Measuring the Impact of Plastics on Fresh Water
The impact of plastics on aquatic systems is big news and of major concern these days.
Microplastics (or plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm) have also been acknowledged as a truly ubiquitous contaminant in recent years. Studies demonstrating the presence of microplastics in freshwater rivers, lakes and in atmospheric deposition have shown that microplastics don’t just affect oceans, and therefore need to be researched in freshwater environments.
The impact of plastics on aquatic systems is big news and of major concern these days.
In 2019, researchers are monitoring a remote lake (Lake 378) for microplastics—all with the ultimate goal of manipulating a lake in a few years to discover how the lake and its inhabitants respond to microplastics.
Click here to read a short blog post about the threat that microplastics pose to our environment.
This research project is led by researchers from the University of Toronto, Lakehead University and Queen’s University.
Building the Sustainability of Wild Rice as a Food Source
Exploring the Impact of Cleaners on the Health of Fresh Water
Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms
The longest-running experiment at IISD Experimental Lakes Area has involved adding phosphorus and nitrogen to a lake since 1968 to study nutrient contributions to algal blooms.
Researching the effects of nutrients on algal blooms and phytoplankton in lakes was the reason that the research site was founded back in 1968. It found that phosphorus is the main factor in algal growth.
Since 1990, no nitrogen has been added to this lake (Lake 227), but we have continued to add phosphorus. Despite the absence of artificial nitrogen inputs, algal blooms have not diminished. This and other studies have demonstrated that phosphorus control is highly important to limit algal blooms.
This research project has also supported multiple studies on nutrient and contaminant cycling. For example, in 2017 we started a research project to explore the potential role of iron in affecting harmful algal blooms.
In 2019, we also started intentionally eutrophying two lakes (a process that will take about two years) so we can determine the necessary preconditions for harmful algal blooms—all with the ultimate goal of targeting one factor per lake to reduce and prevent these blooms from occurring.
This research has been developed and carried out in collaboration with multiple researchers across Canada including the universities of Waterloo, York, Wilfrid Laurier, Toronto, and New Brunswick.
Discovering What Oil Spills Do to Fresh Water
Groundbreaking new research into the impacts of diluted bitumen on fresh water systems.
North America has the largest network of energy pipelines in the world, and unfortunately periodic oil spills from pipelines do occur.
Even so, leading and authoritative sources, such as the Royal Society of Canada and the National Academy of Sciences, have identified gaps in our knowledge regarding the impacts of oil spills on freshwater systems.
Given the current situation, a groundbreaking project is taking place at IISD-ELA that will enhance our understanding of what happens when oil enters freshwater systems.
There are three stages of this research.
First, a pilot study using three small (2-m diameter) land-based microcosms has already been completed to examine the chemical and physical behaviour of dilbit in fresh water.
Oil is a complex mixture of chemicals whose nature changes with time in the environment. These changes can affect how easily it can be cleaned up (for example, does the oil remain floating or sink?) and its potential toxicity to freshwater wildlife. This early-stage study provided important preliminary information regarding these changes in fresh water that will help to guide the later phases of the research, which will begin in 2018.
A pilot study, using land-based microcosms has already been completed to examine the chemical and physical behavior of dilbit in freshwater.
The second stage is a field study. Researchers will use large enclosures (10-m diameter) placed in a lake to examine how diluted bitumen reacts in fresh water over longer periods of time. Researchers will also be directly testing changes in the oil’s toxicity to freshwater bugs, fish and amphibians.
The information from these first two studies will guide a third study, where researchers will examine the most effective methods of cleaning spilled oil from shorelines. Again, only small, contained model spills in an IISD-ELA lake will be used. This study will focus on the shoreline, which is most sensitive to oil and presents the biggest difficulty in terms of cleanup efforts.
Researchers will also explore the effectiveness of oil-spills remediation (clean-up) techniques in a study conducted on the shoreline of an IISD-ELA lake.
You can read more about this research into diluted bitumen and fresh water in this blog post.
In 2019, PBS’ Great Lakes Now show visited the site, and featured our research on oil spills in an episode of their show, ‘Polluting With Purpose,’ and developed an excellent lesson plan, including a simulation of the experiment, for grades 5-8.
Several studies are currently being pursued at the IISD-ELA to address public and regulatory concerns regarding potential environmental effects of oil spills and uncertainty regarding the best cleanup methods following a spill, especially for freshwater environments. One study, led by Drs. Jules Blais (University of Ottawa), Mark Hanson (University of Manitoba) and Diane Orihel (Queen’s University) will examine the ecological impacts of contained diluted bitumen model spills in a freshwater boreal lake. A companion study, led by Dr. Vince Palace (IISD-ELA) will compare the effectiveness of different methods for cleaning spilled oil from shorelines. Both studies are part of a large multidisciplinary program that includes participation from governments (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Ontario Municipal Employees Coordinating Committee, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry), regulators (National Energy Board), academic partners (universities of Manitoba, Ottawa, Queen’s, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Calgary, Saskatchewan, McGill) and industry (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Energy Pipelines Association). For more information, please contact Sumeep Bath at [email protected]
The Impact of Tires on Freshwater Fish
Exploring How Selecting Lake Trout for Their Size Could Affect Their Evolution
Many governments around the world regulate the size (and number) of fish that can be harvested from fisheries, in order to protect populations and spawning stocks.
We call this practice “size-based management.”
Over the next 30 years, we are going to explore how size-based management of lake trout—commonly harvested in Canadian fisheries—could actually be affecting how they evolve.
Is regulating the size of fish harvesting actually resulting in smaller fish?
What impact does that have on the fish populations as a whole?
And what role is climate change playing?
Starting in 2018, we have been scouting IISD Experimental Lakes Area for suitable lakes and have been making multiple preparations for this long-term study.
This research project involves the participation of multiple partners from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the University of Toronto, the University of St. Andrews (UK), Lakehead University, Trent University and the University of Manitoba.
Tackling the Cause of Acid Rain
In the 1970s and 1980s, fish populations in hundreds of thousands of lakes in eastern North America and northern Europe were deteriorating.
While scientists speculated that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen emissions from coal-fired power plants were responsible, there was inadequate evidence to support this hypothesis. Whole-lake experiments at the IISD-ELA proved that acid rain, mimicked through the addition of sulfuric acid to lakes, resulted in dramatic impacts on lake food webs, including the collapse of fish populations. Changes were observed at acid concentrations much lower than those shown to be directly toxic to fish in laboratory studies. The findings strongly influenced emission control restrictions in the United States and Canada.
Diverting Lakes to Mimic Climate Change
In 2008, an experiment began in which scientists reduced water flowing into a lake to mimic drier conditions expected in the Canadian Boreal Shield due to climate change.
Climate change across the Canadian Boreal Shield region may bring reductions in precipitation and runoff to its numerous lakes. In addition, many industrial developments divert water away from rivers and lakes.
To examine the effects of changes in water flows on lake ecology, IISD-ELA researchers artificially diverted inflowing water to a typical Boreal Shield lake. Results from this experiment are expected to provide new insight into how Shield lakes, and its resident organisms, will respond to a drying climate and industrial diversions.
One of the unique aspects of this work is our ability to observe the behaviour of lake trout in great detail, using implanted radio-transmitters and novel acoustic techniques.
2016 was the last year of intensive monitoring for this experiment, with reduced sampling in 2017.
View a video on climate change research at the IISD-ELA here and read a feature piece on history and findings of the Lake 626 Diversion project here.
Click here to download this infographic of the Lake 626 Diversion project.
This experiment includes participation by Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO), Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC), University of Toronto, Milne Technologies, and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF).
Discovering the Impacts of Antidepressants on our Lakes
Antidepressants are a lifeline for millions of people across North America and the world. And as COVID-19 measures have taken their toll, it seems like prescriptions are growing.
Over the last two decades, an increasing number of studies have confirmed the widespread presence of pharmaceutical compounds, including those found in antidepressants, in aquatic environments.
While laboratory studies have revealed some of the possible impacts of these compounds (such as behavioural changes in fish who have demonstrated slower response times), our understanding of the fate, behaviour, and effects of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems is still limited.
That is why, in 2021, after preparatory small-scale experiments, we are exploring what happens when venlafaxine, a commonly prescribed anti-depressant, is introduced into freshwater environments.
Our research aims to discover everything from how the compounds bioaccumulate at different levels of the food web to the overall impacts on fish populations.
You can learn more about this research into antidepressants in this short blog post.
This research is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan with funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.