment also tend to arise at the wrong time. I’ve spent many days yelling at temperature loggers that have erased my data and at motors that just won’t start. Often I find it’s a simple fix that takes me an hour to figure out (I once spent 20 minutes trying to start a motor with the emergency stop switch engaged), nevertheless, it’s certainly a nuisance. Having a supply of extra rope, cable ties, elastics, electrical tape and a Leatherman in your backpack can often be a drastic time-saver in the field when battling disobedient technology and equipment.

 

5.   In my humble opinion, working in aquatic science is, by far, the best job in the world

Despite the inconveniences detailed here, working as an aquatic field researcher at IISD Experimental Lakes Area has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. In addition to the astonishing work done at IISD-ELA, and the incredible people I work with, on a daily basis, I also get to experience some of the most beautiful landscapes and vistas that Canada has to offer.

 

There have been many mornings where I have found myself driving a small Jon Boat across a long, calm lake, bordered by beautiful spruce and pine trees. I look up to see a brightly coloured sky as the sun rises and think to myself “I can’t believe I work in such a breathtakingly beautiful place.”