Assessing the Natural Variability in the Fish Communities of the Lakes of the Northern Bruce Peninsula

To monitor and assess direct anthropogenic impacts on an aquatic system requires knowledge of its natural variation. The goal of this study explored natural variation in the lake fish communities of the northern Bruce Peninsula, which may act as a reference condition for other studies. The results of this study indicated there has been a shift towards more small-bodied, native species present in the fish communities, potentially a result of beaver activity in the area. A second goal was to calculate gear sampling efficiencies to enable the design of efficient monitoring protocols for fish communities in small, shallow lakes. It was concluded that a wide variety of gears are required to assess the fish species composition in a lake. Fine-mesh hoops were the most effective gear; however, saturation was never obtained for boat electrofishing; therefore, additional research is required to determine effectiveness relative to the fine-mesh hoop net.MAS

Saving threatened plant species: Reintroduction of Hill's thistle (Cirsium hillii. (Canby) Fernald) to its natural habitat.

Hill's thistle (Cirsium hillii (Canby) Fernald) is a perennial plant endemic to the Great Lakes region of North America. Hill's thistle is listed as threatened in Ontario and Canada where it is found in globally rare alvar habitats. The main objective of this study was ex-situ conservation of Hill's thistle using in vitro culture techniques and reintroduction of micropropagated plants back to their natural habitat in Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario, Canada. Two out of twenty-nine available seeds were successfully germinated under in vitro condition. An efficient micropropagation protocol was optimized with 100% survival during acclimatization of plantlets in the greenhouse. Three hundred micropropagated plants were reintroduced to twelve different sites within Bruce Peninsula National Park in June and July 2017. Plants were monitored for survival, rosette growth, and flowering on all sites from 2017-2019. After four months of planting, 67 to 99% of the plants were alive in different sites and 90 to 99% of them survived over winter. In the following years, shoot regeneration and flowering were observed on most sites. This study further confirms the benefit of plant tissue culture techniques to ensure revival of Hill's thistle ecological biodiversity through the reintroduction of micropropagated plants. This approach consisting of the components of conservation, propagation, and reintroduction (CPR) may potentially serve as a model for saving and enriching other species at risk