Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partner for research to support the restoration of native coregonine fishes in the Great Lakes.  Similar to many freshwater ecosystems, the Great Lakes of North America have undergone numerous anthropogenic stressors resulting in considerable loss of biodiversity and simplification or loss of habitat.  The coregonine sub-family has endured the most extensive declines, including extinction for several species and multiple instances of local extirpations of other species.  In 2018, a science-based, basin-wide approach to restore coregonines called the Coregonine Restoration Framework (herein, “Framework”) was universally endorsed by fishery managers throughout the basin.  The Framework seeks to develop a restoration plan that includes several components of science support, including experimental and genetic approaches to improve our understanding of threats to existing stocks of conservation concern or impediments to reintroducing native fishes that were locally extirpated.  Likewise, reintroduction will undoubtedly be required and is already being used, yet the ability to experimentally evaluate the best techniques for translocating or rearing and stocking hatchery fish is limited within the Great Lakes basin. Many of the species extirpated from Lake Ontario, for example, persist in Lake Superior yet the techniques to rear these rare deepwater fish could be further evaluated to ensure that hatchery products are genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally similar to their wild counterparts.  This funding opportunity seeks a CESU partnership to provide experimental support to USGS stations located in Cortland, NY and Oswego, NY, such that science support to restoration and conservation of native coregonines can be enhanced.