Session Organizer: David L. G. Noakes
Date: January 4, 1:20 pm - January 5, 9:50 am
Location: Salon H

Summary Information:

In this Special Session we review and summarize the contributions that Miles has made to fisheries research in Canada during his career. Miles began as a protégé of Bill Hoar at the University of British Columbia. He was one of the first to study in the emerging field of ethology in Europe. His doctoral thesis on the schooling behaviour of fishes brought remarkable clarity and rigorous experimental testing of hypotheses that were enduring characteristics throughout his career. He brought that experience, and scientific approach to the study of behaviour, ecology and fisheries management in Canada. With Fisheries and Oceans in New Brunswick he pioneered underwater observations of fish behaviour, including the disruptive effects of pesticides on behaviour and conservation. His faculty career at the University of Western Ontario focused on Centrarchids and Cichlids, but with detailed studies on species as diverse as sticklebacks, mudminnows, darters and coral reef fishes. His landmark volumes on diversity of behaviour in fishes, and the behaviour of cichlid fishes remain as current as ever as the standards for scientific quality. It is a personal pleasure and privilege to bring this Special Session to Miles at his home institution in his home city.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizer: Yolanda E. Morbey
Date/Time: January 4, 1:20 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Salon G

Summary Information:

This symposium will showcase the research programs of early- to mid-career women engaged in aquatic ecology and conservation research in Canada. Too often, women face barriers in transitioning from higher education into tenured research positions at universities. We are encouraged to pursue careers we like and choose – but not to be too ambitious or successful. The contributors in this session represent some of those who didn’t “leak out of the pipeline” and have continued to make significant contributions to aquatic ecology, conservation, and fisheries research.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizer: Diane Orihel, Jules Blais
Date/Time: January 6, 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: Salon F

Summary Information:

Canada’s oil sands constitute the third largest known oil reserve in the world: covering an area of 142,200 km², these deposits contain an estimated 168 billion barrels of crude oil. The rapid expansion of oil sands development in northern Alberta over the last few decades has been one of the most publicized environmental issues in Canada. Government policies and regulations have struggled to keep pace with development, creating serious challenges in managing the environmental, social and economic impacts of this industry. In particular, serious concerns have grown over the potential adverse impacts of oil sands development on water quality and quantity. Furthermore, the transport of oil sands products, particularly diluted bitumen, by train or pipeline poses risks to aquatic ecosystems due to potential spills. In this special session, we invite presentations that will advance our understanding of the impacts of unconventional oil production and transport on freshwater ecosystems, as well as presentations that will discuss mitigation strategies to reduce these impacts.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizers: Nick Jones, Stephanie Melles
Date: January 5, 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: Salon E

Summary Information:

Watersheds are composed of hierarchically nested branched directional networks that present challenges in studying their function and variation at different spatial scales. Likewise, resource managers face an overwhelming complexity of information that requires understandable solutions. This symposium will focus on understanding processes across scales and types of streams to reduce complexity and provide tools for research and management.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizers: Christine L. Madliger, Graham D. Raby, Steven J. Cooke
Date: January 5, 1:20 pm – January 6, 11:40 am
Location: Salon G

Summary Information:

The management of fisheries can benefit from a mechanistic understanding of the effects of stressors on individual fishes, populations, and ecosystem functioning. The field of conservation physiology involves a diverse set of tools that can link individual performance to population dynamics, provide information on sex and reproductive status, offer insight into adaptive potential, and assess and compare stocking and restoration strategies. This session will showcase how research using a variety of physiological techniques and traits (e.g., respiratory physiology, transcriptomics, genetics, stress physiology) can help determine vulnerability to stressors, local adaptation, drivers of fish distribution and abundance, and how to better contain invasive species. Most importantly, we will explore how investigating the mechanisms underlying behaviour, performance, and fitness through the collection of physiological data could help policymakers ensure fish and fish habitat are managed sustainably.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizer: Paul Bentzen, Ian Bradbury, Daniel Heath
Date/Time:  January 4, 3:20 pm - January 5, 12:00 pm
Location: Salon G

Full details can be found here.

Session Chairs: Dr. Brian F. Cumming and Ms. Cécilia Barouillet
Date: January 4, 1:20 pm – January 5, 11:40 am
Location: Salon F 

Summary Information:

Regional climate change is an important stressor on most aquatic ecosystems, influencing their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Studying the effect of climate change on aquatic ecosystems is particularly important for the implementation of successful mitigation and adaptation strategies, and to better predict future ecological trajectories. However, in a multi-stressor era soon to become the Anthropocene, it is often difficult to disentangle the effect of climate change from other anthropogenic stressors, as well as identify the mechanisms responsible for climate-induced changes in aquatic systems. In this session, we invite presenters to share the innovative techniques and study design they use to disentangle climate impacts from localized stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, presentations will highlight the value of long-term observations at local, regional, and global scales.

Full details can be found here.

Session Organizer: Jerome Marty, Mohamed Mohamed
Date/Time:  January 4, 1:20 pm – 5:00 pm & January 5, 11:00 am– 3:00 pm
Location: Salon E

Summary Information:

Aquatic ecosystems are recognized as hotspots for ecosystem processes supported by a remarkable diverse set of species. Depending on land use and characteristics of the watersheds, loadings from terrestrial sources as carbon, nutrients and contaminants have contributed or altered the structure and function of freshwater ecosystems. Presentations in this session will explore the linkages between terrestrial and aquatic environments influencing the functioning of freshwater ecosystems.

This is an open session. Full details can be found here.