U-Guelph to host international freshwater research conference June 6-10

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2016

Contacts at the University of Guelph:

Josef Ackerman
Professor, Dept. of Integrative Biology
(519) 824-4120 ext. 58268
16chair@iaglr.org

Paul Sibley
Professor, School of Environmental Sciences
(519) 824-4120 ext. 52707
16programchair@iaglr.org

Lori Bona Hunt
Director, News Service
519-824-4120, Ext. 53338,
lhunt@uoguelph.ca
@lbonahunt

Freshwater researchers from the Great Lakes region and around the world will convene at the University of Guelph June 6-10 for the 59th annual conference of the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR).

More than 600 participants will spend the week in Guelph, networking with colleagues and delivering more than 500 oral and poster presentations highlighting scientific findings in the areas of freshwater health and management.

“We look forward to welcoming some of the world’s top researchers to the University of Guelph for this premier conference,” notes Dr. Joe Ackerman, conference co-chair and U-Guelph faculty member. “Studying and protecting our water resources is of utmost importance today, as we face changing climates, invasive species, phosphorus loadings and other stressors on our lakes.”

Topics of special interest will include harmful algal blooms (HABs), an endemic and recurring problem in Lake Erie and other areas of the Great Lakes. Keynote speaker Dr. Alfred Wüest of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology will discuss HABs and the resulting oxygen-depleted deep waters, or hypoxia.

“How are the lakes (ecosystem) doing?” is a popular question asked by interested citizens, as well as scientists, resource managers and policymakers. Bill Dennison, vice president for science applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, will tackle this topic in his plenary presentation about developing scientifically based ‘report cards’ to gauge the health of a freshwater body or ecosystem.

Other themes include:

• Trophic and Food Web Dynamics
• Fisheries and Fisheries Management
• Physical Processes and Limnology
• Stressors in the Great Lakes
• Monitoring, Analysis and Modeling
• Watershed Case Studies
• Remote Sensing and Detection Techniques
• Integrative (Urban) Planning and Ecology
• Governance, Education and Outreach

The awards banquet will be held Thursday, June 9, 6-8 p.m. in Creelman Hall. IAGLR’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at this time, as well as various awards honoring young scientists and outstanding research contributions.

IAGLR is a scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Laurentian Great Lakes, other large lakes of the world, and their watersheds, as well as those with an interest in such research. IAGLR publishes multiple issues per year of the peer-reviewed Journal of Great Lakes Research. Membership in IAGLR includes a subscription to the Journal and a discount on registration fees for the annual conferences.

View the complete conference program at [url=http://iaglr.org/iaglr2016/program/]http://iaglr.org/iaglr2016/program/[/url]

Follow the conference hashtag on Twitter: #iaglr2016

Walk-in participants and media are welcome but must register onsite in Rozanski Hall (concourse area). A welcome reception to kick off the conference will be held Monday, June 6, 6-9 p.m. in the Science Complex Atrium.