Latornell Conservation Symposium Webinar Series

Title: Monitoring and Tracking Changes in Natural Cover in the Lake Simcoe Watershed (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, Assistant Professor, Institute of Forestry and Conservation at the Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto  

Danijela Puric-Mladenovic is an assistant professor at the Institute of Forestry and Conservation at the Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto. Prior to academia, she worked with the Ontario government and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). She leads the Forests in Settled and Urban Landscapes program and lab, developing real-world solutions and tools that support strategic conservation and restoration in urban and peri-urban environments. She is a developer of monitoring protocols and leads research on strategic, multi-purpose monitoring in southern Ontario. She serves on the board of directors for Forest Gene Conservation and is a member of the Canadian Urban Forest Network Steering Committee and leads terrestrial monitoring research for the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. Danijela works closely with diverse stakeholders and groups, including academia, various government levels (municipal, provincial and federal), nongovernmental organizations and community groups. 

Abstract: The talk will provide an overview of achievements in monitoring, establishing baseline conditions and identifying indicators of natural cover in the Lake Simcoe watershed. VSP site-level monitoring has provided a foundation for assessing the quality of natural cover and tracking its changes over time. During the initial VSP monitoring, it became apparent that forest quality should be evaluated more specifically rather than treating forests as a single homogeneous class. This insight led not only to more detailed monitoring but also to the modeling and mapping of successional stages. Furthermore, plot data combined with remote sensing were used to model forest biomass, one of the key indicators, across the entire watershed. Since the establishment of the initial sampling, several prominent changes in natural cover have occurred, including ash tree loss and the proliferation of invasive species. Baseline information together with the next monitoring cycle will be essential for detecting changes and ensuring that the quality of natural cover, biodiversity and ecosystem functions is maintained, protected and enhanced.

Title: Invasive Species in Lake Simcoe: Status and Provincial Updates (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Francine MacDonald, Biodiversity and Invasive Species Section, Ministry of Natural Resources 

Francine MacDonald is a senior invasive species policy and program advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). She has nearly three decades of experience addressing invasive species and is a strong advocate for collaboration with governments, NGOs, industry and communities to develop policy and programs tackling species like phragmites and water soldier. She is happiest on the water kayaking and fishing and enjoying the Trent River, and at home with her family and two cats (who, thankfully, are too old to be interested in birds). 

Abstract: The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) will provide an update on prevention-focused initiatives, including the proposed renewal of the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan and the status of regulated species under the Invasive Species Act. Specific attention will be given to water soldier (Stratiotes aloides), including its detection history, current status in the Lake Simcoe watershed and ongoing monitoring and response efforts led by the inter-agency Water Soldier Working Group, along with brief mention of other invasive species of concern in Lake Simcoe. 

Title: Evolution of Subwatershed Planning in the Lake Simcoe Watershed (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Bill Thompson, Manager, Watershed Plans and Strategies, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) 

Bill Thompson has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Trent University and a master’s degree in botany from the University of Manitoba. He is the manager of Watershed Plans and Strategies at the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority where his team is responsible for the development and implementation of evidence-based watershed and climate action plans, translating ecological monitoring, modeling and research findings into strategic policy and adaptive management frameworks. 

Abstract: Subwatershed planning is an important tool in the adaptive management cycle as it represents an opportunity to synthesize data on the health of Lake Simcoe and use it to inform municipal land use planning and program development within the conservation authority. This presentation will provide an overview of how Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority’s subwatershed planning program has evolved over time, with particular focus on new programs developed to address stressors such as winter salt and new methods of delivering watershed planning information to key audiences. 

Title: Lake Simcoe Water Quality Update (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Brian Ginn, Limnologist, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

Brian Ginn is the limnologist with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) and is one of three certified lake managers in Canada. Since 2008, Brian has led the LSRCA monitoring program on Lake Simcoe, tracking changes in nearshore water quality, invasive species, algae, aquatic plants, and benthic invertebrates.  

Presenter: Claire Holeton, Scientist, Nutrient & Algal Monitoring, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Claire Holeton is an algal and nutrient monitoring scientist at the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. She supports the ministry’s monitoring and reporting on the state of Ontario’s environment. In addition to scientific support for programs that track long-term changes in lake health, she provides expertise to assessments of new tools for tracking blooms. 

Presenter: Joelle Young, Lake Simcoe Scientist, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Joelle Young is the Lake Simcoe Scientist with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks where she oversees the long-term monitoring program for Lake Simcoe’s water quality and lower food web and works in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, and academics on monitoring and research to better understand the lake ecosystem.  

Abstract: This talk will provide an overview of key water quality trends in Lake Simcoe up to 2024, touching on topics recently released in the 15-Year Lake Simcoe Monitoring Report. It will outline ways the lake has changed over the past 15 years and suggest important factors that may be driving these changes and shaping recent lake conditions. Lastly, it will highlight ways monitoring is adapting so we can better understand these changes.  

Title: An Update of the Lake Simcoe Fisheries Research and Assessment Programs (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Emily Cowie, Aquatic Research Biologist, Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section, Ministry of Natural Resources

Emily Cowie is a biologist with the Upper Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe Research Unit with the Ministry of Natural Resources and holds an MSc from Trent University. She has spent much of the past 10 years working with the ministry in fisheries research on inland lakes in Algonquin Park, the Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe as a technician working in the field and lab, as well as a biologist analyzing data.   

Presenter: Blair Wasylenko, Program Lead for Inland Lakes Monitoring, Ministry of Natural Resources

Blair Wasylenko has been with the Ministry of Natural Resources since 2002 starting out with the Student Experience program and has worked in various roles as a Wildlife technician, Fisheries technician, Fisheries Biologist, and an Aquatic Ecosystem Science Specialist. In his current role as the Program Lead for Inland Lakes Monitoring, he works with a diverse team of biologists, researchers, and technicians to deliver the provincial inland lakes monitoring program across the province, including Lake Simcoe.

Abstract: The MNR has a long-standing research and monitoring program on Lake Simcoe. This presentation provides an update on long-term trends of recreationally and ecologically important fish populations and the fisheries that utilize them. It will also highlight current research projects focusing on lake trout and lake whitefish movement, habitat use and behavior, as well as whitefish recruitment and prey availability.

Title: More Pipes, More Nitrate? Agricultural Intensification and Dormant Season Water Quality (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Catherine Eimers, Professor and Associate Director, School of the Environment, Trent University

Catherine Eimers is a professor and associate director in the School of the Environment at Trent University. Her research focuses on freshwater biogeochemistry, nutrient cycling, and the impacts of land use and climate shifts on watershed health. Her work integrates field monitoring, landscape-scale analysis and interdisciplinary collaboration to understand how changing land management practices such as tile drainage intensification shape water quality and stream flow patterns across temperate regions.  

Abstract: Agricultural intensification, especially the shift toward tile-drained corn and soybean production, has been associated with increasing nitrate concentrations in surface waters across southern Ontario. While tile drainage itself is not new, pipe density is rising in already drained fields and drainage networks are expanding into sloped, coarser-textured soils where systems were once uncommon. Tile drains also continue to discharge throughout winter, potentially altering nutrient stoichiometry and stream temperature during the dormant season. This lightning talk will highlight how tile-drained row crop systems may contribute to elevated dormant-season nitrate levels and consider broader implications for watershed health. 

Title: Ecological Memory of Winter Conditions in Lake Simcoe (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Lidi Shi, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Toronto

Lidi Shi received his PhD from Tsinghua University in 2023 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on physical processes in lakes and reservoirs and their ecological implications, with particular interest in winter dynamics, mixing processes, and dissolved oxygen variability. 

Abstract: Dimictic lakes mix fully at the start and end of winter, which is assumed to reset dissolved oxygen (DO) levels after ice melt. However, higher late winter light levels can drive under-ice algal blooms and increase upper-water DO. Using six years of high-frequency temperature and DO data from Lake Simcoe, we show that surface DO at ice-off varies among years and is related to the duration of black ice, which increases under-ice light availability. These DO differences can then influence late-summer DO levels, highlighting cross-seasonal linkages driven by climate-sensitive winter conditions. Because working on thin ice is hazardous, this late-winter period of DO increase has not been widely studied. Our findings provide new insights into how ice duration and winter warming influence aquatic ecosystems.

Title: Projecting the Long-Term Chloride Concentrations in Lake Simcoe – Where Are We Likely to Be by 2100? (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Christopher Wellen, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

Christopher Wellen is an associate professor with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is an environmental scientist whose work focuses on the intersection of hydrology and biogeochemistry in human-dominated environments. His work has examined agricultural, urban and surface-mined landscapes to determine how natural processes and human modifications interact to transport water and materials and how these interactions affect ecosystems. Christopher’s road salt research examines mechanisms of salt retention, watershed-scale export and modeling of salt fate and transport in water bodies. He received a PhD from the University of Toronto in 2013. 

Abstract: Chloride has been identified as a primary stressor affecting Lake Simcoe water quality, largely due to winter road salt use. Lake-wide chloride concentrations are currently about 50 mg/L and have been increasing by nearly 1 mg/L per year. Previous projections have extrapolated observed trends, but no mass-balance projection has been completed. This study uses mass-balance models, coupled with a watershed model, to estimate likely chloride concentrations in different parts of Lake Simcoe on an annual scale. Findings show that current chloride inputs are not likely to increase concentrations past 120 mg/L by 2100, but concentrations could exceed that threshold under an urban expansion scenario. The study also estimates the maximum chloride loads needed to keep concentrations below the CCME guideline of 120 mg/L.

Title: Drastically Differing Winters Modify Ice Quality and Under-Ice Thermal Habitat and Productivity in Lake Simcoe (Presentation Slidedeck)

Presenter: Josh Culpepper, Postdoctoral Researcher, York University

Joshua Culpepper is a postdoctoral researcher and limnologist at York University who studies how climate change and seasonal weather patterns affect lake temperatures, ice cover and ecosystem health. He combines long-term field measurements, satellite data and models to determine how lakes such as Lake Simcoe are responding to a warming climate and the implications for water quality and management. 

Abstract: Lake Simcoe has experienced major declines in winter ice cover, including some of the shortest ice seasons on record in recent years. This research examines how changing winter conditions affect under-ice water quality by combining regular measurements of ice thickness and composition with depth profiles of temperature, oxygen and chlorophyll-a. Findings show that weather before ice formation strongly influences under-ice temperatures and deep-water oxygen, while ice and snow cover primarily control light availability and algal growth. A comparison with Paint Lake in the Muskoka region shows that larger, deeper lakes are more sensitive to winter weather and ice conditions than smaller lakes.