Wetland responses to habitat enhancements and regulated hydrology in the Upper St. Lawrence River

Session: Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands: Innovative Research to Improve Restoration (3)

John Farrell, SUNY-ESF, [email protected]
John Paul Leblanc, McMaster University, [email protected]
Jessica Goretzke, SUNY-ESF, [email protected]
Ericka Massa, SUNY College of Environmental and Forestry, [email protected]
Zi Xun Kua, SUNY-ESF, [email protected]
Ceili Pestalozzi, SUNY College of Environmental and Forestry, [email protected]

Abstract

Wetland research in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River at ESF began in the 1970s with a series of broad studies examining winter shipping and later expanded from a fisheries focus to include nearshore and wetland aquatic vegetation, limnology and faunal linkages.  The research ranges from long-term studies on migratory predator fish and their reproductive biology to recent studies on wetland biogeochemistry and lower trophic levels at coastal wetlands as part of enhancement projects.  Through these studies, the influence of water level fluctuations and the effects of invasive species are major investigative themes in a growing body of research around this complex ecosystem.  Regulators have changed the policy that guides management of water discharge of the upper St. Lawrence, affecting levels and flows of an entire Great Lake and River. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight pertinent research and monitoring findings to better understand wetland ecology and enhancement under influence of regulated hydrology and a changing climate.