Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab

Anyone want to donate a boat to support training of the next generation of fisheries professionals and enable research on the status of management of freshwater fish populations such as bass, musky, pike, lake trout and walleye? Check out www.fecpl.ca to see the important and impactful research done by our team (over 50 studies per year - most of that work right here in Ontario!). Carleton University is able to issue tax receipts for donations! We are in need of a safe and re...liable boat with an electric trolling motor and livewell. We have some jon boats, an electrofishing boat, and a larger research vessel but are in need of another boat to support research this year on the effectiveness of the freshwater protected areas in eastern ON, habitat use of pike and muskie on the Rideau River near Ottawa, and to refine catch-and-release practices for walleye and bass (e.g. looking at different livewell additives to determine if they benefit or harm fish). I know this is a big ask but we work hard to raise $ to support our research and if there is a generous conservation-minded donor willing to help us I would rather spend our research $ on student support than on a boat! Thanks for considering this request... Professor Steven Cooke, Carleton University. See more

Always fun when your 5 year old kiddo ends up on the homepage for your university for assisting you with your Nserc Canada research! Nice work young Ben. And nice fish. www.carleton.ca Carleton University (Official) Carleton University Faculty of Science Nserc Canada

One might think that inclusion on the 2020 Web of Science Group’s Highly Cited Researchers list and holding the top spot on Google Scholar in fish ecology resea...rch are signs of scientific success. But to Steven Cooke, a professor in Carleton University’s Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, this is only one measure of success, and a bittersweet one at that. Find the full story at https://lnkd.in/gWy3vzp and stay up to date with the latest in research from Cooke Lab at Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab!

Freshwater fishes continue to be forgotten... We are losing freshwater fish biodiversity before we can even document it. It is time for real action to better value freshwater fish and to restore their habitats and populations. That is one of the focal areas for the applied research we do in our lab. Check out this new WWF report which is a stunning summary of the state of freshwater fish populations around the globe.

The latest from our team... Work on the Whitehorse Fish Ladder on the Yukon River by Nserc Canada Carleton University Faculty of Science PhD student Will Twardek with Nick Lapointe from Canadian Wildlife Federation and MANY local Indigenous and other government partners.

I am speaking about catch and release issues related to black bass tonight at 8pm EST via the Door County Library in Wisconsin. Free link here: https://doorcountylibrary.org/fish_tales_bass

Great summary of our Giant Trevally project and the amazing collaboration needed to pull it off (and hard to believe we launched it 2 years ago!). Stay tuned f...or more. Steven Cooke Luke GriffinBonefish & Tarpon Trust Alphonse Fishing Company Blue Safari Seychelles ICS Seychelles Seychelles' Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust

It is true that in some systems fish are getting tougher to catch. Despite new technology and ever-evolving angler skill, catch rates have not really accelerated like one might assume. There is good scientific reason for this... some of which is summarized in this article. At the end of the article the author states that we just need to fish harder and fish smarter. Sure... But there is WAY more we need to do. The fact that we (humans) have changed the catchability of bl...ack bass is a lesson to us that we need to adopt management strategies that don't just keep fish in the lake, but keep a diversity of bass genotypes and phenotypes. Through selective removal of the easy-to-catch bass (by harvest and release mortality and disruption of the best nesting male bass) we have made fishing tougher. We need to use management strategies that protect ALL bass in SOME areas. For example, protecting say 10% (we do not know the real % needed) of black bass habitat in a lake from ANY fishing has the potential to make fishing in the rest of the lake WAY better. It is time for more science on the use of fish sanctuaries for bass. By leaving a little bit of a lake alone we may make fishing way better AND ensure that we have the greatest range of genetic material available for future curve balls like climate change. https://www.outdoorlife.com//the-science-on-why-bass-are-/ See more

Did you know our lab is home to the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation (www.canadiancebc.com)? We conduct evidence syntheses (e.g., systematic literature reviews) to support decision making in environmental management. Our team is currently conducting a systematic map of the evidence on the topic of "Weaving Indigenous knowledge & Western science in terrestrial research, monitoring, & management in Canada" and is looking for your evidence and grey literature. See... post below for the types of documents we are looking for. Get in touch with our team if you have something to share! This systematic map is a follow-up study to two systematic maps done by the same team that focused on a) marine and coastal environments (freely available online https://environmentalevidencejournal.biomedcentral.com//s1) and b) freshwater ecosystems (in preparation for publication). This project is a partnership between Carleton University Faculty of Science, Environment and Climate Change, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, UBC Okanagan, Mount Allison University.

In partnership with the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, several of our team members braved the waters this spring to assess how reduced fishing activity during the bass spawning period influenced reproductive success of nesting male bass. We have a paper in review but CNN got wind of it so it is discussed here (near the end of the article) with quotes from out friend and colleague Dr. David Philipp. This work was done on lakes in eastern Ontario. https://www.cnn.com//pandemic-biodiversity-unit/index.html

Wondering what COVID-19 has meant for freshwater fish and biodiversity? I will be discussing at the St. Lawrence River Institute Annual River Symposium. Yes it is virtual so you can check it out online. Details below...