Trophic ecology of walleye in the southern Grand River, Ontario

The purpose of this research is to better develop end points, related to the protection of the valued ecosystem components, in the southern Grand River watershed. We are examining the life cycle parameters of walleye, to better develop and interpret biomonitoring endpoints. This data set is collected for the project titled “Lake Futures: Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Lakes and Their Watersheds: Work Package 3". Lake Futures is a Pillar 3 project under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund. This researcher is co-supervised by Drs. Mark Servos and Rebecca Rooney.

The stable isotope signatures of walleye will be analyzed to compare food web structure, at different sites above and below the Dunnville dam, located in southern Grand River. The lengths and weights of walleye will be measured to compare the condition factor of walleye at different sites above and below the Dunnville dam. Walleye were caught in the southern Grand River at three sites using a boat electrofisher, and their lengths and weights were measured on shore using a ruler and a scale respectively. Muscle tissue samples for future stable isotope analysis were also collected on shore. Stable isotope signatures (that is delta15N and delta13C) will be measured using mass spectrometry at the University of Waterloo Environmental Isotope Lab.

Servos, M., Quinn-Austin, H., MacDougall, T., and Rooney, R. (2019). Trophic ecology of walleye in the southern Grand River, Ontario. Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN). Unpublished Data.

https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearchDOI.jsp?doi_id=13000