Isotopic niche size of (sensu lato) Increases in the presence of , expanded habitat use and phenotypic diversity.

Post-glacial colonization of lakes in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada resulted in food webs with cisco ( sensu lato) and either or spp. as the dominant diel migrator. as prey, its diel movements and benthic occupancy, are hypothesized to be key elements of ecological opportunity for cisco diversity in the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Winter in water: differential responses and the maintenance of biodiversity.

The ecological consequences of winter in freshwater systems are an understudied but rapidly emerging research area. Here, we argue that winter periods of reduced temperature and light (and potentially oxygen and resources) could play an underappreciated role in mediating the coexistence of species. This may be especially true for temperate and subarctic lakes, where seasonal changes in the thermal environment might fundamentally structure species interactions.

Evolution and diversity of two cisco forms in an outlet of glacial Lake Algonquin.

The diversity of Laurentian Great Lakes ciscoes (, sensu lato) arose via repeated local adaptive divergence including deepwater ciscoes that are now extirpated or threatened. The form, or Blackfin Cisco, is extirpated from the Great Lakes and remains only in Lake Nipigon. Putative populations were recently discovered in sympatry with in a historical drainage system of glacial Lake Algonquin, the precursor of lakes Michigan and Huron.

Assessing the impacts of imperfect detection on estimates of diversity and community structure through multispecies occupancy modeling.

Detecting all species in a given survey is challenging, regardless of sampling effort. This issue, more commonly known as imperfect detection, can have negative impacts on data quality and interpretation, most notably leading to false absences for rare or difficult-to-detect species. It is important that this issue be addressed, as estimates of species richness are critical to many areas of ecological research and management.

Genetic mating system and mate selection in smallmouth bass.

Mating systems are an important factor influencing the variance in reproductive success among individuals within natural populations and thus have important ecological and evolutionary implications. We used molecular pedigree reconstruction techniques with microsatellite DNA data to characterize the genetic mating system and mate selection in adult smallmouth bass spawning in Lake Opeongo. The genetic mating system of smallmouth bass in this system can be characterized as predominantly monogamous with a low rate of polygynandry particularly among larger individuals.

A multi-scale comparison of trait linkages to environmental and spatial variables in fish communities across a large freshwater lake.

Species present in communities are affected by the prevailing environmental conditions, and the traits that these species display may be sensitive indicators of community responses to environmental change. However, interpretation of community responses may be confounded by environmental variation at different spatial scales. Using a hierarchical approach, we assessed the spatial and temporal variation of traits in coastal fish communities in Lake Huron over a 5-year time period (2001-2005) in response to biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

Breeding success of male brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the wild.

Competition for females generally results in some males adopting alternative reproductive tactics to acquire matings. For fish, the ecological and evolutionary consequences of these tactics are not well understood because of an inability to link directly the interactions of individuals on the breeding grounds with genetic data. This study combines behavioural observations with genetic estimates of male reproductive success within an intensively studied wild population of lacustrine brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).