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The Dawn of a New Era for the Experimental Lakes Area

2015; Wiley; Volume: 24; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/lob.10053

1539-6088

Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Paul C. Frost,

Water Quality and Pollution Assessment

Nestled deep into the woods and kilometers away from any human presence, the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) remains isolated from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This collection of 58 small lakes and their watersheds is well-known for its whole-lake experiments and long-term studies and remains an oasis-iconic, wild, and surreal. Due to its rich scientific legacy, this outdoor laboratory holds a special place in the hearts of many limnologists and ecosystem ecologists worldwide. Those of us who have lived and worked at the ELA know its inherent scientific value and carry with us fond memories of our time spent there. Many friendships started at the ELA during a coffee break or by the campfire and often these led to fruitful scientific discussions and novel collaborative research. And more often than not, this research contributed missing information needed to forge better environmental policies. Beyond its contributions to environmental policy, ELA has made a lasting scientific legacy (e.g., Fig. 1) as evidenced by over 1000 scientific papers and close to 200 Masters and PhD theses completed over the past 45 yr. The rich mixture of science, a close-knit community of researchers and a magical location continues to place the ELA as one of the World's foremost limnological field sites. A brief pictorial of ELA's scientific legacy. (A) David W. Schindler on the shore of Lake 132 in 1968; Schindler directed ELA until 1989 (Photo: ELA Archives). (B) Addition of radium into Lake 227 in 1970. Cecil Plunkett from Atomic Energy Canada is breaking an ampule of radium into the white drum of lake water while Steve Emerson (lower left), David Schindler (in boat), Wally Broecker (white T-shirt) and Gregg Brunskill look on (Photo: John Shearer). (C) Lake 226 after addition of phosphorus in the lower basin in 1976 (Photo: ELA Archives). (D) Forest fire on the banks of Lake 240 in 1980 while ELA students and staff look on (Photo: John Shearer). This forest fire led to many catchment changes which were measured in the lake and when coupled with the long-term ELA monitoring program were subject to several influential scientific papers. (E) Sampling rainbow trout in 2003 from the experimental aquaculture cages in Lake 375 (Photo: ELA Archives). (F) Airplane spraying mercury stable isotopes on the catchment of Lake 658. Mercury additions occurred from 2000 to 2007 but scientists are still monitoring their persistence in the environment (Photo: Vincent St. Louis). It remains hard to believe that the future of such a scientific sanctuary was threatened with closure. In 2012, the Canadian federal government, which managed and funded the ELA, decided to end their involvement with the field site. This led to a spirited defense of the ELA and calls to save it by scientists around the world (see e.g., Orihel et al. 2013; Fig. 2). Fast forward past many sleepless nights, petitions, letters to politicians, protests, smuggled journalists without authorization, public engagement, a playwright's peaked interest, countless hours of phone calls, websites, and twitter updates to a financial lifeline provided by the Government of Ontario and the willingness of an NGO—the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)—to assume responsibility for the ELA. In April 2014, IISD, the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada signed a number of agreements to ensure that ELA remains open and operational. The ELA has been saved from outright closure and its operations have continued. ELA during more turbulent times. (A) A protest on Canada's Parliament Hill where scientists in their laboratory coats carried a coffin epitomizing the death of evidence. (B) From the Save ELA campaign. (C) The save ELA turmoil depicted through the lens of theater in a play, The Watershed, by playwright Annabel Soutar and Director Chris Abraham. The World Premiere of The Watershed was in July 2015. Now formally called IISD-ELA, the emerging objective for this facility is to maintain its position as one of the world's most influential freshwater research sites. Because of its location in a largely untouched and pristine landscape, IISD-ELA continues to be one of the few places in the world where an entire ecosystem can be manipulated in the absence of overt confounding variables (e.g., human disturbance in the watershed). While its near future appears bright, many challenges remain for the IISD-ELA and there is a continuing need for support from the international scientific community. The IISD-ELA is open for business and its ecosystem science continues. The IISD-ELA is located ~100 km outside of a small town, Kenora, in northwestern Ontario, Canada. The field station includes excellent facilities that provide lodging, food, and laboratory space for resident scientists. Specifically, the research station has accommodations and laboratories for up to 60 personnel, a woodworking and metalworking workshop, access to boats and outboard motors, canoes, All-Terrain-Vehicles and snowmobiles for winter sampling. The laboratory facilities include a water chemistry laboratory, a trace metals clean room, a fish processing laboratory, and many smaller laboratories for resident scientists. During the summer, there is a cook during the week and a fully equipped kitchen. Although off the grid, most electrical operations are fueled by a large diesel generator. Largely through whole-ecosystem experiments and long-term monitoring, the IISD-ELA has provided science needed to address a range of environmental problems. In total, over 50 whole ecosystem experiments have been completed at ELA since its founding in 1968. These have included three main types of large-scale experiments: (1) additions of nutrients, metals, isotopes, or novel contaminants, (2) physical alterations of the catchment, shoreline, and water levels, and (3) manipulations of food webs. ELA is probably most famous for its eutrophication studies. A whole ecosystem eutrophication study of Lake 227 originally aimed to understand the origins of harmful algal blooms continues today and is in its 47th year. Other past experiments include effects of lake acidification, reservoir creation to understand greenhouse gases and mercury cycling, atmospheric deposition of mercury to simulate deposition from coal-fired plants and to better track its fate and toxicity, flooding of an upland forest, macrophyte removal, environmental effects of aquaculture, and impacts of synthetic hormones on fish. Many of these experiments sought to address real-world problems with the goal of providing advice to policy-makers and industry in Canada and globally. In its more recent history, however, ELA's core purpose sometimes poorly matched the mandate of its primary governing department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This led to more emphasis on research that was linked to protecting fish populations and their habitat and, to an extent, less focus on many other outstanding freshwater issues such as water quality. Beyond its facilities and capacity for whole-lake experiments, ELA continues its long-term monitoring of several reference lakes and their watersheds. ELA has one of the longest and most complete sets of data on hydrology, lake physicochemistry and food web properties. In all, several reference lakes have been monitored (at a frequent interval) for common water quality variables as well as phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish for nearly 50 yr. A set of calibrated catchments and a fully equipped meteorological station provide additional information on ambient environmental conditions and mass-balance inputs. Across these lakes and their watersheds, there have been countless smaller scale experiments (e.g., mesocosms and bioassays) that nicely couple with on-going monitoring and whole-ecosystem studies. Altogether, these data are especially valuable to new researchers to ELA as they provide much needed background and context to planned studies. In addition, these monitoring activities are integral to current and future whole-ecosystem experiments as they capture natural variability in unmanipulated, natural lakes for most limnological variables. Moving forward, IISD-ELA welcomes input from the international community and is seeking new proposals for future studies and experimentation. Before starting, all new experiments must follow a well-defined approval process. This process includes review by a Research Advisory Board, which is composed of scientists from academia and regulatory agencies. These checks and balances ensure that no excessive harm is done to the environment and any proposed large-scale manipulation is scientifically justified. The IISD-ELA also relies on advice and input from a Board of Governors that comprises members of the First Nations and business communities. Today there are a handful of whole ecosystem experiments in progress. Based out of Trent University, we are spearheading a whole lake addition of nanosilver, a novel antimicrobial agent, into Lake 222 to better understand its fate and toxicity. Nanosilver is found in hundreds of products to fight bacteria, including clothing and food wrappers but its use is not yet regulated by governmental agencies. Following 2 yr of preaddition monitoring, we began adding nanosilver into Lake 222 last year and are currently in our second year of addition. Our preliminary results suggest an attenuated response of nanosilver on lake food webs unlike what was predicted by smaller scale and bench top experiments. Our experimentation thus demonstrates, once again, the value of whole ecosystem research. Another manipulation currently on-going since 2008 is a diversion of a stream away from a lake to simulate long-term drought conditions. A number of past projects are in recovery phase and continue being monitored today. This includes a whole lake and catchment addition of mercury isotopes that ended in 2007. ELA has a long history of providing a solid training environment for graduate and undergraduates who have worked on large scale projects and/or conducted independent research at the facility. At the ELA, students learn limnology experientially and are exposed to field techniques, rigorous ecosystem science and integrated approaches to understanding and addressing global freshwater issues. At the same time, students live an incomparable “ELA experience” while supported by the scientific community that is there (Fig. 3). Our own training started at the ELA as PhD students in the late 1990s and we remember well learning limnology through first-hand experience and the connections we made with ELA scientists, visiting academics and other graduate students. Community outreach and education continues to be of paramount importance to the IISD-ELA, which hopes to expand its offering for field course programs and opportunities for graduate level research at the facility. The ELA experience. (A) Aerial view of Lakes 979 (front), 240 (middle), and 239 (far) depicting the boreal forest in an untouched landscape. (B) Trent University graduate students using one of the many portages to access a remote lake. (C) Graduate students installing rock bags in Lake 222. D) The swimming beach on Lake 240. (E) One of the boats available for use at the ELA. It is not uncommon to drive a boat on several lakes and hike across a few portages before getting to the target lake. (F) Available laboratory space to resident scientists. (G) Adding nanosilver to a mesocosm on Lake 239. (H) and (I) The authors in 1998 taking a break from their PhD research for fishing and canoeing on nearby lakes. To maintain the integrity of the fish database, recreational angling is not permitted on designated ELA lakes. (J) The authors in 2012 when they returned to ELA as Professors with their children to help set up the whole lake nanosilver addition in Lake 222. As the IISD-ELA finishes its transition from governmental program to noncharitable status and international field station, the IISD aims to strengthen ELA's scientific foundation. The mandate for IISD-ELA is to bring an “independent, evidence-based approach to the development of policy recommendations.” The commitment made by the IISD is not only to continue building on ELA's scientific legacy but also to expand its scientific and youth mentoring activities. As stated in their mandate “this will include IISD-ELA-initiated, ecosystem-based science, collaboration and partnerships with outside researchers and universities, externally led investigation, and educational activities that promote and build capacity for freshwater science and policy action in Canada and around the world. A combined IISD and ELA offers the opportunity to strengthen efforts to address global freshwater issues by directly applying world-class scientific research to create innovative policy solutions for regional and global water management.” It is clear that the IISD-ELA is no longer constrained by the Canadian Government's previous focus on freshwater fisheries and the new ELA is striving to address persistent and emerging water issues related to sustainable development including contaminant stress, global change, and altered food webs. The transfer to the IISD thus opens many doors and an endless possibility of novel and fundamental limnological research. In many respects, the “new” ELA is better positioned to promote and build capacity for informing freshwater and ecosystem policy around the world through best science practices. But don't take our word for it. You will have to see that for yourself. For more information go to: http://www.iisd.org/ela Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada, mxenopoulos@trentu.ca Paul C. Frost, Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada, paulfrost@trentu.ca