Research

With 58 lakes reserved for scientific purposes, the IISD Experimental Lakes Area provides researchers with living laboratories and access to untapped research potential.

This unique structure allows IISD-ELA researchers to work with governments, industry and other academic scientists to identify and study new and emerging concerns before they become large-scale environmental problems.

Recent Project Updates

Woman stands in yellow field with the sun shining from the background

Current Research | Apr 28, 2020

Discovering Indicators of Fish Productivity

We are discovering more about the link between the different features of fish habitats and fish productivity.

Current Research | Oct 29, 2019

Exploring How Selecting Lake Trout for Their Size Could Affect Their Evolution

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?

Current Research, Research | Apr 16, 2019

Learning What a Common Diabetes Drug Does to a Freshwater Lake

We are exploring what happens when metformin—a common anti-diabetic drug—and its metabolite are introduced into freshwater environments, and how they impact all levels of the food web, from plants to fish.

Current Research | Apr 16, 2019

Measuring the Impact of Microplastics on Fresh Water

The impact of plastics on aquatic systems is big news and of major concern these days. In 2019, researchers are monitoring a remote lake for microplastics—all with the ultimate goal of manipulating a lake in a few years to discover how lake and its inhabitants respond to microplastics.

Current Research | Dec 16, 2017

Understanding How Climate Change Affects Carbon Loading to Boreal Lakes

We want to understand how climate change affects carbon loading to boreal lakes, through long-term changes in precipitation and changes in the intensity and duration of storms.

Current Research | Dec 16, 2017

Measuring Impacts on Fish, Without Being an Impact

Researchers at IISD Experimental Lakes Area are exploring how we can use mucus to assess the health of fish populations—a measure that would not require sacrificing them.